On the 7 of May 2018, in New South Wales, a state of Australia, it was announced that a large amount of money will be taken from the £300 million budget dedicated to save the great coral reef, in order to save the koalas. In fact, around £25 million will be used to save the koalas in Australia and especially in New South Wales.
Because of European settlement, the population of koalas in Australia decreased drastically, going from 10 million to around 43.000 in 250 years. Now considered as “vulnerable” by the local authorities and the Australian Koala Foundation, the population of koalas, being “a national treasure” according to Gladys Berejiklian, the prime minister of New South Wales, will have a special hospital dedicated to them.
This hospital will be used to take care of the koalas, victims of the global warming, car accidents and dogs’ attacks, that led to a loss of 26% of the koala population in New South Wales over the last twenty years. The other part of the money will be dedicated to research in order to find a way to avoid the sex disease that is decimating the koala population as well as chlamydia which causes infertility and blindness. Australia also gave 25.000 hectares of state forest to koalas for them to breed freely, in order to increase again the number of koalas.
-By Arnaud P.
The Tower Times Blog 