Australia will spend a record AUD50 million ($35 million) over the next four years to increase long-term protection and recovery of its koala population, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s office said in a statement on Saturday. (29).
“Koalas are one of Australia’s most beloved and recognized icons, both here at home and around the world, and we are committed to protecting them for generations to come,” Morrison said in the statement.
The fund will be used to “restore koala habitat, improve our understanding of koala populations, support training in the treatment and care of koalas, and strengthen research on animal health outcomes,” Morrison said.
With the new investment, the Australian government will have dedicated 74 million Australian dollars ($52 million) to koalas since 2019, he added.
Since 2018, around 30% of Australia’s koalas have been lost due to bushfires, drought and deforestation for development, according to a statement by the Australian Koala Foundation in September 2021.
This includes the severe population losses following the catastrophic wildfires of 2019, which destroyed over 12 million acres (48,000 square kilometers) of land in New South Wales alone.
Additionally, Australia’s koala populations are threatened by the recent spread of chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease, which can cause blindness and painful cysts in an animal’s reproductive tract, which can lead to infertility or even death.
Scientists are testing chlamydia vaccines to protect animals. Researchers are also studying the genetic strength of koala populations to see how unique DNA variants can provide disease resistance, the prime minister’s office statement said.
The koala is listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, which catalogs endangered species.
The IUCN says there are between 100 ml and half a million koalas in the wild, but the Australian Koala Foundation says the number is closer to 58,000.
This content was originally created in English.
original version
Source: CNN Brasil
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