Koalas and their habitats have been hit hard by Australia's devastating bushfires (AFP Photo/Tristan Kennedy) |
Wellington (AFP) - Thousands of people have signed a petition for koalas to be introduced to New Zealand to escape Australia's devastating bush fires, but the proposal has been given the thumbs down by officials.
A group
calling itself the Koala Relocation Society said koalas were "functionally
extinct in Australia" but could thrive in New Zealand which has nearly
30,000 hectares planted in eucalypts.
There have
been estimates of up to a billion koalas and other animals affected by the
fires raging across Australia and there are concerns about how the survivors
will cope given the loss of vegetation.
As of
midday Monday, the online petition had 7,500 signatures, but a spokesman for
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Television New Zealand that the government's
focus was on helping to get the fires under control so koalas "can stay in
their natural habitat".
Wellington
Zoo animal science manager Simon Eyre believed any assistance should be
provided directly to the Australian authorities dealing with the fallout from
the fires.
"For
us, it would be assisting in Australia and it wouldn't only be koalas, it would
be other species affected by the fires as well," he said.
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