The koala is perilously close to extinction and could disappear from parts of Australia as early as 2050¹.

A large swathe of Australian Koalas are in the midst of a devastating chlamydia epidemic².

Estimates suggest that about half of all koalas on the continent are infected, and in closed populations, that figure could be as high as 80 percent³. Given its rate of spread, and considering how painful and debilitating the condition is for koalas, some conservationists are calling for a massive cull in order to get the disease under control as researchers feverishly work on a vaccine⁴.

Those koalas that survive the chlamydia epidemic still face threats from habitat destruction.

The biggest threat to koalas is habitat loss. Much of the koala's habitat in Queensland overlaps with areas where significant clearing has occurred, and continues to occur, for urban, industrial and rural development⁵. Koalas in New South Wales are losing their homes and their lives to excessive tree-clearing.

As habitat patches become smaller and more fragmented, koalas are more likely to move through developed areas. In developed areas, koalas have to cross roads and move through properties where they may be attacked by dogs or drown in backyard swimming pools⁶.

In South East Queensland, the human population is increasing by more than 1000 people a week⁷. This rapid population growth and increased need for houses is placing considerable pressure on the limited remaining koala habitat.

In order to save the koala, the Government of Australia must ensure protections for the species remaining habitat, and put destructive native forest logging and land-clearing projects on hold.

A NSW Parliamentary Inquiry⁸ previously recommended that the NSW Government:

• Facilitate more koala habitat on private land being protected
• Investigate the establishing the Great Koala National Park
• Rule out opening up old growth forests in the state forest reserve for logging
• Urgently investigate the utilization of core koala habitat on private land and in State forests to replenish koala habitat lost in the bushfires
• Ensure that the combination of underpasses, overpasses and exclusion fencing along roads is incorporated into both the retrofitting of existing infrastructure and new development in areas of known koala habitat

Help us save the koala from extinction. Sign the petition and ask the NSW Government of Australia to follow to the recommendations from the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry on koalas. The survival of a species depends on it!

More on this issue:

1. Cat Woods (31 August 2021), "Australia's Koalas Face Extinction by 2050."
2. Ari Daniel Shapiro, PRI's The World, Brisbane (25 April 2013), "Koala chlamydia: The STD threatening an Australian icon."
3. The University of Queensland Australia (2018), "Analysis of Morbidity and Mortality of Wild Koalas in South-East Queensland using Passive Surveillance Data."
4. Danny Lewis, Smithsonian Magazine (16 February 2016), "Researchers Say Culling Koalas May Save Them From Chlamydia."
5. WWF-Australia (2018), "Nowhere To Go."
6. Department of Environment and Science, The State of Queensland (2022), "Koala threats and how to help."
7. Australian Bureau of Statistics (29 March 2022), "Regional population."
8. Parliament of New South Wales (20 June 2019), "Koala populations and habitat in New South Wales."