The Future of Australia's Koalas is in Your Hands
3/21/95
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Headline: The Future of Australia's Koalas is in Your Hands
Source: The Fund for Animals
850 Sligo Avenue, Suite 300
Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
Date: 3/21/95
THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA'S KOALAS IS IN YOUR HANDS!
The koala, Australia's animal ambassador to the world, is
teetering on the edge of extinction according to several
prominent Australian scientists. To bring attention to the
precipitous decline in koala numbers, Australians for
Animals and The Fund for Animals petitioned the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) last May to list the koala
under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The petition provided evidence that the loss of koala
habitat will lead to the koala's extinction. This habitat
loss, which is ongoing, is principally the result of
virtually unregulated timber harvest, land clearing for
agriculture, and development. Approximately two-thirds of
the koalas' forest habitat and nearly all of their woodland
habitat have been cleared, modified, or destroyed. Despite
growing public interest in protecting koalas and koala
habitat, the Australian government continues to permit the
destruction and modification of its remaining forests.
If this rate of destruction is not altered, predicts Dr.
Tony Norton of the Australian National University, the
majority of the remaining koala populations in Australia
will be extinct by the year 2000.
While a U.S. listing would not mandate a change in forest
management practices in Australia, it would have a profound
psychological impact, hopefully resulting in greater public
pressure and greater protection for koalas and their
habitat.
You can help the koala by immediately writing, faxing, or
e-mailing the USFWS indicating that you support the listing
of the koala under the ESA. Please tell them that:
1. The current rate of koala habitat destruction is
unsustainable and will lead to the extinction of the
koala.
2. The koala needs to be listed under the ESA if it is to
have any chance of surviving over the long term.
Please send your letter, as soon as possible, to:
Ms. Mollie Beattie, Director
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240
Fax: (202) 208-6965
E-mail (secretary): SEARSA@MAIL.FWS.GOV
Also, please call The Australian Tourist Commission at
1-800-333-0199 to inform them that you have no interest in
traveling to Australia if the only koalas that can be found
are in captivity. Wild koalas in their natural habitat,
not their caged counterparts, are what you want to see in
the land down under.
Thank you for your concern for the koala!
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This action alert was posted by:
The Fund for Animals
850 Sligo Avenue, Suite 300
Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
Phone: (301) 585-2591
Fax: (301) 585-2595
E-mail: FUND4ANIMALS@IGC.APC.ORG
Please feel free to copy, repost, or distribute.