The early part of the occupation of Australia was a blood bath for Australia's unique fauna by greed with a quick way of making money - hundreds of thousands if not millions of Koala's were hunted and shot for their skins and exported out of Australia for fur coats until around 1920, when it was stopped, by the 1920's the koala was on the threatened list heading for extinction.
The poor old Koala that spends all its time sitting in the top of eucalyptus trees eating leaves and sleeping by day was the easiest of targets for the murderous hunters.
The koala only ever goes to ground to change food tree's and does this quickly as it can easily be taken by predators like wild dogs or dingo's.
The movie "They're a Weird Mob" showed the world how drunken Australians in the bush went about spot lighting, (Hunting with spot lights in the bush for Kangaroo's) shooting indiscriminately at anything that moves in the beam of a spotlight with shooters
in the back of utilities (Ute) and driving madly amongst the trees and yelling loudly while throwing empty beer cans around all
over the place.
The poor animals are terrified and run, when they should use their basic instinct and hide in the bushes.
This did happen, all around the outback and is still happening today and they are probably indiscriminately shooting endangered species (types of Wallaby) without knowing, a reflex action to pull the trigger while the animal is on the run, as most of the rabbits are now gone beyond the coastal fringe.
Some of us are now eating our National Emblems, our Kangaroo and Emu but many more people including the author of this page have more respect for these unique animals and will not eat them.
During the late 1980's early 1990's Emu farming was a fad for investment for meat and leather until the bubble burst and many farmers went broke leaving Emu's to starve to death in some cases when they couldn't feed them. This form of investment should never get the publics attention ever again as a fast way of making money or some investment fad as it does not work as a short term industry as it is now only specialised and some farmers do make a partial living from Emu's.
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One in Five Australian Birds Species
will face extinction because of land clearing and if its happening to the birds.
What about the other native animals?
ABC 7.30 Report
26th October 2000.
Same subject again...........
Emus face extinction
The Sunday Telegraph 29th of October 2000 page 40.
Australia's coat of arms may be missing the Emu in the future, along with one fifth of the other bird species through massive land clearing in Queensland, N.S.W. and other states, enough is enough, protest to your environment minister in your state and the federal environment minister.
Tell them your sick of the decline in our natural wildlife heritage and you want a plan of action with real funding to back it up, with a start, to reverse the decline of our Australian native
birds.
Farmers must be encouraged to provide bird nesting boxes on their properties to help restore breeding populations of Parrots, Cockatoo's and owls, most are in decline because of the deliberate clearing of the old growth tree's on their properties.
Eucalyptus tree's and other species need to be restored by planting the indigenous varieties that grow in their climatic zones.
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