Wild Koala Day – May 3!
May 3, 2025: The Koala Election.
The 2025 federal election will be on the same day as Wild Koala Day. We think that’s a wonderful omen.
Wild Koala Day is not new – it was started in 2016 by a network of independent koala conservation and rehabilitation groups all over Australia. Every year since then, Wild Koala Day has been celebrated all over Australia and the world. Politicians, government departments, celebrities, sports stars and universities post about it. This year, at this important election, koalas are ready to stand as a symbol for all wildlife: Don’t forget us, and don’t take us for granted.
This is our chance to put koalas at the top of everyone’s mind. Whichever government is elected on Wild Koala Day, they need to know that protecting koalas (and all biodiversity) is important to Australians.
Tags #KoalaElection and #wildkoaladay
A concerned group of koala conservationists, Australia-wide, have declared
May 3 is Wild Koala Day
So how can you help koalas?
Support community groups that oppose development, mining and native forestry.
- Check here for a list of koala groups – all of them spend much of their time opposing forest destruction.
- VIC: support WOTCH, Peninsula Preservation Group, Friends of Leadbeaters Possum, Victorian Forest Alliance, Environment East Gippsland, Wombat Forestcare, Friends of Alberton West
- NSW: support NEFA, Nature Conservation Council of NSW, North Coast Environment Council, National Parks Assoc of ACT,
- QLD: Wildlife Preservation Society of Qld,
- WWF, IFAW, HSI, ACF, World Animal Protection, AFCA, BirdLife Australia are all very active in protecting wildlife and forests Australia-wide.
Call your local council and ask them for their policy on protecting forests.
- How many housing developments have been refused approval in the last 12 months? How many have been given approval?
Call your state government and ask them why they continue to support native forestry and mining.
- Why don’t they enforce mining regulations to rehabilitate the land after the mine has ceased?
- How much do they subsidise the native forestry industry? Why don’t they spend that money helping the workers to transition to other industries?
Climate change & deforestation
Koalas are one of the 10 species worldwide most at risk from climate change. We saw what can happen to koalas in the 2019/2020 Black Summer. Climate heating will lead to more catastrophic summers, more flooded springs, more dry winters. The climate crisis affects koalas on every level: increasing aridity, increasing frequency of wildfire, increasing length & severity of droughts and heatwaves – all leading to stress and increasing disease. Add to this the damaging effect of increased carbon dioxide on eucalyptus leaves (leads to higher toxins and lower nutritional compounds) and the koala is running out of time. Only by increasing koala habitat – examples include the Great Koala National Park and Great Forest National Park proposals – will we improve their chances.
Meanwhile, Australia is removing koala habitat at a catastrophic rate. Queensland is one of the world’s worst places for deforestation, up there with Brazil. Deforestation also continues at an alarming pace in NSW and Victoria. There is just no need for this. Tourism (which requires koalas) is already a much more profitable industry than agriculture, contributing twice as much revenue as agriculture and twice as many jobs.
Koalas and humans want to live in the same places in Australia, and though most people love koalas, with people come cars and dogs – both deadly to koalas. Over 4000 koalas are killed by dogs each year and many more are killed by cars.
Some of the people involved in this group are volunteer wildlife rescuers. They are the people, on call, every day to rescue the koalas that survive incidents with cars and dogs, and then attempt to treat and rehabilitate them and return them to their homes.
People and koalas can live together. Drive carefully, especially at night, dusk & dawn; restrain your dog; plant koala trees and preserve existing forest; let politicians and corporations know that protecting koalas is important, and get involved with Wild Koala Day!
