Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Koalas - What would PETA do?

Mar 2, 2004 7:05AM PST
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/03/01/australia.koala.ap/index.html

Cute, cuddly and fast breeding, thousands of koalas are eating themselves out of a home on an Australian island. But authorities are refusing to heed conservationists' pleas to reduce the population, fearing a backlash from tourists and animal rights activists.
(article continues...)


Here is another example of environmentalist and animal right groups actually interfering with sound management policies.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Re:Koalas - What would PETA do?
Mar 2, 2004 8:18AM PST

While the popularity of cute and cuddly wildlife may make "a community backlash ", it seems that it is as much about allowing the animals to starve themselve for short term tourist money as much as anything.

Turner's arguments sound reasonable, and I'm sure the state's Nature Conservation Society has the data to back them up. I suspect another example of introducing an animal where there is not a natural pedator to keep it in balence with it's environment.

Not surprising is that there is the lack of political will to enforce culling in opposition to some local emotional response to the cute and cuddly animals. I bet the local response might be different if they were eating all the leaves off the residents landscaping bushes and trees.

RogerNC

click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

- Collapse -
Managing Nature...
Mar 2, 2004 12:38PM PST
Here is another example of environmentalist and animal right groups actually interfering with sound management policies. - James Denison

Man has never been very good at managing nature and this is a perfect example. The koalas didn't even belong in this ecosystem, so this is a man-made problem...

I wonder who managed nature before man came along? In this case, it would seem that man should intervene and prevent wide-spread starvation. Nature has always done pretty good at balancing things out. But in this case, man caused the problem and there is nothing in this ecosystem to correct it...

So what should man do to correct the problem? Sterilization didn't work. Should they start shooting and poisoning Koalas? Should they ship them off to zoos all around the world? Or should we fix the mistake by taking the Koalas off of the Island and put them back in their natural habitat? Maybe their natural habitat doesn't exist anymore if man has already developed and destroyed it...
- Collapse -
Yep, that sounds about like PETA. [nt]
Mar 2, 2004 1:14PM PST

.

- Collapse -
NT - Which part???
Mar 2, 2004 2:43PM PST
- Collapse -
That's pretty clear.
Mar 2, 2004 1:23PM PST

Poisoning would ruin the meat and be a total waste. Hunting is always a better solution providing the hunter intends to use the meat. It's also a lot cheaper which is better for the animals in the long run.