Inaccurate koala 'mass slaughter' claims spread online

"LABOR mass slaughtered over 1,000 endangered Koalas in Victoria last week," reads part of a Facebook post shared on May 3, 2025.

"Wildlife experts were not consulted. Gov agencies need to work with wildlife experts to ensure the best outcomes for our native animals."

The post was shared as polls opened in Australia's federal election with voters deciding between incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left Labor Party and challenger Peter Dutton's conservative coalition (archived link).

"A vote for Labor, Greens or any party that preferences Labor is a vote for more native wildlife massacres," the post adds above a picture of two dead koalas lying on a blue tarp.

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Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post taken May 22, 2025

Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Facebook and X weeks after local media reported that hundreds of koalas had been euthanised after a lightning strike sparked a bushfire in Victoria's Budj Bim National Park (archived here and here).

"They are a national treasure. This is an abomination," read a comment on one of the posts. Another said: "This government has an agenda to destroy our wildlife and their habitats."

The social media posts, however, make no mention of the fire or its impact on the koalas and contradict statements from Victoria's Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).

'Kindest course of action'

The agency said the fire burnt 2,200 hectares, including a large area of manna gum canopy which is one of the main food sources for koalas in the park (archived link).

The toy-like animals have limited ability to flee fire zones and are vulnerable to burns and respiratory system injuries from heated air and smoke, it said.

Euthanasia "was the humane action to take to prevent further suffering," James Todd, DEECA's chief biodiversity officer, told AFP in a May 20 email. 

He explained an aerial assessment was conducted because of the terrain, remote location of the koalas, and safety risks, and this approach was "informed by an experienced vet and some of Australia's leading wildlife welfare ethics experts".

Todd added that an assessment conducted by a wildlife vet "showed that all koalas assessed and euthanised by the aerial team during the trial were in very poor health and would have continued to suffer in a deteriorating state of welfare if they had remained alive".

Wildlife Victoria, a non-profit organisation that provides emergency service across the state, also told AFP: "It is not appropriate to have wildlife suffering for weeks."

"It is sadly the outcome that in the aftermath of bushfires there is often substantive loss of wildlife life," the organisation said in a May 20 email, adding they were not involved in DEECA's consultation process though they were "briefed on what was happening".

"Euthanasia is often the kindest course of action for wildlife that are burnt and suffering extensive injuries."

Misused photo

A reverse image search on Google found the picture used alongside the misleading posts was taken more than a decade earlier for a National Geographic story (archived link).

The story from the May 2012 edition is titled "Racing to Rescue Koalas" and the photo is credited to Joel Sartore.

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Screenshot comparison of the misleadingly shared image (left) and the National Geographic photo from its May 2012 edition (right)

Sartore, who is also a National Geographic Explorer, told AFP on May 20: "I can confirm that the photo... is a cropped version of a photo I took while on assignment for National Geographic."

He said he took the photo in October 2011 for a larger story "about volunteers in Queensland who were working to rescue and rehabilitate trapped or injured koalas". 

His photo shows over a dozen koalas who were all killed by cars or dogs in a single week (archived link).