‘Australian climate-denialist government kills a billion animals’

This 6 January 2020 video says about itself:

Australia bush fires have affected over 1 billion animals, pushing many toward extinction

Australia’s iconic wild animals are being caught up in the nation’s months-long bush fire crisis, with many species now in danger of extinction. The South China Morning Post spoke with Christopher Dickman, an ecology professor at the University of Sydney, who estimates that more than 1 billion animals have been affected by the widespread fires.

Translated from Roel Pauw of Dutch NOS radio today:

“More than a billion animals will not survive forest fires in Australia”

Very carefully vet Jasmin Hunter and her assistants remove the bandage from the legs of a kangaroo. He is lying on a mattress with a towel over his head and is slightly numb. All forms of stress must be avoided. Whether he will make it is still uncertain.

“More than a billion animals will not survive the forest fires in Australia,” said Chris Dickman, professor of ecology at the University of Sydney. That number is actually many times greater because, eg, about frogs and bats we do not know how many occurred in the affected areas. They are therefore not included in the estimates. Just as little as fish, insects and other invertebrates.

Many animals die in the flames, or because of heat stress, and more thousands animals of will die in the coming weeks and months due to lack of food, because their habitat has also been lost. And according to Dickman, the decline will continue for years because, for example, old trees with possible nest cavities have been burned or fallen.

The ecologist fears that this catastrophe could mean the end for a number of rare animals with a small range. The long-footed potoroo, a small marsupial, is an example of this.

Scorched forests

There are animals that have just managed to get to safety, but are injured. That is why Wires (Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service) volunteers drive into the scorched forests of Southwest Australia every day to look for them. According to Christie Jarrett, everything comes in such as birds, kangaroos, wallabies, snakes and squirrels.

Animals with damaged lungs, due to the inhalation of smoke and hot air, have been put to death and are given a syringe to put them to sleep. Animals with burn wounds are treated with great care. Complicated cases and animals classified as endangered go to one of the sites of the Taronga Zoo.

Uncertain whether an animal will survive

“In principle, every animal goes back to where it was found,” says Jarrett. “Sometimes that means that we have to feed it until nature has recovered. But that is not possible with all animals either. That does not work with koalas, for example. So it remains uncertainwhether an animal will ultimately survive, no matter how much time and energy we have there. have put in. ”

“Twenty years ago, scientists warned about this type of large, uncontrollable forest fire,” says Professor Dickman. “For twenty years all our advice has been ignored by politicians. I hope that after this disaster we will be invited again to talk about the policy.”

For Christie Jarrett, it starts with everyone acknowledging that climate change is a fact and that people need to change their behavior. “We need to protect those animals much better, because without them we wouldn’t be there in the end.”

This 6 January 2020 video says about itself:

Paul the koala makes miraculous recovery after rescue from Australian bushfire l GMA Digital

Paul was found burnt and barely alive in the ashes — but look at him now!

HOW TO HELP SUPPORT THE AUSTRALIAN WILDFIRES RELIEF EFFORT: here.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Australian climate activists vow to press on with protests in defiance of ‘government’s criminal negligence’

AUSTRALIAN climate activists have vowed to defy politicians by pressing ahead with protests targeting Prime Minister Scott Morrison over wildfires that have ravaged large swathes of the country.

Victoria state Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville described the demonstrations, set to take place in nine cities as “selfish and reckless,” with today expected to be a high fire danger day. …

But critics have accused the authorities of hypocrisy after the New South Wales state administration refused to cancel a huge New Year’s Eve firework display in Sydney.

Many of today’s protests have been organised under the slogan Sack Scomo – short for Scott Morrison – reflecting widespread anger at his handling of the fires.

“We’re protesting this Friday because we’re outraged about our government’s criminal negligence about the bushfire crisis, exacerbated by climate change,” said one group on Facebook.

“We are protesting to give a voice to the tens of thousands of people who want real action on climate change and real funding for relief services.”

They are organising around five key demands and calling on supporters to donate to fire relief efforts.

At least 27 people are known to have died in the fires and thousands have lost their homes. Millions of animals have also been killed.

This 8 January 2020 video from Australia says about itself:

AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE EMERGENCY: We are STILL on FIRE / Yasmin Scott

Didn’t feel like doing a video today. But the heartache of the destruction of what is STILL happening & we have been screaming & begging about climate change for YEARS I made this video.

A year after Australia’s wildfires, extinction threatens hundreds of species. More than 500 species may now be endangered — or extinct — due to the natural disaster: here.

AUSTRALIA ARSON MISINFORMATION UNDERMINES CLIMATE LINK Multiple Australian state police agencies have found limited evidence to suggest the major destructive wildfires in their states were ignited by arsonists, contradicting the international onslaught of misinformation suggesting otherwise. [HuffPost]

Lack of action on climate change leads to warmest decade ever recorded: here.