Tough new penalties have been introduced for gold coast residents who fail to protect koalas. The council has made it mandatory for dog owners to create koala-friendly backyards. But some wildlife rescuers are worried the laws may do more harm than good.
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00:00 Corrina Waterman loves her dog Arnie and koalas.
00:05 Her biggest fear, living in this koala hotspot on the northern Gold Coast, is what would
00:10 happen if their two worlds collide.
00:12 I would be absolutely devastated if my dog were to injure a koala.
00:18 That's why she's doing her best to prevent it from happening.
00:21 I just make sure my dog is inside at night.
00:24 If during the day I hear him barking out in the yard, I come and investigate just to make
00:27 sure.
00:28 It's just really a couple of simple measures like I've placed some logs up against the
00:33 fencing so that if a koala did find its way into my yard, then it could get itself out.
00:38 Now other Gold Coast residents must do the same.
00:41 Council has made it mandatory for dog owners living in these areas to create koala-friendly
00:47 backyards.
00:48 They must either install a fence that keeps koalas out, or provide structures to help
00:53 them escape.
00:54 Failure to implement these measures will result in a $309 fine.
00:59 But if an animal or person is attacked, then pet owners will be fined more than $700.
01:06 Conservation experts welcome the new laws.
01:09 We know in South East Queensland that dogs are a real major threat to koalas.
01:14 So each year probably about 100 koalas get taken into animal hospitals due to dog attacks.
01:21 Around about 75% of them die, so it's a major issue.
01:26 But some wildlife rescuers fear the increased fines will stop people reporting injured koalas.
01:33 Just like humans, the quicker that koala gets to a vet treatment or a vet assessment, the
01:38 quicker its chance of survival.
01:41 So anything that's going to deter that sequence of events is going to not help koalas.
01:47 As for koala lovers like Karina, she thinks it's a step in the right direction.
01:52 We live in their habitat.
01:54 We benefit from having homes that were once their homes.
01:58 And so while we have koala populations that still navigate our backyards, really it's
02:03 our job to do something to help them out.
02:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]