Last weekend at the Winter Magic Festival at Katoomba we saw this group in the parade and decided to find out more.
A development application (DA X/1128/2008) has been lodged with the Blue Mountains City Council (BMCC) for an animal exhibition space (described as an 'educational facility') at Echo Point, Katoomba. (a very popular tourist spot)
The applicant wishes to display reptiles and koalas.
The arrangements for housing and displaying the koalas are appalling.
According to the development application, two koalas will be imported from Victoria and housed in an enclosure in a basement-style room.
The koalas will not have access to sunshine or fresh air, and will be made available to members of the public for petting and photographing for an unspecified number of hours every day.
Potentially, the koalas could be handled by thousands of people every day.
The koalas are from Victoria, meaning they don't like to eat the less-nutritious leaves from NSW eucalypts, and so arrangements have to be made to get regular shipments of Victorian gum leaves to Katoomba.
The Blue Mountains Council has already denied the Development Application for this project so the developer is now approaching the next highest authority, the Land and Environment Court of NSW.
Sydney Morning Herald, Basement Koala plan savaged
More about it in the Blue Mountains Gazette
We signed a petition at the festival but were unable to get to the rally yesterday, I've been looking for information on how it went but haven't found much to date.
2 comments:
That's disgusting!!!! I'm with you on the petition---and lock that SOB in the "basement style" room himself!
thanks Arlee, I'll be watching to see whatever happens next
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