Described as the national symbol of Australia, the Aussie government recently exterminated hundreds of koalas. Reports show that a killing of close to 700 koalas by authorities occurred in southeastern Australia,due to their overpopulation. The population spike led to a scarcity in food, causing veterans and environmentalists in the area to make the difficult decision of humanely killing the malnourished animals.

“I hope there’s a reason for it,” teacher Daniel Corradino said. “I think they are the national symbol of Australia and should be protected, just like we would protect our Bald Eagle.”

The Australian Koala Foundation stated that the government should “hang its head in shame.” These koalas were pulled from their coast reserve,where the trees and vegetation exerted a foul stench due to having been stripped for food by the starving animals.

Injected with a lethal infusion from government sponsored veterinarians, the population additionally diminished due to dog attacks, road traffic and malnutrition.

“Killing animals is not the solution for overpopulation,” junior Kayla Springmyer said. “Instead, more money should be put into reserves that can carry a greater number of Koalas.”

It is estimated that roughly 8,000 koalas are crammed into an 11 per hectare area, when a sustainable ratio would be one per hectare of land.

To combat the government’s system of organizing the species, The Australian Koala Foundation is pursuing the pass of the “Koala Protection Act”, which will protect the less than 100,000 remaining animals of this species.

“Australia is known for the koala, so I do not understand why they would harm them in this way,” freshman Emma Oliver said. “They should be protected, and I fully support the work of the Australian Koala Foundation.”