{"id":2178679,"date":"2024-11-24T06:00:58","date_gmt":"2024-11-24T05:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2178679"},"modified":"2024-11-23T09:02:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T08:02:17","slug":"koala-deaths-almost-double-in-housing-developments-in-south-western-sydney-data-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/koala-deaths-almost-double-in-housing-developments-in-south-western-sydney-data-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Koala deaths almost double in housing developments in south-western Sydney, data shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Koala road deaths have nearly doubled in a development hotspot in south-western Sydney, according to conservationists who are demanding the Minns government improve protection for the endangered species in new housing areas.<\/p>\n

In a letter \u2013 signed by more than 20 community and national environment groups \u2013 to the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, and senior ministers, the Sydney Basin Koala Network accused the government of a \u201cdevelopment first, koalas later\u201d mindset that was accelerating the species\u2019 decline.<\/p>\n

The network said koala deaths from vehicle strikes on Appin Road, which links Campbelltown and Sydney\u2019s western suburbs with Wollongong, had increased from 11 in 2022 to 19 so far in 2024, based on data from the government database BioNet. The rise follows the start of clearing for major housing developments in Gilead and Appin.<\/p>\n

About 70,000 houses are planned for construction in south-western Sydney in coming decades as the state government works to increase housing supply and ease affordability pressures.<\/p>\n

But the area is also home to some of Sydney\u2019s healthiest koala populations and advocates want the government to ensure the most important habitat is protected.<\/p>\n

At least 207 koalas have been struck by vehicles across south-western Sydney since 2021, according to the groups\u2019 analysis.<\/p>\n

\"Land
Land cleared in Appin for a housing development. Conservation groups say five underpasses on Appin Road are needed to protect koalas. Photograph: Stephanie Carrick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They want protection and restoration of koala habitat corridors, construction of five underpasses on Appin Road and changes to the state\u2019s planning system that would require councils to protect koala habitat from clearing and development.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Carrick, a project manager at the Sydney Basin Koala Network, said: \u201cWe\u2019re not opposed to housing. Koalas are also facing a housing crisis and we need their homes protected too by protecting their important migratory corridors and allowing them to safely travel through the landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Angel, the director of the Total Environment Centre, said developers were knocking down habitat, resulting in koalas running away and \u201cbeing run over and killed on the roads\u201d.<\/p>\n