Aussie state accused of killing and displacing 300,000 animals a year

Exclusive: A bombshell new report has taken aim at Tasmania's native forest logging industry.

Left: A large tree that's been cut down in Tasmania with forest behind it. Right: A large tree on the back of a truck.
An estimated 39 animals are impacted every time a hectare of native forest is logged in Tasmania, according to the report. Source: Wilderness Society

Over 300,000 animals are being killed or displaced in one Australian state by timber harvesting each year, a damning new report has warned. The Wilderness Society has called the situation “tragic”, claiming wildlife not immediately killed by machinery is forced to flee into new territories and compete for food and shelter.

The Vanishing Wildlife report used University of Sydney data to estimate the number of animals per hectare, and concluded there was an average of 39. It found habitat loss alone in Tasmania directly impacted close to 245,000 animals.

Burning after harvesting is completed impacted 32,500 and culling to stop replanted forests being eating also harmed 19,500 animals. While logging truck road strikes are thought to kill at least 3600 animals each year. Much of the carnage occurs at night, killing nocturnal animals like Tasmanian devils which are listed as endangered. Around 200 million invertebrates are also likely killed annually according to an estimate.

“Killing and displacing more animals each year than there are people living in Hobart is an appalling legacy,” the Wilderness Society’s Alice Hardinge said.

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She seized upon the impact of logging on species that require hollows to live or nest in, because they often don’t start forming until a tree is a century old. “What is destroyed in moments might never be replaced,” she said, before calling on the Tasmanian and federal governments to protect the state’s last remaining native forests.

Related: $95 million pledge to fight 'catastrophic' threat to wildlife

Background: An aerial view of logged habitat. Inset: A graph showing the numbers of animals killed or displaced by logging.
Over 300,000 animals are being killed or displaced by timber harvesting in Tasmania each year according to the report. Source: Wilderness Society

The report, which was a collaboration with ecologists from The Tree Project, concluded logging was leaving behind small patches of mature habitat that were more prone to fire. It warned with wildlife facing increased pressure from extreme weather caused by climate change, protecting forests gives wildlife the “best fighting chance” at surviving.

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It warned birds like the critically endangered swift parrot, of which fewer than 750 mature individuals remain, are being knowingly pushed closer to extinction by logging. This year harvesting occurred on a property adjacent to last year’s nesting site, sparking concern from conservationists.

Although threatened species attract the most attention, there are also concerns about the impact of logging on abundant species. “Even one particularly bad bushfire season can wipe out a considerable proportion of a species habitat. For instance, a significant proportion of koalas died during the black summer bushfires,” the report says.

A logged forest with a big stump in the foreground in Tasmania.
Native timber harvesting remains a divisive issue in Tasmania. Source: Wilderness Society

While the Commonwealth ordinarily has powers to protect species threatened with extinction, there's a loophole that gives state governments the right to log habitat without interference. Prior to its election in 2022, the Albanese government promised to overhaul the nation’s nature protection laws, and it’s been under sustained pressure to abolish these Regional Forestry Agreements and protect wildlife.

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Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia have all abolished native timber harvesting, and the industry is small in Queensland. But Tasmania and NSW continue to allow large swathes of native habitat to be destroyed, even though they often operate at a loss of millions of dollars a year.

“The fact that hundreds of thousands of native animals are killed every year unnecessarily is nothing short of tragic. This is especially devastating considering logging is a dying industry which employs only a small number of people and costs the taxpayer several million dollars a year in subsidies,” Dr Jennifer Sanger from The Tree Projects said.

In a statement to Yahoo News, the state government's logging management company Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STT) said it abides by the Tasmanian Forest Practices System and the Forest Practices Code.

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"We take our role managing sustainable, healthy and thriving public production forests seriously," it said.

The STT said the Forest Practices System is a strong regulatory system that applies across Tasmania on both private and public forests, while the Forest Practices Code provides guidelines to maintain the natural and cultural values of the forest over the long term.

"The Code is regularly reviewed, incorporating feedback and input from scientists, government, the forest industry, and the public," STT said, adding it also has voluntary third-party certification to give stakeholders confidence the forest is responsibly and sustainably managed.

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