Five of Dreamworld’s cutest joey koalas today opened their eyes to a bigger problem, when they left mum’s pouch and united to support Save The Koala Day activities.

The Australian Koala Foundation kick started Save the Koala Day at Dreamworld today with the debut of the furry youngsters before unveiling an aerial map of east coast Australia that highlights a devastating drop in the koala population.

CEO of the Australian Koala Foundation Deborah Tabart OAM shared the spotlight with the joeys.

“These captive bred koalas are a symbol of hope and while they are thriving in sanctuaries like Dreamworld, their numbers in the wild are plummeting at an alarming rate. Save the Koala Day is about telling the world that we have to do something and do it fast,” Ms Tabart said.

Ms Tabart added that more than $8 million has been poured into researching and documenting 1000 field sites, with habitat mapping showing there are just 100,000 koalas left in the wild.

“The Federal Government is pushing to protect national icons under its Care for Country campaign, and there is no animal more iconic than the koala. Sadly, the two year deliberation period to assess the

koala’s listing as a threatened species is simply too long,” Ms Tabart said.

The koala shares its habitat with more than 1000 threatened species and Ms Tabart believes they could be afforded protection if the koala was listed as a threatened species.

“By saving the koala, we can salvage another 900 or so species that share the same biodiversity. Given that recovery plans for each species cost around $1million each, saving the koala now will have enormous benefits for other species down the track.”

September is Save the Koala Month and AKF will raise awareness about the plight of the koala by selling koala tattoos. To find out ways to help save our koalas, visit www.savethekoala.com.

Dreamworld is proud to be a gold sponsor of the Australian Koala Foundation, and has the second largest population of captive koalas in the world. In conjunction with the University of Queensland, Dreamworlds koala husbandry and breeding is maintained at the highest standard ensuring captive genetic diversity.

Today is the culmination of many months of work instigated by Ian Macdonald, NSW Minister for Primary Industries, in the preparation of the Animal Welfare Code of Practice – Animals in Pet Shops.

Minister Macdonald has brought together leaders in all divisions of the Pet Industry: the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), NSW Animal Welfare League, The Pet Industry Association of Australia (PIAA), and the RSPCA, coordinated by the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

The new code of practice applies to the welfare of dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice, birds and fish, and the manner in which they are sold to the public.

A copy of Animal Welfare Code of Practice - Animals in Pet Shops is available at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animal-welfare.

[Source: Pet Industry News Online Bulletin September 11, http://www.petnews.com.au]

Guide Dogs Queensland has a breeding centre full of adorable, talented puppies and urgently needs Gold Coast locals to help raise them.

As part of our Guide Dog Puppy Appeal this September, GDQ is calling for applicants to be volunteer puppy raisers and help train a future Guide Dog.

GDQ Breeding Manager Lauren Elgie said the Brisbane breeding centre had 3 litters of puppies including the "S" litter - seven yellow Labradors; the "T" Litter - nine gold Golden Retrievers and the "U" litter - six black and yellow Labradors.

"We have more than 20 beautiful puppies which will need placement into homes toward the end of this month," Ms Elgie said.
 
"Pups stay on site until they are 10 weeks when they go to live with families until 12 months of age. Our Puppy Raisers are critical to the success of our Guide Dogs so this job is not only special - it’s incredibly rewarding," she said.

Ms Elgie said the criteria was simple and included having ample time to spend with the puppy, a secure yard and if children were in the home, they needed to be over five years of age.

"Guide Dogs Queensland is in a real growth phase and is preparing for future demand for Guide Dogs by breeding more puppies for the program" she said.

"The ageing population means more Queenslanders will need Guide Dogs. It’s only through the support of volunteer Puppy Raisers and donations that we can continue to produce these amazing canines."

World’s 2nd Annual

The Animal Welfare League of Qld is utterly desperate for good quality dry cat and dog food. We are literally down to our last bags of food supplies and are pleading for the charity of the community. Each year, the Animal Welfare League (AWL) of Qld takes care of over 12,000 stray and abandoned cats and dogs at the Rehoming and Education Centre based in Coombabah, Queensland.

The organisation is a not-for-profit, non-government funded entity that is the sole servicer for the Gold Coast area and therefore relies heavily upon the support of the public. Items can be dropped off anytime at the Rehoming Centre on Shelter Road in Coombabah, or any food bin located at participating local supermarkets (Coles and Woolworths).

Thank you for taking care of the Gold Coasts' stray and abandoned animals.
The animals are eternally grateful.

For more information please call 07 5509 9030 or email pr@awlqld.com.au