The government has set up a $ 50 million emergency fund to address the problem of wild animals lost in forest fires, which lawmakers have described as “historical environmental challenges” and “ecological disasters.” The “initial payment” comes from the 2 billion forest fire disaster relief announced by Morrison last week. More than 10 million hectares of land have been burned across the country, and 8.4 million hectares of land in NSW have been destroyed.
This emergency animal and habitat restoration fund will generally include frontline response organizations including wildlife caregivers, hospitals and zoos-including Victoria Zoo, Adelaide Zoo and Tarongza Zoo. Another 25 million will be used to form a government advisory board led by the newly appointed Commissioner for Threatened Species, Dr. Sally Box.
Environment Minister Susssan Ley said the forest fire brought “historical environmental challenges.”
