Australia’s extinction crisis: 21 species join threatened list
The Australian Government has added 21 new species of fauna and flora to the threatened species list, with six more being uplisted to higher threat categories. This decision underscores Australia’s worsening extinction crisis as the nation continues to grapple with one of the worst extinctionrates in the world.
“This announcement shows that species like the Irwin’s turtle, named after famed conservationist Steve Irwin, are now threatened with extinction due to the impacts of disease, habitat destruction and the impacts of invasive species,” says James Trezise, the Director of the Biodiversity Council.
“Habitats of endangered species continue to be destroyed, and funding to protect and support the recovery of threatened species is pitifully inadequate. Our nature protection laws need an urgent overhaul so they can be effective”.
“At the moment, less than 10 percent of our listed endangered species even have a current recovery plan,” Wintle adds. “Successive governments have failed to provide the resources and coordination needed to create and implement recovery plans. Species are hurtling toward extinction, and we’re standing by and watching.”
