SYDNEY, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Queensland government announced on Tuesday that it will grant approval for a special breeding program to boost koala populations in Australia which have been on the decline.
The move will see the existing and successful koala breeding program at the popular Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld be expanded, allowing them to begin collecting additional males to breed with the females they already have from the wild.
Queensland Minister for the Environment Steven Miles said in a statement on Tuesday that it is important to act this move immediately, as the breeding season for koalas is set to begin.
"Any koalas they take will be part of a valuable breeding program and Dreamworld will return the koalas, and any resulting offspring, to a suitable habitat in the area later on," the minister said.
"Dreamworld has indicated a willingness to work with us to determine whether any of these koalas could be taken and placed into their captive breeding program."
The head of the life sciences division at Dreamworld Al Mucci welcomed the announcement and said that the program will work in conjunction with the University of Queensland to ensure the survival of the cuddly creatures.
"The bottom line is we cannot allow koalas to be lost when there are real prospects of protecting and securing their future as individuals and subpopulations," Mucci said.
"We need to think about how we manage and live with koalas if we want them to be around for the next generation."
