We’ve all seen the videos: singed koalas caught in a fire zone, thirstily drinking from a water bottle. Amid a bleak news cycle, videos such as these offer a moment of sweet respite.
But the sad truth is that most koalas from fire zones will die or be euthanised.
“Very sadly, the most common outcome for any wildlife bushfire survivors is typically euthanasia to end suffering,” says Lisa Palma, the chief executive of Wildlife Victoria.
The nature of bushfire burns means that most koalas can never be released back into the wild.
“They need to be able to climb trees, they need to be able to use their hands to grab browse [leafy branches]. So if they have burns to their hands and feet, that really limits their ability to climb and feed themselves,” says Dr Sarah Penturn, a Wildlife Victoria veterinarian.
While the toll on wildlife from the 2026 bushfires is still unknown, more than 3 billion animals are estimated to have perished in the 2020 bushfires.
In Victoria, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action co-ordinates the wildlife response, through the Wildlife Emergency Support Network. They work hand-in-glove with the fire teams, and when it’s safe, find and assess wildlife. In significant events, veterinarian teams set up triage centres and work on the bushfire front line with native animals.
Following the 2020 fires, the emergency network began a program to train vets to treat wildlife for bushfire-related injuries, as domestic vets often don’t have much experience in that area.
The 2020 fires also led to important lessons for vets, which changed the treatment and handling of bushfire-affected wildlife.
“What they learnt is what injuries are most likely to have a successful outcome and also which injuries, sadly, seem to have a poor outcome, no matter how you treat them,” Penturn says.
This has led to more euthanasia, and euthanasia earlier in the process. “It can feel a little bit harsh initially, as we’re progressing with fewer animals, but the animals that we treat should have, hopefully, a good outcome,” she says.
Wildlife euthanasia doesn’t always sit well with the public. What is a last resort for household pets is regularly carried out in the wildlife space. And pain relief is a big factor in those decisions.
“If you think about when you get burnt, that pain can go on for a long time,” says Fiona Ryan, the senior manager of Wildlife Welfare Programs at Zoos Victoria. “If the animal can’t be released, then the kindest path is euthanasia.”
In Victoria, euthanasia is the only option for a koala that can’t be released into the wild, as there are no koala sanctuaries in the state. With a lifespan of up to 15 years, koalas have significant space and food requirements and, moreover, there are legal requirements that make such a sanctuary practically impossible.
Quality of life is another factor that is weighed up. Koalas in care can become depressed and “refuse food”. Formerly wild koalas are not good candidates for captivity.
“Ethically and philosophically, our perspective is that native animals belong in the wild,” Wildlife Victoria’s Palma says.
Even releasing or relocating healthy koalas can be fraught. Koalas have a microbiome, which means they can eat only leaves from one area, and as territorial animals they will fight for resources.
In 2025, Victoria’s Environment Department assessed nearly 20,000 animals after fires at the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park, Wimmera and Little Desert, and about 11 per cent required humane euthanasia. Koala euthanasia numbers from the 2026 bushfires were much higher, at 25 per cent.
What classifies as humane euthanasia looks very different in different situations. In April 2025, department staff culled about 750 koalas in Budj Bim National Park in south-west Victoria by shooting them from helicopters. Advocates were outraged.
Koala Alliance president Jess Robertson told ABC radio: “They need to be on the ground. They need to be assessed properly.”
This was disputed by James Todd, the Environment Department’s chief biodiversity officer, who told ABC radio: “These animals are in a very compromised state of health, and are suffering.” He pointed out that access to the area was near-impossible too. “We diverted to an aerial operation, and it was not a decision we took lightly, and we understand the optics of that.”
Whether this was the right approach is still being discussed, but one thing everyone in the wildlife space agrees is that animal welfare is paramount, and euthanasia is part of that. As Penturn says, “It’s a gift to be able to end suffering in animals”.
