Koala populations are declining across Australia due to chlamydia disease, vehicle strikes, dog attacks and habitat loss, creating widespread individual welfare crises.
Chlamydia in koalas causes ocular disease leading to blindness, urinary tract infections causing incontinence and cystitis, and reproductive tract disease causing infertility — all causing chronic pain over months to years. Vehicle-struck koalas suffer acute trauma with high mortality rates. Dog attacks cause puncture wounds that lead to pneumothorax and delayed death. Wildlife hospital koala admissions have grown enormously, overwhelming care capacity in some regions.