Australian Celebrities Are Lending Their Voices To End Our Country's Extinction Crisis

Each year, September 7, marks National Threatened Species Day, a day to stop and reflect on the fact that on that same date in 1936, Australia's Tasmanian tiger became extinct. Decades later and our country's wildlife is still threatened each day with the possibility of passing over the extinction line, especially following the devastating bushfires earlier this year. 

To recognise the day, WWF Australia has released a powerful video featuring influential voices - including Layne Beachley, Victoria Lee and Stephanie Rice - calling on all Aussies to take action to protect our beloved wildlife and their habitats. It brings to light Australia's worst rate of extinction in the world, a crisis expedited by the devastating bushfires which saw more than 12 million hectares of natural habitats destroyed. 

Coinciding with the call to action, WWF released a report on the impact those bushfires had on the koala population, one of the species greatly affected by the catastrophe. The worst site affected was Kiwarrak, where researchers found no evidence that any koalas survived the summer blaze.

RELATED: How You Can Help Animals Affected By The Australian Wildfire Crisis

“Our wildlife and wild places have recently endured a disastrous bushfire season, with over three billion native animals killed or displaced by the fires. Our wildlife needs our protection now more than ever. We have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to turn things around. With the help of our influential partners, we’re asking all Australians to do their part and call on our leaders to strengthen our nature laws and ensure they are properly and independently enforced,” said Rachel Lowry, WWF-Australia’s Chief Conservation Officer.

Watch the video below :