A popular wildlife park in Brisbane has announced it will no longer offer “koala holds”, prompting questions about whether other captive animal facilities should follow.
Koala handling has long been criticised by animal welfare advocates. They say koalas are naturally solitary, nocturnal animals that become stressed when placed in close proximity to humans – so hugging them is “completely unacceptable”.
I study stress in animals, particularly marsupials – and I can confirm koala cuddles are detrimental to these animals.
