One of the world’s largest animal welfare and conservation charities has called upon the Moyne Shire Council to act on its promise to a volunteer based local wildlife rescue and rehabilitation service.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is calling on the Council to urgently progress a promised land lease that will allow Mosswood Wildlife to plant up to 8,000 koala food trees, amid a growing koala welfare crisis in the region
In late 2025, Moyne Shire Council publicly announced its commitment to lease part of the old Koroit Racecourse to Mosswood for the planting of koala food trees — a project championed by IFAW and urgently needed by the shelter.
“With no reliable local source of fresh food, Mosswood volunteers are driving long distances every week just to gather leaves to feed Koalas in their care,” said Josey Sharrad, Head of Programs for IFAW Oceania. “It’s exhausting, unsustainable and placing enormous strain on the people saving these animals.”
However, despite the announcement, the project has stalled.
“This plantation is a lifeline for Mosswood, which is caring for injured or displaced Koalas in the Southwest. The trees will be ready at the end of winter for planting in spring. What we need now is action to make sure that timeline is met.” Josey said.
According to Mosswood Wildlife’s Di Fraser, the organisation was overwhelmed with supportive messages of congratulations once the approval of the lease was announced in December, but now, those same messages of congratulations have turned into questions.
“It’s frustrating that we are now having to explain to our supporters that we still don’t have a lease document, and so we can’t make tangible plans to implement how it may look”, she said.
“We appreciate that there is a process that needs to be followed, but why announce that it is right to go, when it clearly isn’t”.
Councillors voted in favour of the plantation 5-2 at its December 16th meeting, confirming it would begin establishing a 10-year license for Mosswood to grow a tree plantation on four hectares of land at the former Koroit Racecourse site at 330 Officers Lane.
“We take in hundreds of koalas for care and rehabilitation each year’. Di said.
“At the moment, one of our co-founders, Peter Wilson, spends hours each week sourcing suitable food for the animals in our care, travelling hundreds of kilometres each month around the region.”
“Sourcing food like this isn’t sustainable because not all of our volunteers are aware of the type of leaf the animals eat,” Di explained.
“By having this plantation, with specific species of trees, we can send our volunteers to one place, at any time of day, with a 100% guarantee that they will return with the right leaf for the Koalas.”
Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Karen Foster spoke in favour of the motion, praising the work of Mosswood Wildlife and its volunteers. While she acknowledged it wasn’t a short-term fix, she said it provided a clear path forward.
“While this solution isn’t going to help them in the short-term, it does provide a more medium or longer-term solution for them,” Karen said.
According to Mosswood, one of the issues causing the holdup is the removal of Cypress trees; however, Mosswood certainly hasn’t requested their removal.
“We are still trying to understand why the trees have suddenly become an issue,” Di said.
“We didn’t ask them to remove them; we just wanted the lease to be clear that maintenance didn’t include the removal of a lot of cypress trees at our expense or any of the other users of the site.
According to Mosswood, the concern is now time urgent. There is substantial fencing to be done and preparation for the planting of the trees at their optimum time.
“The planting needs to be done by the end of winter/early spring,” Di said.
“Once the trees are in, it will be at least 5 years before we can harvest them, so there is good reason for the urgency to get this finalised”.
According to Head of Programs for IFAW Oceania Josey Sharrad, enough time has passed, and decisive action is now needed to ensure Mosswood can continue caring for and rehabilitating Koalas.
“Every day of delay puts Koalas requiring treatment at risk,” Josie said.
“We (IFAW) urge the Moyne Shire Council to finalise this lease immediately, so planning and planting can begin, Koalas can’t afford to wait”.
