article_snippet: the government euthanised 686 koalas  at Cape Otway, about 230km southwest of Melbourne, in 2013 and 2014 in response to overpopulation in manna gum woodlands in the area.
article_snippet: The koalas, many of which were starving, were killed via lethal injection after being captured in trees.
article_snippet: the government euthanised 686 koalas at Cape Otway, about 230km southwest of Melbourne .
article_snippet: During three separate operations, veterinarians captured and sedated koalas to assess koalas health.
article_snippet: Koalas suffering starvation were euthanised, while healthy koalas were released back into the wild and healthy females were treated with control hormone implants.
article_snippet: And if they are so proud of what they were doing why was the program done in secret?' Koala expert Dr Desley Whisson, who advised the government on the program, said that the objective was to humanely deal with suffering koalas rather than reduce population size.
article_snippet: For every one koala that was euthanised there were probably two or three that starved without intervention. '
article_snippet: The koalas, many of which were starving, were killed via lethal injection after being captured in tree . '
article_snippet: Koala expert Dr Desley Whisson, who advised the government on the euthanasia program, stressed that the objective was to humanely deal with suffering koalas rather than reduce population size .
highlights_snippet: Hundreds of koalas were culled near Cape Otway, Victoria in 2013 and 2014 .
  
highlights_snippet: The animals were euthanised in response to overpopulation in manna gum woodlands in the area, about 230km southwest of Melbourne .
  