Citizen scientists have helped uncover swathes of native species habitat cleared across Australia, with the overwhelming majority happening on agricultural land, including one cluster at the edge of a World Heritage area.
The bulldozing of 90,000 hectares of bush across 176 properties amounts to around 320 Sydney CBDs. For comparison, deforestation for palm oil in Indonesia averages 32,000 hectares a year.
A total of 675 members of the public identified the destruction, before ACF investigators verified the information. All of the bush that was cleared was mapped as habitat for nationally threatened species, with beef production the primary driver.
"That we still uncover destruction like this is why Australia is the only developed country on a list of global deforestation hotspots," ACF's Nathaniel Pelle said.
"It's an embarrassing status that demands action from the federal government as we head into the next climate COP meeting in Brazil, where deforestation will be a key focus."
In Northern NSW, deforestation had occurred on several neighbouring properties sandwiched between two national parks and the World Heritage Area, the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, where the Brush-tailed rock wallaby is under threat.
"This is the most exasperating case of deforestation I have witnessed. On one side of the fence you have a living, ancient forest recognised as a place of World Heritage and on the other you have what used to be forest, but is now a paddock," the business and nature lead said. "When Aussies buy a burger at the drive-through or a pie at the footy, they want to know they're supporting farmers who care for nature, not the ones still bulldozing the bush."
Supermarkets Woolworths and ALDI have set targets to exclude beef from their supply chains by the end of 2025, while burger giant Hungry Jack's and iconic Four'n Twenty Pies manufacturer Patties are yet to make any commitment.
