Australia to spend $34.5 million on recovery of bushfire-affected wildlife

Earlier, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that at least 25 people have died, 2,000 homes have been destroyed, and 15 million hectares have been scorched across the country since the wildfires began in September.

The Australian authorities have pledged 50 million Australian dollars ($34.5 million) to protect and restore the country's wildlife habitat damaged by devastating bushfires, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Monday.

"Today we announced an initial $50m investment to support the immediate work to protect wildlife after the #bushfires & partner with a coalition of groups to plan the recovery & restoration effort," Frydenberg tweeted.

The bushfires, which have been ravaging across Australia since September 2019 and have recently intensified, have reportedly claimed 29 lives, destroying more than 2,000 houses and killing over one billion animals.

Australia's authorities have mobilised the navy and aircraft to extinguish the fires and are evacuating the population from the southeastern coast of the country.

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