Icon or pest? Activists clash with government over kangaroo ‘threat’
Activists are calling for a ceasefire after more then 2400 kangaroos and 701 joeys were killed in the Australian Capital Territory’s kangaroo cull this year. Thousands of kangaroos are killed annually in an attempt to manage their growing population and the perceived threat they place on other...
By AINSLEY KOCH
Activists are calling for a ceasefire after more then 2400 kangaroos and 701 joeys were killed in the Australian Capital Territory’s kangaroo cull this year.
Thousands of kangaroos are killed annually in an attempt to manage their growing population and the perceived threat they place on other native flora and fauna.
Animal Liberation Australia (ALA) activist Carolyn Drew said that there was a misconception about the effect of kangaroos on the Australian ecosystem.
“One of the reasons for the Government culling these kangaroos is to conserve [the] grasslands,” she said.
“But the eastern grey is integral to the grasslands as their wide feet help plant and spread seeds in the ground, so they are definitely not a threat.”
Since the culls first began in 2010, the ACT Government has killed more than 14,000 kangaroos in the Canberra Nature Park, an area encompassing 33 suburban wildlife reserves.
Despite the ACT Government’s reasoning for the culls, various animal rights groups believe mass slaughter of kangaroos will not help solve the problem of overpopulation.
In a bid to legalise their actions and stop the ongoing pressure placed on them from animal activist groups, the ACT Government secured a two-year license to cull in Canberra’s nature reserves.
Under the Nature Conservation Act 2014, it is an offence to enter a reserve that has been declared closed when kangaroo culls are taking place – the fine was originally $100 but has been increased to $1500 this year.
Despite the deterrent, Ms Drew said continued efforts by ALA activists had helped save many kangaroos during this year’s culls – with 100 kangaroos saved in one reserve alone.
Although kangaroo populations appear to be flourishing, Ms Drew said the culls were having a detrimental impact on numbers.
“There is no formal count [of deaths], the count is based on a formula from previous years so it is very misleading, so we don’t know how bad it has been.”
ACT Minister for Territory and Municipal services Shane Rattenbury said the culls were crucial for maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
“The ACT Government’s conservation cull is necessary to maintain kangaroo populations at appropriate levels to minimize their impacts on endangered flora and fauna at critical grassland and woodland sites.”
However, Ms Drew said that due to their short lifespans of five to six years in the wild and their high offspring mortality rates, kangaroos couldn’t biologically overpopulate.
“A female kangaroo will only replace herself once in her entire lifetime," she said.
“Even if a mother has one baby a year, that baby has a 70 per cent chance of dying.”
Australian Wildlife Protection Council (AWPC) president Maryland Wilson said permits for culls by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) were issued at an unregulated rate in Victoria, similar to that in the ACT.
“The very department that issues these permits does not even count how many kangaroos are in Australia and blindly accepts false figures.”
Controversially, the DELWP issues both wildlife protection permits, and animal control permits – those needed to cull wildlife.
Members of the public are not permitted to appeal against these permits, and this has resulted in volunteers and animal rehabilitation centers calling for exclusion zones, so rehabilitated animals can live out their lives in safety.
Activists also argue that these unregulated culls have a detrimental impact on breeding patterns and the future of orphaned joeys, as there is no regulation on how many males or females are killed.
“Killing kangaroos always has a negative effect on kangaroo populations especially when females are killed, leaving orphaned joeys to survive without their dead mothers,” said Ms Wilson.
Ms Drew agreed that culling kangaroos negatively impacts the survival and development of joeys, and may have detrimental impacts on future generations.
“The large males teach their joeys important social skills, so if you kill all of the big males it affects the joey’s ability to interact with others.
“In contrast, the females teach their developing young the pathways to follow through their territory,” she said.
“When you kill these animals you are destroying their years of inherited traditions.”
