Canberra culls another 2000 harmless kangaroos...and their baby's!

In June 2010, the Australian Capital Territory Government is beginning another large kangaroo cull in the Territory at a number of Nature Reserves. The last cull took place last year with 500 kangaroos shot in Nature Parks and Reserves around Canberra.

Eight sites will be closed to the public from this weekend (19/6/10) and will remain off-limits for six weeks.

Director of ACT Parks, Conservation and Lands, Russell Watkinson said one thousand eight hundred and ninety roos will be culled.

On the 18th of June in the late afternoon, the ACT Government in Canberra announced that areas within the Canberra Nature Park will be closed from 6 pm Saturday 19 June 2010 to 6 pm Saturday 31 July 2010 to allow for the controlled culling of over-abundant Eastern Grey Kangaroos. The sites to be closed are Callum Brae Nature Reserve, Crace Nature Reserve, Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve, Jerrabomberra West Nature Reserve, Kama Nature Reserve, Mount Painter Nature Reserve, Mulligan’s Flat Nature Reserve and unleased territory land adjacent to Kama Nature Reserve.

“The cull of up to 1890 kangaroos is needed to maintain kangaroo populations at appropriate levels to protect the integrity of ecosystems, several of which contain endangered flora and fauna,” said Director, Parks, Conservation and Lands, Russell Watkinson. “The numbers to be culled have been based on kangaroo counts in each location. “Ensuring the grasslands and woodlands are not overgrazed will protect threatened species and ecosystems, provide habitat for creatures such as ground-feeding birds, prevent excessive soil loss and maintain sustainable numbers of kangaroos.” Mr Watkinson said the kangaroos will be humanely culled by experienced marksmen. * ACT Media Release

The Federal Greens have said it's not their problem, and the ACT Greens support the killing kangaroos of around Canberra. So does the ACT RSPCA. Although 2000 kangaroos will be killed, many of those female kangaroos are carrying baby kangaroos (joeys) in their pouch. These baby kangaroos are killed by bashing their heads in with a steel pipe or by decapitation. Some have a baby kangaroo at foot, and still another in the pouch. Altogether, counting the loss of the baby kangaroos, over 3000 kangaroos could be killed.

We have no option but to protest the killing. We cant enter the Nature Reserves while thsy are closed because there is a $5000 fine. All the ACT politicians in the discredited and dysfuntional ACT Government support killing the kangaroos. So does the ACT RSPCA. We cant stop the killing, but what we can do is ask all tourists to boycott Canberra and the ACT. There are plenty of places to visit in Australia where they value and respect the kangaroos, and Canberra is a City with very bad vibes, huge traffic problems, and nothing worthwhile to see there anyway.

While the ACT government argue they have done some counting, many local residents and wildlife groups deny the kangaroos are overpopulated, and have condemned the kill.

* The greatest threat to our native Grasslands and Woodlands is not kangaroos - It's human activity!

* The Government continues to close off green corridors with new housing estates and expressways fragmenting the Nature Parks leaving wildlife nowhere to roam. Until the Government recognises this and re establishes corridors, the bloodshed will never end.

* The continual indiscriminate slaughtering of healthy kangaroos is creating an 'ecological depression' which could push the kangaroo over the edge to extinction. (An ecological depression is where a species critical mass is reduced to where the species can no longer survive due to factors such as a compromised gene pool and disease)

* Until a truly 'humane' way of handling baby kangaroos can be found, no further slaughters should be allowed. When a female kangaroo is shot, any 'in pouch' babies are killed by bashing their heads in. Also, as shooters have difficulty locating 'at foot' kangaroos (these are baby kangaroos still dependant on their mothers), whose mothers have been shot, these babies will most likely die a slow painful death from starvation, dehydration or predation.

The hypocrisy of the ACT Government as they keep blaming the kangaroos for all the environmental woes they have themselves created, yet continue to approve projects over the top of grassland/woodlands such as:

73 hectares red/yellow box to be destroyed in West Hume

Canberra Airport runway extension dissecting earless dragon colony

Canberra Airport freight, shopping and office hubs built over and dissecting grasslands

Proposed Cowan Expressway dissecting grasslands

New and extended Australian Federal Police training facility over Majura Grasslands

Dept of Defence Majura Training Area extended due to the increased volume of Defence training and traffic

Symonston Long Stay Caravan Park debarkle where land of high grassland value was sacrificed as compensation to developer

Lawson Housing estate to be built over endangered colonies in the water tower section of the BNTS site

Decontamination earthworks at the Belconnen Naval Training Station (where 500 kangaroos were brutally killed recently) site wiped out tracts of grassland

Irreversible damage done to BNTS Grasslands by vehicles driven continuously across the grasslands to round up and slaughter kangaroos

New mega housing estate at Downer destroying more grassland/woodland habitat that backs onto Nature Park

Where are the 'Friends of Grasslands' and 'Limestone Plains Group of Scientists' that supported the Belconnen kangaroo kill on these issues?

There are many more examples of the ACT government hypocrisy, blaming the kangaroos for their own planning mistakes. Four days after teh cull started, we now find out that the kangaroo numbers that were used to justify this cull were estimated by counting kangaroo poo! How unscientific is that?

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