Kangaroo newsletter, archives, Kangamail 14
Please don’t miss the next edition of Kangamail. It will contain some very important information. It will also have the URL of the new National Kangaroo Protection Website, with lots of info about kangaroos. A very good story about the kangaroo Industry has appeared in the French magazine “Choc”. We hope to have a translation in the next Kangamail. *************** We have heard reports of a kangaroo seen jumping in the air catching and bogong moths and eating them with relish. Macropods will eat at times insects, it is a source of protein. Of course they also pick up insects such as ants when they are grazing on grass. * ***************** The Victorian Government is being urged to approve the commercial harvesting of kangaroos. The National party says numbers have built up rapidly in northern and central Victoria and harvesting is needed as part of an overall management plan. The Member for the northern state seat of Rodney, Noel Maughan, says kangaroos are damaging crops, pastures and fences and they are a hazard on the roads. "There needs to be a reduction in the numbers, I'm calling for the Government to have a really good look at opening up the kangaroo harvesting industry in the same way as is done in other states," he said. "It can be done that way, you can get professional shooters that will come in keeping the numbers down, it would be at no cost to government." ABC 1/4/06 * Ed comment; we know that the Industry has been lobbying Victorian politicians to be allowed to commercially kill kangaroos in Victoria, because it is one of the few places left in Australia that has reasonable viable populations of kangaroos. * ********************* Bessibelle (Victoria) resident Phillipa Hodgens is preparing to buy warning signs for her notorious kangaroo-infested road because of a lack of response from the Moyne Shire Council. Earlier this month the Old Mill Road landowner contacted the council about an overpopulation of kangaroos which were being killed and injured by motorists at an alarming rate. The Land for Wildlife member said she feared a motorist would be the next victim if signs weren't erected along the gravel road. The council, however, has only warned motorists about the sprawling roo population through local media and has not erected more signs. Mrs Hodgens said she was waiting for a quote from the council for the signs, which were previously valued at $360 per pair. ``There has been no publicity apart from in the newspaper. People are being urged to drive to road conditions in heavily wooded areas. A lot of these people aren't local and wouldn't even buy the paper,'' Mrs Hodgens said. Moyne Shire Council director of physical services Glenn Rundell said there had been a number of requests for signs. He said, however, the council would only erect them where there was a significant number of drivers who weren't familiar with the road. ``The main users of Old Mill Road are local traffic. We are not putting signs up on every local access road because they are not highly used,'' he said. The growing numbers of kangaroos has been attributed to a lack of rain and the summer bushfires in the south-west forcing wildlife to search for food and water. Since March at least three kangaroos or wallabies have been killed along the Old Mill Road each week. ``There were two more wallabies killed on the weekend. We can't keep going like this. They will wipe out the entire population,'' Mrs Hodgens said. ``We watched one being basically born, now the dear little thing is lying dead in the middle of the road. ``When council workers are driving around in their V6s and V8s it seems ridiculous. ``Why won't they spend money on signs?'' She said council needed to get the message through to people that it was not wise to travel at 110kmh on roads, particularly at this time of the year. Mr Rundell warned people to also be aware of farm animals which had been reported getting out of paddocks looking for food on roadsides and reserves. ``I take the opportunity to remind farmers to check fences and make sure they are in good condition so we are not having hazards on road sides with farm animals escaping,'' Mr Rundell said. *Standard ********************** Beckham Hangs Up His Boots Four years after signing a multi-million dollar deal with Adidas to wear Predator football boots made of kangaroo skin, the biggest star in the global game has ditched them. David Beckham’s dipping and swerving shots at goal were attributed to the control he could put on the ball with soft kangaroo-skin boots but he decided to switch to boots made from synthetic fabrics. He decided this after being sent a graphic video by animal rights groups, which showed how baby kangaroos were pulled from their mother's pouch and beaten to death during the annual kangaroo "harvest" in Australia. The film showed a mother kangaroo standing stock-still as a four-wheel drive vehicle blinded the marsupial with searchlights. A marksman then shot the mother kangaroo before cutting a baby from the pouch. After the baby kangaroo is beaten to death, its mother is hung from a hook on the truck for skinning. These skins are sent to Adidas factories in the developing world where they are turned into the football boots that are sold to thousands of fans in Britain for $300 a pair. In 1993 former Liverpool midfielder, Craig Johnston, invented the Adidas Predator. It became the best-known football boot in the world. But the original model used synthetic products, not animal skins. It was an all-rubber boot - the first of its kind. The rubber ridges on the top of the boot enabled its wearer to impart greater swerve and curl when he struck the ball. Predators were also the most expensive boots around. When Adidas switched to kangaroo skin three years ago, Mr Johnston, an Australian, cut his ties with the firm. He said they had made the wrong decision. David Beckham will continue to wear Adidas Predators, but only those made of synthetic materials. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) applauded him, stating: "It's wonderful to see a celebrity turn his back on leather and use synthetics." * ******************** Police in a Czech city are asking local residents to keep a lookout for kangaroos on the loose. A male kangaroo and his female companion vanished two weeks ago from the municipal zoo in Plzen, about 100 kilometres west of Prague. Police and zoo officials kept the disappearance quiet until today in hopes the pair would eventually hop home. *NewsRoom 2006 ****************************
Wildlife watching is becoming a multi-billion dollar industry with the potential to fight poverty by pumping income into local communities. But it could adversely affect animal behaviour and damage habitats if not controlled properly, a U.N. report has warned. Stressing the need to regulate the activity on a broader scale, the report calls for the promotion of environmentally, economically and socially sound wildlife watching and recommends zoning schemes, special management areas, fee programmes and visitors schemes. The motto — "Watch, Don't Touch" might sum up the advice emerging from this research, it said. Tourists need to respect basic rules. These include: no physical contact with animals, safety distances and no visits if you are ill, removal of litter and the sensible use of flash photography. This should be accompanied by careful planning on the part of the responsible local or national authorities. On the positive side, the report said communities felt that wild animals were "worth far more alive than dead." Executive Secretary, U.N. Environment Programme's Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals Robert Hepworth said: "Sensitive and well-managed whale, dolphin, gorilla and bird watching can generate real and long-lasting economic returns when compared with the often short-term income from catching them for food, processing and trade." * New York *************************** An Edinburgh restaurant that put snake on the menu to honour Chinese New Year has found an unexpected demand for the meat. Shaws Bistro and International Tapas Bar serves its snake with pancakes on a bed of seaweed and roasted shallots. "We're surprised how positive the reaction has been," owner Tony Marini told The Scotsman. "People even phone up in advance to check we'll have it in. It's been amazing." The restaurant in Old Fishmarket Close near the famed Royal Mile is known for international titbits like kangaroo filet and ostrich steak. Shaws now serves 50 portions of snake a week, Marini said, which is the equivalent of three whole snakes. * *************************** A councillor from King Island in Tasmania has been fined for possessing a number of dead wallabies and possums that had been illegally killed with 1080, even though he did not lay the poison. Neil Raymond Graham, 58, pleaded guilty in the Launceston Magistrates Court this morning to possessing wildlife taken contrary to regulations. The court heard 26 Bennett's wallaby and three brush-tailed possum carcasses were found at a property owned by Graham two years ago. Many had consumed 1080, though there was no permit to lay the poison on the property. Prosecutor Stephen Bender said although Graham did not lay the poison, he was in possession of the dead wildlife. Magistrate Peter Wilson said it was obvious Graham was an upstanding member of the King Island community (surely all the more reason to expect him to set a good example?) but there had been a failure in his duty, as he did not prevent the poison from being laid. Graham was fined $400. *ABC Ed. Comment; two years after the event a “community leader” is fined less than $14 per animal! ********************* Two Sydney men may have finally resolved their long-running legal dispute over a kangaroo hunt in which neither man bagged a prize, but one shot the other in the leg. Alexander Con Fallas and Con Mourlas were spotlighting in rural New South Wales in September 2003 when Mr Fallas's handgun accidentally discharged as he tried to unjam it, shooting his friend in the leg and splintering the bone. Mr Mourlas sued for negligence over the incident and was awarded damages of almost $100,000 by the District Court. Mr Fallas challenged the decision, arguing kangaroo shooting was a "dangerous activity" under the Civil Liability Act and carried an obvious risk that someone might be shot. But in a majority ruling the NSW Court of Appeal today dismissed the appeal, upholding Mr Mourlas's $98,467 payout. Mr Mourlas and Mr Fallas were among four friends who had driven from Sydney to Bathurst to hunt kangaroos, downing "a couple of beers" with dinner before the shooting began about 10.30pm. Mr Mourlas was in the front passenger seat, holding the spotlight for the others, when Mr Fallas declared: "These guys don't know how to shoot." He got out of the vehicle with his handgun but returned soon afterwards when it jammed. Mr Mourlas, who asked him not to bring a loaded gun into the vehicle, was shot when Mr Fallas tried to clear the weapon.
Two of the appeal judges found that shooting kangaroos – when undertaken by inexperienced city dwellers who had earlier driven for several hours and consumed alcohol – was indeed a dangerous activity. Justice Murray Tobias described the situation as "a recipe for disaster". He said there would have been significant risk of physical harm, given "the inexperience of the participants and the excitement and possible bravado involved in the shooting". Justice David Ipp agreed, saying the men "were not country people for whom shooting kangaroos by spotlight might have been a familiar pastime". "There would have been a measure of excitement from the shooting itself," he said. "Their alertness and ability to concentrate could not have been at an optimum level." Justice Tobias ruled that the District Court judgment should be overturned in Mr Fallas's favour. But Justice Ipp and Justice John Basten disagreed, finding there was no obvious risk that Mr Mourlas would be shot. "The eventual shooting was gross negligence on the part of Mr Fallas," Justice Ipp said. He said Mr Fallas had given his friend groundless reassurances that the gun was not loaded and failed to ensure it would not go off accidentally – "all in the face of Mr Mourlas's earnest requests to be careful". Neither Mr Mourlas nor Mr Fallas were in court for today's judgment. *SMH March 16, 2006 ************************** A kangaroo led police in southern Austria on a snow chase Thursday after it jumped the fence of its cage and decided to explore its wintry surroundings. The marsupial - discovered on a country road about five kilometres outside the town of St. Veit in the province of Carinthia - kept hopping away from perplexed police trying to rein it in, local police officer Joerg Fortin said. In the end, a local veterinarian helped capture the animal using a stun gun. The kangaroo - which belongs to a breeder in Tirol - was in southern Austria for treatment by Georg Rainer, another local veterinarian. In a phone interview, Rainer said he was also temporarily looking after a second kangaroo for two to three weeks. He was not immediately able to provide details about the breeder. The year-old kangaroo was being treated for light injuries, he added. Tourists who visit the alpine country can buy T-shirts with the slogan There Are No Kangaroos in Austria because this European country is sometimes confused with Australia, where the marsupials are native. Some tourists in Austria have been known to ask where kangaroos can be found. *AP *********************** Twice, I have visited Australia. Yet, the only kangaroos I've seen in the wild are those on road signs. The closest I came to the real thing was some poo, near a row of delicious shiraz grapes in the McLaren Vale area of South Australia. If I just hung around for a day or two, I was assured, I would see a kangaroo. That would be nice, but there's much more to the place than the hopping creatures.There is, for instance, the Chapel Hill Winery Gourmet Retreat, a lodge overlooking rolling vineyards, where you can stay in luxurious rooms, drink great wine and attend cooking classes. In its fully-equiped teaching kitchen with gallery seats, chef Peter Hogg demonstrates his skills. The rates range from A$90 ($108) per guest for a three-hour demonstration cooking class to A$940 for a gourmet weekend. The winery takes its name from a 19th-century ironstone church, which has been restored and now serves as a wine-tasting room. It offers beautiful views, with the Gulf of Saint Vincent shimmering in the distance, and if you want to do nothing but soak it all in, there's also a chalet-style bed and breakfast, which can house up to six. The area is part of the Fleurieu Peninsula south of Adelaide which, in addition to offering fine food and wine, is great for beach holidays, farm experiences and animal watching - though you may not see any kangaroos. Not even on Kangaroo Island, which can be reached by a 45-minute ferry ride from Cape Jervis or a 20-minute flight from Adelaide. It isn't that there aren't any kangaroos. According to my guide Graeme, from Kangaroo Island Wilderness Tours, there could be some 200 of them for every person on the island. He said he had seen some 40 kangaroos that morning. (They are not kangaroos, they are wallabies.) We saw koalas, and at Seal Bay, lashed by icy winds, with nothing but the open ocean all the way to Antarctica, one can get close to sea-lions. The island also offers a daily pelican-feeding session. It's a little like a show at the BirdPark, except that these are wild birds. There are other creatures to be seen on a much smaller island off the peninsula. Granite Island, linked by a causeway and a quaint horse-drawn tram to the town of Victor Harbour, is the place to see penguins and, in season, spot whales. It was there, at the Reef bistro, listening to huge waves crashing on the craggy shore, that I had my first kangaroo steak. And I can tell you, it put a spring in my step. Perhaps I should go back to Chapel Hill someday and learn how to cook it. *Singapore Press Ed Comment; Perhaps she should also see her Doctor. ************************ WPAA Media Release, Pademelons A controversial Tasmanian wildlife Management Plan will be challenged in the Brisbane Administrative Appeals Tribunal in June. The Plan to kill Flinders and King Island wallabies and pademelons for their skins to be exported to Italy to make fur coats, has angered wildlife groups around the country. At a tele-conference yesterday, the Brisbane AAT recommended hearings begin in late May or June. The Tasmanian and the Federal Government have already spent many thousands of dollars of taxpayers money arguing over the controversial King and Flinders Islands wallaby and pademelon commercial kill. Now they are expected to spend another one hundred thousand or so to fight the Appeal. For those who wonder why more funds have not been allocated to fighting the Tasmanian Devil disease, now they now why! The funds have been used to promote and encourage a kill of pademelons and wallabies on King and Flinders Islands to make Italian fur coats. Pat O’Brien, coordinator of the NKPC and President of the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia said the T-documents concerning the approval process, consist of well over two thousand pages, 14 cm high, of waffle. Copies have been sent to the WPAA, the Tasmanian Government, Australian Government Solicitors, joiners to the Appeal, and the AAT, at a cost the taxpayer can only guess at. As well, the Federal government will spend around $100,000 in legal fees defending the decision. On behalf of the National Kangaroo Protection Coalition, an alliance of 30 Australian wildlife groups, the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc has appealed the Federal Minister’s decision to approve the controversial Management Plans. Brisbane Hearings will begin in May or early June. The WPAA are appealing on four fronts; that the Plan breaches the EPBC Act by not dealing adequately with humane issues, especially in regard to killing of joeys; the Plan allows the use of .22 rifles in breach of the National Code of Practice; and the Plan is based on flawed counting methodology. Mr O’Brien said the Plan is illegal anyway, because it doesn’t specifically provide for the killing of joeys. In other words the Plan allows shooters to kill adult pademelons and wallabies for sale for export, but the joeys are not killed for sale, they are merely a byproduct that are illegally killed. The Federal Government has approved new conditions of allowing .22 rifles (a breach of the National Code of Practice) to be used in Tasmania. The NKPC believes this is an attempt to try to change the National Code of Practice, so that low powered .22 rifles will soon be allowed to be used on the mainland, to kill wallabies and large in-pouch and ex-pouch joeys, because the .22 bullets are cheaper than centrefire. The Federal Government has also admitted that the killing of Tasmanian wallabies and pademelons to make Italian fur coats has already impacted negatively on the Tasmanian tourism Industry, with many cancellations of tourism bookings. Mr O’Brien said if the export wallaby and pademelon kill is approved, many of the 30-strong NKPC groups would lobby overseas for a boycott of Tasmanian produce and visitation. Tasmania needs to step forward into the 21st Century when it comes to managing wildlife, and manage for tourism benefits, rather than a slaughter to prop up a few subsistence farmers. *WPAA
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