Kangaroo newsletter, Kangamail archives 18!

A kangaroo is roaming the green hills of Ireland after escaping a circus near the picturesque port of Kinsale. "This kangaroo broke loose just before the show while they were bringing him from the cages to the arena. He decided to take a walk," said local farmer John Walsh on whose land the two-year-old male, named Sydney, made his break for freedom. Circus staff launched a fruitless four-hour search following the escape. There had since been one unconfirmed sighting of the animal, renamed "Hoppy" by locals and described as 76-91cm tall and dark in colour. "He would be happy out there and he'll have plenty of grass, plenty of water and plenty of sunshine," Mr Walsh said. *He wont have any mates though!

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Letter to the Echo, Dear Editor

I'd like to make a plea to readers of the Echo not to feed kangaroo meat to their cats and dogs. Kangaroos are in crisis in three states. In some areas the populations are down by 90% and yet still the Federal Government approves commercial killing quotas on the remaining populations.

The average age of Red kangaroos in NSW is down to two. It should be twelve. The kangaroos being shot for meat are increasingly pregnant females and youngsters. There are reports that up to 80% of kangaroos being shot in western Queensland are females. The number of females shot in NSW is also soaring. For every pregnant female shot there are two others deaths.

The joey in the pouch is either bashed or trodden to death and the joey at foot dies of starvation or predation by foxes or dogs. Shooters often leave the older joeys at foot believing they will be around next year to shoot. Research has now shown that 100% of the older joeys die as well as their brother or sister in the pouch. How can any animal lover condone such appalling cruelty? How can anyone contribute to this by buying kangaroo meat? Kangaroos are going the way of koalas and whales.

Koalas were shot in their millions in the 1920s and have never recovered. Most of the humpback whales passing our shores were slaughtered just forty years ago and still have not recovered. Please, do not buy kangaroo meat. Would you buy whale or koala meat? Of course not. Yours sincerely, Richard

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Farmers are challenging the view of a wildlife group that kangaroo numbers have been greatly reduced. Wildlife Victoria says the population in the Grampians has been cut because of January's fires. It says plantations and the drought are also forcing the animals onto farmland.

A central Victorian farmer, David Morris, says the problem has been building for years and farmers' crops and fences are being increasingly damaged. "If they start to eat themselves out of house and home, you're going to see kangaroos coming right into towns to eat gardens, and actually towns around here, Talbot and Avoca, kangaroos going up and down the main street which a tourist going through think it's great, but they are a menace," he said. *

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A new study in Western Australia has found the urine of a wild Australian dog may play an important role in the rehabilitation of mine sites. The Curtin University study has revealed the urine of dingos can effectively repel wild kangaroos from some areas of new-growth vegetation. Dr Michael Parsons says once an appropriate delivery mechanism is refined, the repellent can be used in newly restored areas of mine sites to ensure plant life can be re-established without being grazed by kangaroos.

Dr Parsons says a chemical in the urine scares the kangaroos. "After trying a series of essential oils and scary sounds, optical illusions, we actually presented dingo urine to a group of 10 kangaroos and the response pretty well startled us because the owner of Roo Gully has hand-reared many of these joeys and she hasn't had a response like this in 10 years, so we thought 'well maybe we've serendipitously arrived at some conclusion'," he said. *

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Paleontologists working in Australia say they have found the fossilized remains of a fanged killer kangaroo and what they have dubbed a "demon duck of doom." University of New South Wales researchers say the fossils were among 20 previously unknown species uncovered in northwest Queensland state during a recent two-week dig. The remains of a meat-eating kangaroo with wolf-like fangs were found, as well as a galloping kangaroo with long forearms that could not hop like a modern kangaroo, researcher Michael Archer told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Wednesday. "They were galloping kangaroos, they didn't hop," Archer said. "They were also far more muscly than the kangaroos we know, with sharp saber-like incisors and powerful forelimbs to help rip and tear their prey."

Modern kangaroos look almost nothing like these ferocious forebears, which lived 10 million to 20 million years ago, researchers say. Many of the fossils are older than 24 million years; one of the deposits is thought to contain fossils up to 500 million years old, according to Archer, the university's dean of science. The team also found evidence of prehistoric lungfish and carnivorous, giant 10-foot-tall, 881-pound duck-like bird. The remains of ancient tree-climbing crocodiles and marsupial lions were also uncovered in the rocks.

Archer said many of the animals were similar or related to others elsewhere in the world, but had evolved uniquely in Australia. Hundreds have no living representative. "They are that bizarre. There are literally, probably in the order of about 500 extinct creatures in these rocks," he said.Archer said a detailed study of the fossils was expected to provide answers about the evolution of climate and creatures in the past, as well as about the directions they might follow over thousands of years to come. "The biggest excitement is what's going to happen over the next year in the labs as the rocks dissolve and the treasure inside emerges," he said. US News We found 26 online news stories about this, must have intrigued the media. *

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The US Department of Homeland Security database identifies nationwide facilities that it considers ripe for terrorist attack, and has just released it's finding. The Department's database of terrorist-vulnerable critical infrastructure and key resources included an insect zoo, a bourbon festival, a bean fest, a flea market, and a Kangaroo Conservation Center. They represent examples of key assets identified in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Maryland. The inspector general of the department found that its National Asset Database includes "unusual or out-of-place" sites whose "criticality is not readily apparent" and whose presence tainted the credibility of the list.

Just about everybody in this small town was befuddled by the news of the Kangaroo Conservation Center's inclusion on the list. The KCC has 250 kangaroos, and breeds them for sale to Zoos. "If it's because they think it's a place that draws crowds," said the Dawson County Sheriff "A Wal-Mart is a lot more dangerous than a kangaroo farm." Says one local merchant about the inclusion of a small fleamarket, "To me, I can't believe anybody over there would want to pick out and attack the Sweetwater, Tennessee fleamarket! I got lost trying to find it the first time I came here, okay? I don't think anybody is going to be able to find it to blow us up." Sad thing about this is that when the kangaroos have been shot out in Australia we'll be able to go to the US to see them. *

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A new project is under way in outback Queensland aimed at promoting sustainable wildlife enterprises and encouraging graziers to look after kangaroos. The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation has helped to set up a group of landholders in the Maranoa to assist in kangaroo management. The corporation's George Wilson says wildlife is often undervalued, but it could be a significant resource for graziers in years to come. "Everybody knows that kangaroo leather is amongst the finest in the world and is probably running around the fields of Germany as we speak - makes the best quality football boots - the meat is extremely lean and very flavourful ... there's no reason that the product itself can't hold its own in international markets," he said. *

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The Humane Society of the United States Asks Calif. Supreme Court to Reinstate Ban on Sale of Kangaroo Skin in Athletic Shoes

Viva! USA v. Adidas Case Has Far-Reaching Impacts For Wildlife Conservation

WASHINGTON (June 29, 2006) - The Humane Society of the United States filed an amicus brief today in the California Supreme Court in support of a lawsuit challenging several athletic retailers' sale of kangaroo skin shoes in direct violation of state law. The case was filed in 2003 by Viva! International Voice for Animals, an animal protection organization, and a Los Angeles resident.

In 1970, the California Legislature passed a statute prohibiting the importation and sale of certain designated wildlife parts and products, including kangaroo. The purpose of this statute was to protect animals from becoming endangered or threatened, to assist law enforcement by prohibiting trade in species identical in appearance to a protected species, and to protect species from cruel and unnecessary killing.

Nevertheless, Adidas and other retailers continue to sell shoes made of kangaroo skin in California based on the contention that the state statute is preempted by the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) - even though kangaroos have been de-listed and are no longer subject to federal regulatory control. Last year, the court of appeal sided with Adidas, finding that, although the federal government is no longer regulating kangaroos at all, the state law is preempted by "general" federal objectives of encouraging Australia to maintain effective kangaroo management. With the support of both the California Attorney General's Office and The HSUS,

Plaintiffs sought and obtained review in the California Supreme Court on March 1, 2006. The HSUS has asked the California Supreme Court to reverse the court of appeal's decision, because the decision conflicts with decades of well-established caselaw concerning the relationship between federal and state wildlife management. And because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delisted the Australian red, eastern gray, and western gray kangaroo from the ESA and rescinded the special rule permitting their importation into the United States in 1995, there is no such current, explicit federal oversight of the kangaroo that would otherwise prohibit California from protecting these kangaroo species.

"The court of appeal's decision not only allows these defendants to flout California law, but also strips the State of all authority over species that are no longer receiving federal protection," said Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for The HSUS. "The decision is patently flawed, and will frustrate both state and federal conservation efforts."

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Many rural residents are having trouble with shooters near, and even on their properties. We now have a web page on the Kangaroo Protection Coalition website with some advice as to how to deal with these ratbags. http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroo-shooters.html

Some kangaroos and a wallaby have been seen on the outskirts of Brisbane with arrows in them. Attempts to catch them have proved fruitless. Eventually they will die a painful death. Bows and arrows can be seen for sale in any secondhand shop in the country. They are not illegal and a Police Permit is not required, although in some States a Permit is needed for a cross-bow. * WPAA

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Dear Editor: Until Australia faces up to the 30,000,000 million persecuted kangaroos killed as a resource in the past decade, leaving 3, 000,000 abandoned joeys to die of panic, fear, starvation or predation (300,000 each year), Japan will continue to use this against us. We must get our own house in order before throwing stones. Kangaroo killing is inherently and overtly cruel by all standards that can be applied, is without international scrutiny, and is not policed or monitored as Ian Campbell claims. Isn't it time we had a good look at ourselves if we are to claim the high road to stop whaling? Another kangaroo/ whale letter published in The Age Jun 20th 2006

Japan's whale greed THE International Whaling Commission election shows the greed of Japan and the surrendering of the IWC 's original purpose. Allowing Japan to openly bribe developing countries - including countries dominated by desert and land - shows this vote as being corrupted. The Japanese want to dominate the oceans, even though they had stockpiles of uneaten whale meat earlier this year. Whales are a magnificent icon of conservation, survival and of healthy oceans. They should be preserved at all costs. Humans have done enough damage to land habitat and biodiversity without starting war on the whales. Until we use trade embargoes on the Japanese - and stop our commercial kangaroo slaughter - they will not regard our opinions. *Vivienne

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Speciesism prevails over whales and kangaroos, Letter to the Editor

The annual hand-wringing and wailing over whaling has been on again, with as usual the most appallingly ignorant speciesism shown by all players, including the Australians. Our Environment Minister Senator Ian Campbell, whose Government encourages the World's mostwidespread slaughter of land-based wildlife, the annual lies-based 'harvesting'/'cull'/genocide of Aussie kangaroos - has been protesting loudly about the cruelty of killing whales, which are for some inexplicable reasons more 'cuddly' and important to tourism than our own National Animal and Aussie Icon, the kangaroo, or have 'rights' to a life free from lethal harassment that our kangies somehow lack.

The scientifically and ecologically illiterate human majority still cling to the silly notion that we human animals are a special creation. Many feign ignorance so they can continue to bully and exploit our fellow animals for financial gain. Only the ever-grasping human hand puts us in front. If we had paws or hooves and could not make ropes and fences, intelligent horses for example would laugh at us and refuse to be enslaved for our dopey whims. Kangaroos are murdered for soccer boot leather, dog-food, cat-food, mince sausages to feed protein-poor Russians, more meat for food-obsessed humans, for amusement by self-bored fools with guns and hunting bows, and for 'Country jobs'. Some fuss over threats to mere fertilised human eggs. Of in-pouch joeys bashed to death and at-heel joeys left to die, they don't want to know. Our own backyard is blood-red, but who cares? I'm all right Jack, is the Aussie mantra. *Les

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Letter to Courier Mail

In the name of scientific research -- and its byproduct, whale burgers -- how many whales must a nation pluck from the oceans to achieve a scientific result? Yes, let the world watch as Japan brings them back to extinction. Then we can observe how many whales were needed for Japan's scientific research. It's absurd for the country's officials to try to justify, on world television, the whale carnage by comparing it with eating meat pies or kangaroos. We are not taking cattle from the narrow corridors of a delicately balanced wildlife habitat. And kangaroos are not killed on anything like a comparative scale to the Japanese whale slaughter. It's easy to pass the buck but, please, we are not that stupid. An enlightened 21st century means leaving some ancient customs in the past where they belong. -- R.

Ed. Comment; Comments made by various commentators that the whaling is nothing like the kangaroo kill, has no basis in fact. The kangaroo Industry is just as bad as the Japanese whaling, if not worse. We kill between 3 to 6.9 million kangaroos every year, and the cruelty to thousands of joeys each year is horrific. In-pouch joeys have their heads cut off, or are bashed on the head with an iron pipe, as recommended by a non-enforceable Code of Practice that no other country would tolerate. Dependent ex-pouch joeys flee into the night to die of exposure perhaps days later. It's just that the Government and the Industry are good at hiding what really happens out bush in the middle of the night, with noone watching.

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The following article in the Herald Sun has raised calls for wide, connecting corridors for wildlife to be made mandatory in any new development. Problems similar to the one below at Somerton are occuring regularly in every State. Comments and letters are below the article.

On a map it's not much more than a hop, skip and jump to safety. But urban sprawl has overtaken a mob of kangaroos, marooning them between a rapidly growing industrial estate and Hume Highway bustle. Once free to bound in a grassy area far from suburbia, the eastern greys have been boxed into an almost waterless, grassless wasteland about 400m by 200m.

Somerton factory workers alarmed by the animals' plight are angry their calls have so far gone unheeded. OneSteel occupational health and safety officer Rod Stoner fears a motorist will be killed while swerving to avoid a large buck as it bounds across brand new streets, once paddocks. "Apart from that, do we have to wait for every one of the roos we like to watch in our lunch hour to be slowly and cruelly taken out by a truck?" Mr Stoner said.

"The Department of Environment and Sustainability asked if we wanted a permit to cull them," Mr Stoner said. "The RSPCA, Fisheries and Wildlife and City of Hume all said there was nothing they could do. I even tried the RACV in the hope they would treat the roos as a road issue . . . and therefore deserving of immediate attention." Construction of Roxburgh Park and rapid business development in the vicinity now threaten the roos' existence. "We aren't willing to sit down and watch as these refugee roos are taken out cruelly, one by one, by trucks speeding in and out," Mr Stoner said.

"Wouldn't a more thoughtful and satisfactory solution (than proposals to cull the mob) be to step up efforts to relocate roos caught in suburbia?" Mr Stoner accused various government departments of "hand-balling Somerton's roos more than happened in the 1970 Grand Final".

"The problem's not going to go away and it is cruel and inhumane to stand back and let them become road kill," the safety officer said. "There are joeys, and mums with joeys in their pouches, and to just sit back and turn a blind eye isn't environmentally responsible." A spokesman for Environment Minister John Thwaites said the question of relocation would be decided this week. Thinning out part of the population might also be given consideration. *Herald Sun

Comments and letters.

Dear Editor, Kelly Ryans' account of the tragic reality of kangaroos and their joeys, trapped in Somerton's suburban sprawl with the heartbreaking plea from the wonderful Rod Stoner One Steel occupational health and safety officer reveals the lack of empathy by politicans, bureaucracies and satraps. We need an urgent solution to a problem that gets worse as each day passes and DSE's statewide solution to get permits to 'kill the bastards' is unacceptable.

We seek, no we demand, the urgent establishment of continuous, connecting wildlife corridors throughout Victoria so kangaroos can travel and live unharried and safe in their natural habitat, rightfully theirs. Start from national parks, linked to reserves, linked to sanctuaries, linked to the many private landholders and farmers who share their land with kangaroos, linked to other safety zones all linked and connecting and continuous. When Victoria gets it right then they can tell the rest of Australia how it should be done. Sincere thanks to you, Kelly Ryan and Rod Stoner. Yours sincerely, Maryland *

Subject: Kangaroos in Somerton area

Dear K, Thank you for your e-mail to John Brumby, the Member for Broadmeadows, regarding your concerns about kangaroos in the Somerton area. I have been asked to respond to your e-mail. Thank you for raising these issues with us. We appreciate your concerns. We'd be most thankful if you would advise us what electorate you reside in, as we couldn't find you listed in Broadmeadows.. In which ELECTORATE DO you live? And as James is not sure, he wisely proceeds to comment.

I have spoken with Narelle Smith, an officer with Wildlife Victoria, about the kangaroos. She basically checks on them every day and I was very impressed with her dedication to their well-being. No doubt she is dedicated and tries to help, but she will not provide a SOLUTION NOR will she challenge DSE who gives her her license to be a wildlife Carer so she is subservient to DSE, and can only check on the welfare of the trapped kangaroos and joeys ~ a useful cop out for the government., having her there to check on the welfare of the kangaroos

I have had several discussions over the last 24 hours with staff in the Office of the Deputy Premier and Minister for the Environment, John Thwaites, about the situation with kangaroos in Somerton. His ministerial office has issued me with the following advice. DSE officers have assessed the site for food and water sources, and noted the condition of the kangaroos. They have also examined aerial photos to ascertain if there are corridors for the kangaroos to move away from the site

Once again there is no understanding of what is neccesary for the kangaroos, NO VISION. This the reality of what faces kangaroos thanks to their mad development mentality that has NOT made provisons for wildlife when they make their decisions; of course the kangaroos have no where to go. THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE highlighted for them and this problem statewide must be addressed.

What did they see?

The officers observed that the kangaroos appeared healthy. · There are sources of food and water at present. · There is heavy traffic in the area, presenting risks for the kangaroos and motorists. One does not need to be EINSTEIN to figure that out, Of course this is the problem and why Australia has such a huge ROAD KILL, which is decimating our wildlife.

Australia lags far behind Europe and the USA is provding safe habitat and wildlife corridors. Australia does not even UNDERSTAND that there IS a problem which needs fixing. The kangaroos have one significant escape route along the railway line to the north and other access via roadside reserves and other vacant land. Well if this is so then why don't they get busy and provide safe access for the kangaroos.... Rod Stoner Occupational Health and Safety Officer at ONEsteel told me that the railway passage is especially dangerous because of freight trains but if DSE can come up with a way to safely open up that area along the railway line to roadside verges and other vacant land then they should do so in a way that provides safe passage for the kangaroos trapped at Somerton Rd.

What are the variety of strategies to be considered and when will the most practical solution be likely to emerge?

For now, the best option is to give the kangaroos some space and ask the public to take care when travelling in the area. Yes this is wise., but time is slipping away and the development continues with cement rucks heavy equipment and noise and traffic and people with DOGS who are waiting to set them onto the kangaroos.Time is of the essence here.

DSE will continue to monitor the movements of the kangaroos and their physical condition. This issue might take some time to resolve. We do not have the time. There is a scientist at Melbourne University I am told by Dr David Croft UNSW who is a Botanist and wildlife corridors ...I will try to contact him or perhaps someone else can do so, so he can provide some help here. The officers have asked VicRoads to organise warning signs along the road, as a high priority.

Thanks to DSE and Ministers Thwaites, Batchelor and Brumby for this; it is good to see that they are taking the plight of kangaroos seriously at last and into consideration for once ... But this is only one arm of any solution. This should be happening right across Victoria.

Victoria should be taking the lead in Wildlilfe Protection to show the rest of Australia how it should be done. Under no circumstances should people approach or try to feed the kangaroos. This is a good call as Kangaroos as highly stress prone and can suffer from Capture Myopathy if stressed, which no doubt they are.

These deserving of our protection, beautiful kangaroos and their joeys are living in squalor and chaos. The situation repeated at the corner of Plenty and Mc Donald's Roads - Mill Park are caught up in the misery of trying to exist in a Major Commrcial Development.

These kangaroos also need immediate help! I appeal to all Ministers in Premier Bracks Government to take action to establish connecting, continuous wildlife corridors a priority. Motorbikes and unleashed dogs are a serious threat. Both have the potential to stress and scare the animals, and force them into the path of traffic. To report behaviour that is disturbing the kangaroos, contact the DSE Customer Service Centre on 136 186. All calls will be investigated and treated in confidence. Has anyone ever tried getting through on a Customer number to be put on hold and taking forever when there is an emergency? It is not only frsutrating but NOT good enough. Such a directive by DSE for this emergency is an insult to all those who care about the plight of kangaroos.

We need a special hotline to allow all those who have similar problems of kangaroos trapped in suburban sprawl to report them to DSE and for DSE to act and not ignore ; this is the only way we are going to solve the existing catastrophe facing kanagroos in Victoria. The cavalier attitude by many DSE officers is the problem as well as a government which has for too long ignored our pleas to help kangaroos and their joeys...

DSE will not be capturing the animals or trying to herd them away from the site. Obviously, relocating involves capturing them. This is very challenging when they have several escape routes, resist herding and are likely to panic, often attempting to climb or jump hazardous fencing. Yes, the Government that allowed the terrible unnecessary tragedy of Hattah Kulkne will know that this was an unmitigated disaster for the kangaroos who were scapegoats and unfairly blamed.

A Lecture from Dr Karen Higginbottom on Translocation of Kangaroos at Melbourne University July 3-7th 2006 Australian Mammal Society Conference, revealed just how difficult moving/ relocating kangaroos is. THS IS WHY we MUST establish wildlife corridors and before the Victorian State Election in November; we consider this an Election issue

They have also examined aerial photos to ascertain if there are corridors for the kangaroos to move away from the site - DSE has demonstrated that they can do aerial surveys over the Somerton Rd area where kangaroos are trapped and they must do the same for the Mill Park kangaroos trapped at the development at Plenty and Mc Donald Rd as well as the whole state. This is what is required if we are to protect kangaroos and not surrender them to a cruel terrible fate.

As well as causing suffering for the animals, the task of capturing kangaroos is extremely dangerous for wildlife staff, say DSE. DSE must now explain this statement to the people of Victoria. Is this why we have the terrible situation we have in Victoria, because DSE officers are scared of kangaroos so they fail to rescue them or help them? This is an EXTRAORDINARY COMMENT from DSE which is supposed to protect kangaroos?

JUST WHO ARE THESE WILDLIFE STAFF that are so frightened of kangaroos??? What a weak and lame escuse for not doing their job by DSE staff! We are absolutely astonished and amazed, Does this mean that they will do nothing to help kangaroos? If this was not intended then what DO DSE Staff do?

Darting kangaroos successfully and humanely is extremely difficult and more likely to cause great stress, panic and road accidents. We would be looking at a low success rate at best - simply at capturing stage. Yes this is true.... Scientific. evidence confirms this fact, although there WAS some success in Dr Higginbottoms study, the overriding conclusion was that relocation is difficult for kangaroos.

We are left with the ONLY OPTION WE HAVE TO PROTECT kangaroos, that is to establish continuous connecting wildlife corridors throughout the length and breadth of Victoria. This must be done as swiftly and expeditiously as possible with help from all quarters. Then you have losses at every stage of transporting them and releasing them. Relocating to other areas simply transfers the problem. It creates breeding and genetics issues, disrupting established mobs and habitat.

DSE is saying that relocating to other areas transfers the PROBLEM. The PROBLEM is that kangaroos are trapped in suburban sprawl because successive governments failed to provide for wildlife habitat when they authorised wholesale agricultural pursuits for EXPORTS from Australia, the driest MOST fragile continent on earth with the most unique wildlife as well as out of control development with no thought for kangaroos or any other species. This scenario is repeated all throughout Victoria and the tregedy of kangaroo mothers and their babies trapped in suburban sprawl is the result. We need to find an immediate solution.

We say that the SOLUTION is to establish connecting and continuous wildlife Corridors. Like many other animals, kangaroos breed to the level their habitat will support. If we move them, there would be serious impacts on other kangaroo populations and other animals. Yet another argument for the establishment of connecting continuous wildlife corridors.

DSE gives permits to anyone who asks whether they need to shoot kangaroos or not . DSE is too short staffed to check properties so disgracefully it is a given in Victoria based on tradition. Well this tradition needs to change and establishing connecting continuous corridors is essential to stop the rot and protect kangaroos from all the threats they face such as being trapped in suburban sprawl,

Herding kangaroos is a futile and dangerous exercise. They panic when confronted and will charge straight through people or other obstacles in a desperate attempt to escape. YES this is a fact and yet another reason for establishing connecting continuous wildlife corridors throughout Victoria. To the people who took the time to write this we thank sincerely and aside from a few hiccups this is the basis for the reasons we know that establishing corridors is a must..

We are in the process of planning a Public Meeting, most likely on a Sunday and would be pleased if Ministers could attend. This is an ELECTION WINNER for them.

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Another concerned reader just wanted to share a story similar to the plight of the Somerton Park roos stuck in suburbia/industry. In Wanneroo Shire 20 roos were drugged and moved successfully into a national park. If it can be done, without culling, in Western Australia, it can be done anywhere. All is needed is the will. Don't let the lazy 'powers to be' cull any on the roo to move them as it is not necessary. I hope those workers fight for the roos. Kind Regards

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Don't sail south to plunder

Crows Nest, Queensland, Australia I don't think Japanese people properly understand Australians' opposition to whaling. It is not like culling kangaroos, which we do not eat. Kangaroos are culled because our country is mostly desert and huge numbers of them can mean slow starvation. I don't approve of this either.

New Zealand, South Africa and especially Australia regard the Great Southern Ocean as our territorial waters. If people are in trouble at sea, it is our responsibility to save them. We value whales as wonderful creatures of the deep and have tried our best to restore their numbers following the whaling of earlier, more ignorant, times. We look forward to their annual migrations to breed when they come up our eastern seaboard to Queensland. We try to identify as many as we can. We risk our lives saving them when they are in trouble.

An accurate comparison would be if Australians applied to Britain or America for permission to cut down Japan's valued cherry trees, claiming the need for scientific research, when Japanese knew that what we really wanted to do was make furniture and didn't have this type of timber in our country. If Japanese wish to hunt whales, it is their right to do so in their part of the world. It is not their right, however, to come to the other end of the world to our waters and hunt animals we love, or to obtain permission for this hunt from countries in the Caribbean and Pacific, which are nowhere near the waters the Japanese plunder. I am just another citizen, no one with a voice to be heard, just trying to help the Japanese see why we so strongly oppose the killing of animals we love and support. The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times. *

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Sanctuary aids study Thursday, 6 July 2006

Kangaroos from Boyup Brook's Roo Gully Wildlife Sanctuary have teamed up with researchers from Curtin University of Technology's department of environmental biology. They were involved in major research which could one day not only save the lives of young plants on mine sites but also protect a farmer's crop or keep motorists safer on the roads. The study was originally set up to find a way of protecting vulnerable young plants which had been used to rehabilitate mine sites. However, while the research has found a way to keep kangaroos from eating areas of vegetation, it has also provided other interesting possible uses.

The researchers have found evidence the urine of dingoes can effectively repel wild kangaroos from some areas of new-growth vegetation. Project leader Michael Parsons said once an appropriate delivery mechanism was refined, the repellent could be used in newly restored areas of mine sites to help ensure plant life can be effectively reestablished without being grazed by kangaroos. Roo Gully manager Carol Lander said the study originally started out with the idea of spraying the young plants with a repellent.

The first trials involved artificial feed pellets laced with either sweet, salty, sour or bitter substances to find a taste the kangaroos did not like. The next stage involved leaving a bottle containing various substances near a row of feed troughs to study how close the kangaroos would came to it in order to feed. Among the substances tested were water and the urine of humans, coyotes and dings. Dr Parsons said, although other studies had attempted to manipulate herbivore behaviour by using predator communication signals, this study focused on native animals and had some enormously useful applications.

The study identified the deterrent effect on kangaroos was far greater when it came from a native predator. "The differences between the two sources were obvious even before data had been collected," Dr Parsons said. "When we presented tame kangaroos with coyote urine, they became interested in the new smell, but when presented with the dingo urine they were startled and fled." Ms Lander said she believed kangaroos must have an instinctive response to fear dingoes since she was fairly sure most of her kangaroos had never seen a dingo.

"We put it out and the reaction was just instant, as soon as they got anywhere near it they just backed straight off it," she said. As well as Roo Gully Wildlife Sanctuary, several large mining companies, other wildlife parks, the state chemistry centre and a specialist feed manufacturer were also involved in the study. The dingo urine has been made into a gel and, after research to make the gel last longer as well as develop an effective holder, it will be made available. *Advertiser

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For those of you who missed it, here is a summary of the program Landline which aired earlier on TV this week. This may not be what we wish to hear - but this Australian community is setting about to sustain its future. Oddly enough - as I watched this documentary - I remembered being a young girl in Canada - and in the autumn months seeing all the elk and deer carcasses in the neighboring garbage containers. At that time hunting was very much a part of having a meat supply on hand for the long winter months. In later years - when hunting became more of a sport and less of a food resource - the trophy hunters and mismanagement of land and hunting took its toll. Regards - P.

Landline. The documentary presented John Burey - the managing director of the Murweh Shire who discussed how Charleville is trying to adapt to the drought situation in Australian rural areas. The community focus on harvesting sheep and goats is proving successful - and the development of the United Game Processors Plant in Charleville is developing the local kangaroo regional industry. They choose to harvest kangaroos because Charleville has a large number of kangaroos in that area. Their product is sold for human consumption and shipments include Russia, Europe, USA and other countries worldwide. This processing plant in its first year is presently running at 50% capacity.

They process 1000 kangaroos/day and have 40 employees. Vietnamese workers are employed on two year work contracts in order to meet the demand for abattoir staffing. According to Landline - this processing plant has the approval of conservation groups including Wildlife Preservation as per representative - Mr Des Boyland. The kangaroo population was estimated to be 3.8 million - the processing utilizes 15% of the total population. RSPCA according to Code of Practice did a kangaroo audit in 1992. The Charleville area has local kangaroo shooters - hired for humane kills -and now referred to as wild game harvesters. They are paid best shooter wages - up to $1000/night. The average kill is 50 kangaroos per night per harvester. They shoot the largest kangaroos - to achieve 85cents/kilo with a dressed carcass weight of 14 kilos. 93% of meat imports into the USA come from Australia and 50% of Australian Meat Industry exports go to the USA. John Burey envisions this progressive development in managing local rural resources will sustain industry growth in the Murweh Shire. *

Ed Comment; This whole story is a beat up of the worst kind, and it's full of misinformation. They don't kill 50 kangaroos a night, they cant find that many. The 'dressed' carcase weight of 14 kilos would mean the whole animal would be well under 20 kilos, barely old enough to breed, or perhaps have had one joey. In regard to P's news clipping about Des Boyland and the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. With me, Des sits on the Queensland Macropod Advisory Committee, he represents WPSQ. He supports the kangaroo kill, argueing that it is "well managed" even tho I know many WPSQ members do not agree, and do not support it. Des is an ex QPWS bureaucrat who used to run the Qld Kangaroo "management" program, and now is involved with WPSQ, and supporting this horrific Industry.

One has to wonder why the QPWS members allow someone like this to represent their views. I'm the only one in a "committee" of a dozen or more people who is opposed to the Industry, and I've told them so many times. Because they cant find enough kangas in Queensland (or anywhere else) to supply the overseas markets with cheap meat there is now a push to shoot wallaroos commercially in Queensland. The reason the Industry Australia-wide is not shooting the quotos, is because they can't find enough kangaroos. Estimates made of kangaroo numbers by the Government are nothing more than a blatant lie, and cannot be independently reviewed. Pat OBrien

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The following is a quote from a book called "Kangaroos Myths and Realities" Published by The Wildlife Protection Council Inc. ISBN 0 9586178 1 3. page 126 in an article by Geoff Russell B.A Hons, B.Sc Maths, Animal Liberation S A. Titled The Economic and Ecological Infeasibility of Large Volume Kangaroo Farming. "...the Queensland DPI puts the maximum potential supply of Kangaroo meat at just 57,000 tonnes per year (Hardman 1996). In comparison, cattle supply over 1,700,000 tonnes of beef each year (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1999: 424). To get 1,700,000 tonnes of kangaroo meat for human consumption, we would need, at present efficiency rates, to be killing the entire kangaroo population hundreds of times over each year". (End Quote). I would suggest that anyone who is interested in the continuing fight against the slaughter should get hold of a copy. Today at 8.30am I had a call from my phone coordinator regarding an injured Kangaroo on a property about 40 minutes away from me.

When I arrived I was approached by a gentleman in an extremely distraught state. For many years he had enjoyed the wild Kangaroos on his property, but this morning one of the female roos had approached him in an agitated state and in his words "had lead him" to her 15kg joey at foot some way off among the trees. When I arrived I examined the joey and found a 22 bullet hole at the base of her neck. It would appear that some cretin (not my first choice of words) had shot her the previous night. Obviously I do not condone the shooting of roos, but only a fool would attempt to shoot these large animals with a 22.

The joey was still alive but was obviously in a bad way through loss of blood. I dressed the wound as my wife rang ahead to the vet, in most cases I would have euthanased the animal, however the caller was so upset that I agreed to take it for medical attention. On examination it was found that the round had entered the chest cavity and there was no hope for the animal and so it was euthanased. I had to break the news to the caller, and as he cried, I cried. My phone coordinator had also rang the police to report the incident of illegal shooting, and while on the call the duty officer had put the phone down on the desk, but could clearly be heard saying to a fellow officer "Oh it's bloody WIRES, just somebody shooting roos". Give up the fight? NEVER. Farm Kangaroos? NEVER. Do all I can to educate people regarding the worth of our Wildlife? ALWAYS. *B.

Below are another couple of posts to the Ozark list!

The problem with this is that humans up to now torture/treat inhumanely most of the meat that you eat as it is in the vain attempt to make as much money as possible. What makes you think that they won't do the same to wildlife. Why add another animals to the list of animals that are intensively farmed, squashed in to small crates, booted, tied up, living in piles of their own feces etc. Yes they may start off in huge penned areas where they can live in harmony in their mobs until someone comes along and shoots them but then the farmer will think I can maybeincrease my productivity by doubling the amount of animals in this paddock and then tripling it.

This always happens when money is involved. I won't even go in to the cruelty involved. Just look at most of the major political parties when making their policies. They now have to add policies to stop the cruelty in the meat industry, pick any animal and there is someone somewhere treating it in the most inhumane way and who is there to police it, NOBODY!!! The same with the kangaroo culling industry, no-one has a clue how many kangaroos are really being killed as there is no-one to police it. Do you really think a shooter is going to take all the roos he hasn't quite shot humanely and advertise it, no they get left in the paddocks or eaten by someones dog. I myself have seen roos with the jaws shot off and bullets in their legs and still hopping around, what was done about it, NOTHING! I have seen kangaroos being rammed by cars and clubbed with planks of wood, what was done NOTHING! although I have called every authority imaginable. So yes it is time we all stand and be counted to stop this as in ten years time we will be trying to stop these farms and it will be too late. *S

I've been reading everyones take on this issue and still can't believe that there are some wildlife carers who support the commercial killing of kangaroos. Do these same people condone the clubbing of seals in Canada, the "bushmeat" trade in Africa or the killing of whales by the Japanese? These are just a few to compare it to.

We have recently returned from a 3 week driving holiday to Queensland and were a little worried about driving there during the night. We shouldn't have worried, in over 5000km of driving we saw 3 kangaroos and quite a bit of this was off the major highways in areas where there should have been kangaroos. Queensland commercial shooters are carting truckloads of dead kangaroos to NSW chiller boxes because NSW has a lower minimum weight and many of the kangaroos shot in queensland are too small to be accepted as from memory they need to be over 15kg whereas in NSW the limit is 12kg.

Have a think for a minute, we release our EG kangaroos at around the 12-13kg mark and at this size the males are not sexually mature, if they are shot at even 15kg, (the weight limit is after they have had their heads, tails and feet hacked off), these animals have not had a chance to breed. I think everyone who agrees with commercial shooting should first have to see a shooters truck with hacked up kangaroos hanging off the side and a tray full of heads, feet, tails and clubbed joeys.

So the commercial shooters have killed most of the larger roos or else they would still be shooting them and are shooting smaller and smaller kangaroos. Shooters are complaining that it has been a bad season as there are less large roos to shoot, no thought that they are most likely responsible for this. Now they are moving to different areas to find kangaroos to kill as there are not enough roos in the areas they have been shooting in to fill the quota they are allowed.

NPWS in the Queanbeyan area has instigated a "trial" of commercial shooting in our area. We have quite a few visible roos in our area, that is, you can see them as you drive along the roads around here. When I asked NPWS where the commercial shooters would be operating as we didn't want to be releasing any roos in these areas they would not tell me as it is a "privacy" issue. I have no doubt that at the end of this trial they will decide that killing kangaroos in this area is "sustainable" and probably good for the environment. In my opinion, calling it a trial is only a way to move the killing into this area without saying it up front.

People should never forget that the kangaroo industry is just that, an industry. It is a way for a few people to make a lot of money without having to invest a lot. They don't need to feed or care for the kangaroos so each carcass only costs them a bit of fuel and a 50 cent bullet. To them it's like walking around a paddock picking up $20 notes. While this industry makes money and people like John Kelly can convince the government that it's good for the economy it will keep going. They rely on people being apathetic and not doing anything to stop it.

As for farming kangaroos, it would not be possible to provide enough meat from farmed kangaroos to supply the Australian domestic market, let alone export it. A 50kg kangaroo (if you can find one) has about 5kg of edible meat on it. Add the fact that the meat is tough (apparently) and the fact that kangaroos don't cope in captivity very well and it just sounds more and more ridiculous. It makes cattle look like a pretty good farming proposition.

I've probably gone on too long but it makes me angry when anyone tries to justify the commercial killing of kangaroos, even more so when that person claims to be a "wildlife carer". I wonder if some "wildlife carers" would agree with commercial killing if it was done just over their own back fence and they saw the joeys they had raised and released hanging on a hook with their limbs and heads hacked off with a machette? *G.

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