Kangamail Archives 20, 7/10/06

A decision on our AAT Appeal over the King and Flinders Island Wallaby and Pademelon Management Plans has not yet been handed down. We believe that means the Tribunal is closely looking at the evidence, and whatever they decide will be a fair decision based on the evidence they have heard. We also understand that the Tribunal has asked the Tassie Gov for more information, apparently they are not satisfied with the level of information provided by the Gov.

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DOZENS of kangaroos are being killed and injured in suburban Melbourne every week. Wildlife Victoria rescuer Narelle Smith warns she cannot cope with the large mobs of spooked roos whose lives are threatened by encroaching suburbia. "These roos have nothing to do with the drought and they have not come to Melbourne for food or water," Ms Smith said. "They are simply being displaced from where they have always lived by industrial and residential sprawl around Melbourne." Ms Smith said Melbourne's northern, western and southeastern suburbs had critical numbers of roo rescues.

She wants:

MOTORISTS to drive slowly in areas where kangaroos abound.

DOG owners to leash their pets in parks and open spaces.

DEVELOPERS to be responsible for roos near constructions. The roo rescuer got her first call on Tuesday at 4.30am. Within hours she had four dead roos in her front yard and had rescued another six.

Ms Smith is worried she may have to hang up her rescue net as the cost of her voluntary job bites too deeply into her family budget. "We've already borrowed against the family home and that money is close to gone," she said. If you see an injured animal, call Wildlife Victoria on 0500 540 000 or for kangaroos. * Herald Sun

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A company called Healthzone which sells natural "health and beauty" products under the 'Aurinda' brand in China and other Asian countries and 'Bod' in Australia is about to float on the Australian stock exchange (Herald Sun, business section, 12 Oct 2006). Its most hyped product in China is apparently an aphrodisiac "essence" based on kangaroo meat...just in case we thought exploitation couldn't get any worse. Profits 3m this year and a 6% yield ..the editor was really talking it up! *

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Forgive us for being quite cyncial but the kangaroos appear to have passed the point of no return on their inevitable slide to catastrophe. Have you seen one kangaroo in any of the drought photos...or any other species for that matter? That the killing still goes on is mind boggling and heart tugging. The fact is that NOT ONE political party has come out PUBLICLY to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ~STOP KILLING our magnifient kangaroos, despite so many years of pleading with them to do so... This just demonstrates the huge degree of apathy in the political arena, so what hope have they? From the time white settlers came here the kangaroos like the aborigines were marked as John Gould predicted! *Maryland

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RSPCA probes kangaroo's death. The RSPCA is investigating the death of a kangaroo. The kangaroo was allegedly dragged behind a City of Melville Ranger's vehicle for about 250 metres. The society says the animal was found outside a house in Leeming earlier this month after escaping from the Melville Glades Golf Course. It alleges a ranger lassoed the animal around the neck and dragged it along Farrington Road back to the Golf Course. The kangaroo later died. *ABC

GIVE ROO RANGER AN AWARD: AUBREY The City of Melville ranger at the centre of the kangaroo death incident in Leeming last month should get an award, councillor Russell Aubrey reckons. The western grey kangaroo died on October 14 after being dragged behind ranger John Cartwright's vehicle. "At the end of RSPCA's investigation I reckon the ranger should be given an award for his efforts, "Cr Aubrey told the Herald. "The poor guy did everything he had at his disposal to and put his body at risk to protect human life and the kangaroo's life. "My sympathy is with the individual on this one."The Department of Environment and Conservation (formerly CALM) is also investigating how the kangaroo died when it was being towed to the Melville Glades Golf Course. However, the roo's death has outraged Native Arc animal rehabilitation centre rep Karen Pryce-Howells. "The best thing to do would be to leave the kangaroo where it is and let it find its own way back to bush at night," she told the Herald. "I certainly don't recommend what they did, not to lasso a kangaroo and tow it." Ms Pryce-Howells said had Mr Cartwright called Native Arc, the fate of the 2.4m roo might have been different. Ms Pryce-Howells said she would have advised him to call the Wildcare hotline, which has trained officers available 24-hours a day. DEC would not comment on the issue, however, the Herald understands that it's the department's custom to allow kangaroos in this situation to return to bushland on their own accord. But a Melville Incident Fact Sheet obtained by the Herald said: CALM (sic) advises try to direct the kangaroo away from residential area and back to bushland." This article was published in the Cockburn City Herald Saturday November 4, 2006. Ph: 08 9430 7727 Fax 9430 7726 Email: news@fremantleherald.com

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Roo flesh as pet food recommended by Golden Glow

Golden Glow is a natural health magazine, they usually have sane approach to health , environment, companion animal care, etc Their website is www.goldenglow.com.au However in the last edition (spring/summer 06) Dr Clare Middle, who is Perth based vet ( she mainly uses homoeopathy, herbs, reiki, etc to treat animals), has recommended roo meat as pet food.Could you please find few minutes and write to her? Please mention cruelty to ex- and in-pouch joeys. Her email : drclare@goldenglow.com.au postal address: Dr Clare Middle, Golden Glow Natural Health Products, PO Box 45, Virginia QLD 4014. Thank you !

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A team of researchers is about to begin testing the effectiveness of tasmanian devil faeces in scaring away goats, kangaroos and other animals from tree plantations and crops. University of Queensland researcher Dr Peter Murray's team has fed kangaroo and then goat meat to bengal tigers and tasmanian devils, in readiness for the trial. Dr Murray says he has a freezer full of the different types of faeces produced by the animals, and the next step is to gauge which works best on which target animal. He says tests so far have shown that goats react very strongly to the faeces of bengal tigers that have been fed goat meat. "There's no doubt, anybody who's looked at the actual physical behaviour of those animals when that smell's there, that they show all the signs that there is a very large predator somewhere and they're not at all happy," he said. "So we know in a sense that's our control, we know it works, and what we want to see is whether a native predator gives you a better response." *ABC

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Sy Montgomery, author of a new children's book for grades 4-8 titled "Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea," will speak about her adventures at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Zoo Theater at the Minnesota Zoo. Montgomery's book chronicles her three-week expedition in the realm of the Matschie's tree kangaroo. Tree kangaroos live in the rain forests of New Guinea and northern Australia and are endangered relatives of the ground-dwelling red and gray kangaroos. Cost is $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and under. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 952-431-9200. The Minnesota Zoo is located at 13000 Zoo Blvd.

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Dubbo has been named as the deadliest town in NSW for collisions between motor vehicles and animals, according to research by NRMA Insurance. Kangaroos pose the biggest threat to motorists, making up more than 60 per cent of all animal-related claims. NRMA Insurance head of research Robert McDonald urged caution, particularly during the current dry conditions. "We estimate animal collisions have cost the community more than $70 million in the past year and the drought conditions still being experienced across the State have not helped the problem.

"Animals in drought affected areas are being forced to look for food and water near busy roads or in urban areas." He said drivers should always be on the look out for animals, but there were certain times of the day when extra caution was needed. "Motorists should drive with caution at all times and we encourage them to slow down at dawn, dusk and into the night, especially in rural areas where animal collisions frequently occur. "If a driver sees an animal on or near the road they should brake, but not swerve to avoid the animal."

Mr McDonald would like to see drivers helping the animals they have hit. "If you hit an animal and safety permits, motorists should try to provide assistance and move the animal to the side of the road to prevent further crashes. "If the animal has been hurt, keep it warm, quiet and away from young children, pets and noise. "Don't force the animal to eat or drink and contact a local veterinarian or a wildlife rescue centre such as WIRES." *Daily Liberal

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A WA DRIVER has died after a kangaroo hit by a car travelling in the opposite direction was thrown into his path and crashed through his windcreen. The 50-year-old man was driving on Muir highway near Manjimup, 300km south of Perth, on Sunday afternoon when the accident happened. The man lost control of his car and crashed after the animal went through his windscreen and into the back seat.He was airlifted to the Royal Perth Hospital where he died.

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Two children, aged 10 and 11, will appear in the Robertson magistrate's court next month for beating a pair of miniature kangaroos to death and stealing their baby from an animal park.The boys are set to appear on October 11 on a charge of malicious damage to property, but more charges may follow. Wynand Viljoen of the Robertson police station said the boys apparently broke into Birds Paradise, a Robertson animal park, on September 14. "It appears they beat the two kangaroos to death with the intent of stealing the baby and selling it. We are looking at adding charges dealing with cruelty to animals," he said. *IOL

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AN elite Melbourne school has been given government permission to shoot 20 kangaroos and 20 deer. The permit, issued by the Department of Sustainability and Environment, would allow a licensed shooter to lure the kangaroos and deer into a fenced area where they would be killed.

Caulfield Grammar School claims the wildlife was grazing in the school grounds and eating pasture required for its livestock at its Earth Studies campus at Yarra Junction. It also claimed the numbers of kangaroos and deer had increased dramatically over the past six years. But outraged neighbours and wildlife groups have forced the school to back away from its plan.

Woori Yallock Farm School teacher Peter Preuss said locals were distressed at the plan to shoot the wildlife. "There's about 100 kangaroos in the area and if you fenced in 20 of them and started shooting them, it would be a really cruel experience for all of them," Mr Preuss said. "The others would be distressed and could start jumping into fences and get injured." A DSE spokesperson yesterday said permits to control wildlife were issued if a high number of animals was having an impact on crops or pasture. "In this case, there is estimated to be around 100 kangaroos and 20 Sambar deer competing for pasture with domestic livestock belonging to the school," the spokesperson said.

The permit allows for the animals to be destroyed as long as the police gave permission to use firearms in the area, landholders were notified and a licensed shooter conducted the culling. But Mr Preuss rejected claims of a population explosion and said numbers had remained the same. He said the drought had forced the wildlife to move to other areas. "There's only been up to 100 as long as I can remember," Mr Preuss said. "They're just moving and making themselves more obvious. "The neighbours are really upset about this because they like having them around." Caulfield Grammar marketing and public relations manager Andrew Pelgrim said the culling would not go ahead and the school was now exploring a range of options to control the numbers of kangaroos and deer in its grounds. Mr Pelgrim said a meeting would be held with locals on Monday to try to reach an agreement.*Herald Sun

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THE image of the Boxing Kangaroo was never meant to be taken literally - but nobody told the organisers of the fourth Animal Olympics in China. In one of the cruellest displays at the Shanghai show a clown taunts a kangaroo with boxing gloves tied to its hands. Not only is it cruel, it's dangerously stupid. Kangaroos are powerful creatures - as Marty Monster famously discovered on breakfast TV in the 1980s.

Although no real violence is done to the animals in the mock fights, they are left traumatised and intimidated by the crowds. The event, which started yesterday at Shanghai Animal Park, involves more than 300 "athletes" including dogs, tigers, bears, horses, zebras and a kangaroo which are made to "compete" in a range of events.

The opening ceremony featured a 10-year-old elephant named Mary who will compete in the soccer event and is also assigned as one of the game's torch carriers. As part of the opening ceremony, Mary carried the torch into the stadium before passing it to three-year-old chimpanzee Baobao, who ignited the cauldron. *World media

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My father likes to say he was one of the first people to taste curried kangaroo, a dish he cooked up with his South Asian housemates while stretching pennies during graduate school in south Australia in the 1960s. Back then, kangaroo was sold mostly as dog food, making it an odd, but cheap eat for students. These days, the lean red meat -- curried or otherwise -- is ubiquitous, appearing as steaks, sausages and meat pies at grocers and fine restaurants throughout Australian. "It used to be a bizarre thing served up (at huge cost) to tourists," said Rachel McNamara, a lawyer and mother from Sydney, Australia. "Now Safeway stocks kangaroo sausages and patties as an everyday item."

There are an estimated 50 million kangaroos of a variety of shapes and sizes hopping around Australia. Aboriginals always have eaten the mild-mannered marsupials, but most of the country's European settlers have been slow to call them dinner. The meat tastes a bit like beef and venison, but with a softer texture. The kangaroo -- a creature no other country can claim -- is a much-loved symbol of quirky Australia. To children, probably more so. It graces endless tourist fodder, as well as Australia's coat of arms and the cover of its passport. This might partly explain why kangaroo meat just hasn't been a big part of the Australian diet. Farmers who culled the animals to keep them from competing with livestock have long eaten 'roo, but it otherwise was considered a food of the poor. To this day, nobody farms kangaroos; they are so plentiful the government has been culling them to prevent them from damaging rangeland, crops and fences, and from competing with stock for drinking water. That's the meat that's ending up on the table.

But as interest in eating locally produced foods gains popularity in Australia, 'roo meat is moving out of the bush and onto the menus and grocers' shelves of the wealthier cities and suburbs, too. The selling of kangaroo for human consumption has been legal in south Australia since 1980, and for the rest of the country only since 1993. Since then, the eating of kangaroo has grown considerably, fueled in part by tourism. Exports have grown, too, going from almost nothing in 1989 to $20 million in 2001, according to a report commissioned by the federal government. Even the nation's food magazines have caught on, showcasing recipes for 'roo lasagna or 'roo stew.

Despite its growing popularity, 'roo meat still is cheaper than beef -- about $1.50 a pound for mince and $4 a pound for fillets at Adelaide's Kangaroo Gourmet Meats store, which draws in the curious with a sign that says, "We're game if you're game." The Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia says the kangaroo meat business is worth about $150 million and generates 4,000 jobs. The government says that's closer to $75 million. Either way, kangaroo shooting is a highly regulated profession that requires considerable skill. The professionals hired to cull kangaroos sell them to butchers, who turn them into steaks, sausage, salami or mince.

It's an industry with plenty of room for growth. Despite the culling program, the industry says the kangaroo population has increased. There are twice as many of the animals as there are people on the huge, largely unpopulated continent. Some people consider that a good thing. And an untapped resource. Local food promoters note kangaroos are better suited to Australia's arid environment than the stock European settlers brought with them hundreds of years ago.

"We have ancient, fragile soils in Australia," said Ingrid Glastonbury, a chef who owns the Krondorf Road Cafe in South Australia's Barossa Valley. "The kangaroo is a soft-footed animal. Cattle and sheep are damaging the soils. We should be farming 'roo." She thinks kangaroo meat is more popular because people have realized it's so lean. But it does dry out easily and requires care in cooking. "You have to cook it for two minutes on each side, depending on how large it is," she said. "Now it's trendy to serve kangaroo." Media Network item

http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/food/stories/PE_Fea_Daily_D_kangaroo1027.70ae82.html

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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. *ABC

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Western Australian police allege two youths have admitted they were responsible for deliberately running down a kangaroo south of Perth because they were bored and drunk. A 17-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man are accused of using their four-wheel-drive to ram a young kangaroo on the Preston Beach Road near Mandurah early yesterday and then run over it several times. Police Superintendent David Parkinson says the local community is outraged by the senseless killing of the kangaroo.Superintendent Parkinson says the youths have admitted to committing the offence. "I actually spoke to two of the offenders myself and they admitted to me that what they'd done," he said.

"Their excuse was that they were bored and that they were drunk and that really causes me very very grave concern." Police are also searching for a group of people allegedly involved in helping one of the youths accused of killing the kangaroo tear down numerous road signs along Preston Beach Road. About 90 road signs had been pulled down and thrown into the middle of the road. Police believe three or four others were involved in destroying the signs after one of their vehicles broke down and they were forced to walk. Police say because it was dark at the time, the signs thrown on the road could have posed a dangerous risk to motorists. *ABC

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OKLAHOMA CITY - It began with the kind of 911 call that many officers might dismiss. The caller told a dispatcher Saturday that he saw a kangaroo jumping down a road. The man reassured the dispatcher he was "completely sane" and was not intoxicated. "This was definitely one of our more unusual calls," said Mark Myers, a spokesman for Oklahoma County Sheriff's deputies. Sure enough, deputies found the kangaroo hopping along a street and eating grapes from nearby farms. Using their vehicles, they guided the animal back to its owner's property, Myers said. The kangaroo's owner also owns other exotic animals. Myers said the deputies decided to stay inside their cars. "Kangaroos can be vicious animals," Myers explained. *BostonHerald

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LOCAL kangaroo meat could be served as a culinary delight in south-west restaurants if the Liberal Party was elected to State Government. The Liberals have promised to allow the processing of Victorian kangaroos, which is presently illegal. Opposition spokesman for country Victoria Philip Davis said thousands of kangaroos culled legally in Victoria each year were going to waste, rotting in paddocks. ``Kangaroo meat is a lean and healthy delicacy and there are so many other products that can be produced with kangaroo byproducts, yet here in Victoria we waste this resource,'' Mr Davis said. Executive chef at Warrnambool's Beach Babylon restaurant Dianne Bradley said if kangaroos were farmed and processed within Victoria it could make the meat cheaper.The restaurant purchases roo sourced from South Australia.``It would be much better for butchers and wholesalers if they were processed in Victoria, it would help cut transport costs,'' she said.

Ms Bradley said kangaroo was a popular menu choice and some people had become experts in roo flavours.``It depends on what they are fed as to the quality and flavour,'' she said. Executive officer of the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia John Kelly said the popularity of roo meat had increased significantly in the past decade.``It's increased by about 30 per cent for each of the last five years,'' he said. ``It's expanded quite dramatically in the last couple of years and is now available in supermarkets across the country.'' A State Government spokeswoman said there were good reasons for not allowing the processing of kangaroos.``We don't have a very large kangaroo population and as a result it's probably not enough to support the development of a kangaroo industry based on the harvest of wild kangaroos in Victoria,'' she said. *Standard

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Rare tammar wallabies, once thought to be extinct, have developed such good survival instincts since being released into a South Australian national park that more have been added. Another 36 of the species have been placed in the Innes National Park on SA's Yorke Peninsula - the third group to be released by the SA Government this year. Earlier this year eight of the marsupials were released in two groups as a trial and have since produced 10 offspring in the park, Environment Minister Gail Gago said. "These animals have now clearly developed survival skills for the Innes environment and form the nucleus from which the population can expand,'' Ms Gago said. Tammar wallabies had been extinct on the SA mainland since the 1920s, she said. *News.com

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The Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell has presented to Parliament more than 400 pages of amendments to the EPBC Act, claiming the laws will be amended so major developments are considered in a local and regional context, rather than individually. Senator Campbell says one change will be the process of public nominations for heritage listings. "What I'm doing there is that I am in no way discouraging public nominations, but I'm making it quite clear that the Minister and the Government should be responsible for setting priorities and determining what nominations are assessed," he said. The Greens Senator Bob Brown says the changes will shut the public out of an important process.

"From the nominations system, and of course from the whole series of processes which are no longer going to exist," Senator Brown said. "While the corporate sector gets the streamlining they want, the removal of red tape it's called, but really what it means is the removal of green tape." Apparently one of the processes to go will be the opportunity for green groups to challenge poor Government decisions through the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The AAT has been the last resort for groups to challenge bad decisions made by Federal bureaucrats and Ministers. It was established in 1982, and has been used by community groups to challenge kangaroo, possum, and wallaby commercial kill programs, elephant imports, over-fished marine species, and other poor decisions.

In 1986 wildlife groups challenged the Queensland Kangaroo Management Plan and won the Appeal, although they failed to stop the kill. You can read about it here. http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/

In 2002 the National Kangaroo Protection Coalition challenged the NSW Kangaroo Kill Plan, and lost the Appeal. You can read about it http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/

Again in 2003 the NKPC challenged the WA, SA, and Qld kangaroo Plan again, and lost the Appeal. However in both the Appeals above, we forced changes to the process that made it far more difficult for the Feds to "rubberstamp" wildlife management Plan approvals. We discovered under cross-examination that all the States had overshot the kangaroo quotas, in the case of WA, by 15,000 animals. We are still waiting for a decision on the King and Flinders Island Wallaby Management Plans which we Appealed against this year.

If the Amendments are approved by Parliament, we step back into the bad old ‘70’s, when most of the community believed wildlife were no more than pests. We know the situation has changed now in 2006, with most people in the broader community aware of the value of wildlife, thanks to the efforts of Steve Irwin, the wildlife carers, and many others. But that doesn’t stop our political representatives from destroying habitat and killing wildlife in the name of development. In the words of Bob Brown, "While the corporate sector gets the streamlining they want, the removal of red tape it's called, but really what it means is the removal of green tape." More on this issue later.* WPAA

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Kangaroo, once sold mostly as dog food and an odd but cheap eat for students, has begun appearing as steaks, sausages and meat pies at grocers and restaurants. Kangaroo curry, even, has reached the Outback. Gavin Rehn, a farmer on the remote Eyre Peninsula, is known for his 'roo vindaloo, a dish he and some workmates cooked up over a campfire with a kangaroo tail and a bottle of vindaloo sauce."We have to cull them anyway," said Rehn, 40. "If there's a nice young one, we'll eat it."

There are an estimated 50 million kangaroos hopping around Australia. Aboriginals have long eaten the mild-mannered marsupials which taste a bit like beef and venison, but with a softer texture. The kangaroo, a creature no other country can claim, is a much-loved symbol of quirky Australia. It graces endless tourist fodder, as well as Australia's coat of arms and its passport. This might partly explain why kangaroo meat just hasn't been a big part of the Australian diet. Farmers who culled the animals — estimated to outnumber humans 2 to 1 — to keep them from competing with livestock have long eaten 'roo.

To this day, nobody farms kangaroos; they are so plentiful the government culls them and the meat is sold. The selling of kangaroo for human consumption has been legal in South Australia since 1980, and for the rest of the country only since 1993. Exports have grown, too, going from almost nothing in 1989 to $20 million (U.S.) in 2001, according to a federal report. Chef Ingrid Glastonbury thinks kangaroo meat is more popular because people have realized it's so lean. But, she says, it does dry out easily and requires care in cooking. *AP, Toronto Star, Nov 4th.

Ed Comment; Note that the Kangaroo Industry have just reveived another large grant from the Fed Gov to promote the sale of kangaroo meat, thats where this garbage is coming from!