Kangaroo newsletter, Kangamail Archives 22==================================== Kangamail 26/2/07 ==================================== URGENT ACTION NEEDED! A Permit has been issued by Queensland PWS to kill kangaroos prior to a race day to be held on 7th April on and around the Nanango Racetrack. Understandably local residents are concerned. Drought and consistent shooting throughout Queensland has left kangaroos with little safe habitat, and the only reason kangaroos are around the racetrack is because there is grazing there, and up till now they have been relatively safe from shooters. Surely it's time we all learned to live with wildlife, rather than shooting them just to facilitate a race meeting. In the unlikely event that the kangaroos are a risk to horses and riders, surely a fence could be erected like most other race tracks in Australia have already done. Please urge the Minister to revoke this Permit immediately, and insist this Race Club install non-lethal exclusion measures. Ministers details are below, Thanks everyone. Hon. Lindy Nelson-Carr, MP Member for Mundingburra Minister for Environment and Multiculturalism PO Box 15155, City East Brisbane, Queensland, 4002 Tel: 322 47468 Fax: 322 76309 E-mail: EandM@ministerial.qld.gov.au ******************************************** SOUTH Australia's kangaroo population has fallen to historic lows – down more than 400,000 – but world-wide demand for the bush meat continues to surge. Department of Environment and Heritage figures show South Australian roo numbers are at their lowest levels since monitoring began 28 years ago. Last year's aerial survey recorded red and western grey kangaroo numbers at 1.18m, a slight increase on 2005 but well below the 1.59m when surveying began in 1978. Australian roo meat is being processed, packed and shipped from SA into supermarkets and on to restaurant plates as far away as Russia as the world develops a palate for our national fauna. Australia Meats managing director Anton Martynenko said increased demand for the low-fat meat, a supply shortage because of drought and reduced harvest quotas had increased prices. "Five years ago, the price per kilo of carcass was 60-65c, now it is around the $1 mark," he said. "The other factor that affects prices is that there is more demand from human consumption, when five years ago it was mainly processed for pet meat." The kangaroo industry is worth more than $200 million annually and employs more than 4000 people. Australia Meats has two processing plants at Broken Hill and Dry Creek, employing about 80 people. Its Dry Creek plant processes 270,000 carcasses a year, most destined for Russia where the meat is used in sausages. "Ninety-five per cent of all the export sales are going to Russia and the European Union and that accounts for probably two-thirds of sales," Mr Martynenko said. "The Russians use it as a substitute for beef, it's cheaper, it's leaner and it's easier to process." Under government regulations only red, western grey and euro kangaroos can be harvested. DEH senior ecologist Glenn Shimmon said kangaroo numbers had remained stable over the past 12 months and that numbers would not pick up until 2008. "The species actually needs several good years to allow recruitment. If you have bad years the pouch young can't survive," he said. *SA Advertiser Ed Comment; The "kangaroo meat" that goes to Russia for salamis is actually offal, scraps, trimmings, including bruises, and body bones (not the legbones) which all goes through a grinder, is turned into paste, and exported to Russia. It is then used as protein base to make salamis. Chunks of fat, chopped vegetables, and anything else available are added to the ground kangaroo, and then the whole mess is cured by smoking and hanging to ferment. Salamis are not cooked, they are "cured" by fermentation. ps Dont buy any imported salamis! ******************************* Security will be increased in the Lincoln National Park on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula where more than 20 kangaroos were found to have been deliberately killed. Senior ranger Peter Wilkins says at least 22 kangaroos have been killed over the past few months, with many being run over by cars. Offenders face penalties of up to $10,000. Mr Wilkins says killing any native animal in a national park is senseless, cruel and stupid. "The way that these animals have been destroyed, they've been harassed and chased down and in some cases left alive to sit out in the park in the heat of the day ... up until they die or perish in the heat, which is extremely cruel," he said. *ABC The 2007 National kangaroo commercial kill quotas have been set for 3.6 million. This is a drop of only 115,000 animals, supposedly to compensate for decreased numbers of kangaroos due to the drought. In addition, the SA and NSW have an extra quota. When the commercial quota is full,(based on a so-called "sustainable" kill) they are allowed to shoot more! SA can kill an extra 8000 kangaroos, and NSW an extra 89,711! This component applies to each Zone! If appled, it brings the quota up to 20% grey kangas, and 22% for red kangas...in each of the 15 Zones. NSW NPWS admits these quotas are not sustainable in the longterm! How it works is that NSW NPWS ring up few "on-side farmers" and ask them if there are any kangaroos around. When the farmers say, yes there are millions, the extra quota is put into place! NSW NPWS dont have the fuel to drive out themselves and have a look, they just take the word of the farmers. * *************************** We've just been looking at the NSW kangarooo kill website at http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/Content/Kangaroo+management+program In the Minutes it appears that many of the Advisory Committee members are concerned about lack of meeting attendence, especially from conservation groups. Of course, they only want those that support the Industry! You can read about these groups here. http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroo-support.html All the members of the NSW Advisory Panel support the Industry, execpt the Humane Society, and my understanding is they don't want to be involved in such a shonky process anyway. In October 2002 the NSW NPWS dumped all of the animal welfare committee Members, and replaced them with the NSW RSPCA, who have stated publicly they support the Industry, and they supported the Googong Dam, and the St. Mary's kangaroo kill as well. Another issue is that some of the members want to start skin only shooting in NSW again, in spite of an indendent report commissioned by NSW NPWS that showed compliance and control would be impossible. *WPAA ********************** A wayward wallaby was captured Tuesday after hopping into a backyard in this San Bernardino County suburb about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, authorities said. The 3-foot-tall marsupial was captured in a backyard by county animal control officers who grabbed it by the tail. Wagner said it appeared to have been domesticated and didn‘t put up a fight. Animal control officials said the animal wasn‘t a kangaroo but a similar, smaller animal called a wallaby. Several species of wallabies are native to Australia and New Guinea. "Chances are nobody‘s going to claim it," he said. "I don‘t know the law, but you can‘t even have ferrets so I can‘t imagine you‘re allowed to have kangaroos." Ass.Press ********************* Security will be increased in the Lincoln National Park on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula where more than 20 kangaroos were found to have been deliberately killed.Senior ranger Peter Wilkins says at least 22 kangaroos have been killed over the past few months, with many being run over by cars. Offenders face penalties of up to $10,000. Mr Wilkins says killing any native animal in a national park is senseless, cruel and stupid. "The way that these animals have been destroyed, they've been harassed and chased down and in some cases left alive to sit out in the park in the heat of the day ... up until they die or perish in the heat, which is extremely cruel," he said.ABC ********************** Charleville rides goat, roo boom Reporter: Sally Sara First Published: 23/07/2006, repeated in January 2007. SALLY SARA: For more than a century Charleville has relied on the wool industry for its survival. But in the face of drought and low wool prices, Charleville is now turning to new industries. Goat and kangaroo processing are providing hundreds of much needed jobs. Business is booming so much, foreign workers are being brought in to fill the labour shortages. Just a warning - this story contains footage of kangaroo shooting and animal processing. SALLY SARA: It's an icy winter morning in Charleville. AIR FORCE OFFICER: Bye! SALLY SARA: A visiting Air Force balloon drifts through the dawn on a scenic flight. Charleville is surrounded by the mulga of Western Queensland. For more than a century, it survived on the wool industry. But now the people here are waking up to a new reality. This abattoir produces more than 5 million kilograms of goat meat each year. It is the largest goat exporter in the world. Goats began as a pest in the Charleville district. They were feral rather than farmed. NEIL DUNCAN: Five year ago, I would have said that 70% of our goats were feral goats and 30% were farmed. Now I would say today, in today's situation, we've got 75% of goats that are actually farmed now, and only 25% feral. PETER SCHUSTER: Well, the industry at the moment is similar to where the lamb industry was 20 years ago. So, if you think about that, it paints a terrific picture for the Australian goat industry. We are the largest exporter in the world. The American market is growing at 11.7% compounded per year, and we provide 93% of imports into the US, so Australia is positioned terrifically well. SALLY SARA: Goat is the most widely consumed meat in the world. Unlike pork or beef, it is not the subject of religious taboos. It's eaten in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and America. More than half of Australia's goat meat is now exported to the US market. PETER SCHUSTER: Well, what we're seeing is a dramatic expansion in the Hispanic community in America, and in a couple of years, they will in fact be the second-largest community - they will pass the Afro-American community, and that community particularly prefers to eat goat meat. They will in fact pay more for goat meat than a similar-type sheep meat product. SALLY SARA: Business is booming so much in Charleville, Western Exporters can barely keep up. It can't find enough workers to run the abattoir at full capacity. NEIL DUNCAN: We are that desperate with labour in Charleville and the whole meat industry in general in Australia has hit a big boom. The beef, the lamb, all the exports are up dramatically and...but to increase our killing capacity, we have to have labour. SALLY SARA: Western Exporters has brought in 15 Vietnamese meatworkers to fill the gap. They are sponsored on a 2-year visa with an option to extend. They are paid the same as other workers, but the meat workers' union says there is every chance foreign workers will be taken for a ride. RUSSELL CARR: It's not a chance, it is a certainty. They have language difficulties. They don't have anybody that they can turn to. The employer makes them aware that they are bonded to that employer, and if they don't do exactly what they're told, they will be sent back. Many of them have borrowed large sums of money to come in the first place and many of them have large debts to the people in their own countries that have organised the employment for them. So they just don't have a choice. They have to do what they are told and they have to accept what they are given. NEIL DUNCAN: Where are the Aussies? Send 2,500 to Charleville and I will give them all a job, because Charleville needs mechanics, plumbers, they need bar staff. They need motel cleaners, electricians. You name it, we need it in Charleville. SALLY SARA: While there are lots of jobs on offer, it's not easy work. Absenteeism is a constant problem. RUSSELL CARR: Well, that's true. Not many people leave school hoping to become meatworkers, but a lot of people do go into the meat industry and a lot of people make good careers out of the meat industry. A lot of people like working in the meat industry and the wages are generally a little bit higher than semi-skilled jobs outside the meat industry and they have to be, to attract people. You are not going to attract people into a job as hard as meat processing if you don't pay a little bit more than the average factory.
SALLY SARA: But for the Vietnamese employees, any work is good work in a foreign country. They can earn more in a month than they would make in a year at home. VIETNAMESE MEATWORKER: Everybody must work, it doesn’t matter what it is, you must work. TEACHER: One, two, three. SALLY SARA: For the children of the Vietnamese meatworkers, Charleville is full of opportunities. The students arrived at the end of March, but they are already settling in to the local high school. SCHOOLBOY: Yes, the people are very good. They say hello with me when they meet me. SCHOOLGIRL: Yeah, and I'm very happy here because I got friends, yes. SECOND SCHOOLGIRL: I have friends in Charleville and people are good. SALLY SARA: The students practice their English and budgeting skills at a local supermarket. The Vietnamese families have been welcomed by the community. The people of Charleville know the foreigners are helping to keep the economy going in a time of severe labour shortages. CATHY BARKER: What have we got here? Mmm...globe. CATHY BARKER: They're very important here, because the population in the town requires that we have these people here to help keep the meatworks a viable business here and businesses like this in remote rural communities is very important for our economy because their salaries are spent in the town.
SALLY SARA: It's an unexpected boom for Charleville. Only a decade ago, the town was still relying on wool, and millions of dollars were being spent to eradicate goats rather than process them. Now that's all changed. MARK O’BRIEN: Sally, let me put it to you this way - years ago, 12 to 15 years ago, there were somewhere between 2.5 and 3 million sheep in the Murweh Shire. There is estimated to be something under 200,000 of them now, and when you think about the people that are required to handle sheep - shearing industry, all that sort of stuff - it's very significant. SALLY SARA: The income from goats is already keeping many existing families on grazing properties around Charleville. Neil Cadzow runs about 3,000 goats. They started out as a quick way to make cash, but now they provide half his turnover. The Cadzows used to run 10,000 sheep on Alice Downs. Now they've only got 40. The shearing shed has been all but quiet since 2001. NEIL CADZOW: We used to have six shearers and we shore 10,000 sheep in our heyday in this place. SALLY SARA: So she's pretty quiet now? NEIL CADZOW: Yeah, yeah. Like a ghost place. SALLY SARA: Neil Cadzow only needs to muster the goats twice a year - once before the Muslim feast of Ramadan in October and again early in the year to get the best prices. He is running a mixture of feral and composite goats with bloodlines from bores, Nubians and Kalahari Reds. The crosses have plenty of bulk, but the ferals or range-land goats are renowned for their survival skills. NEIL CADZOW: Like, times like these, you see - especially the Nubians are the prime example. They are putting everything into the milk, and I've got some here that are walking shadows, whereas the ferals are fat, you know? That's the thing - like having a beef animal against a milking cow. SALLY SARA: On the neighbouring property, Rocky Hills, the Currys are also relying on goats. They were the first graziers in the district to start breeding meat goats. They are in no doubt where they'd be without them. JIM CURRY: Down the tube. WILMA CURRY: Down the tube, completely. It's the only thing that's keeping us afloat at the moment, is the goats. JIM CURRY: We would have walked off. SALLY SARA: The Currys are using cross-breds and composites to improve their herd. The big challenge is keeping the goats in. The Currys decided to invest in the best-quality bipolar electric fencing they could buy. It has been one of the most important additions to the property. WILMA CURRY: Well, it's been very important, Sally, because if we hadn't contained the goats, well, more than likely somebody else would have ended up with them, rather than us. SALLY SARA: The challenge now is to move the industry along from convenience to professionalism, but it's still in its early stages. Some graziers are yet to tap into the resource they've got running on their property. GUY NEWELL: It is a different way of thinking, and there is a bit of a stigma attached with people who go into goats, particularly in Queensland where, under the Land Protection Act, goats - feral goats, that is - are considered a class 2 pest. So actually going into goat production is somewhat different. SALLY SARA: It's a way of thinking that is paying off for another thriving business in Charleville - kangaroo processing. This state-of-the-art plant processes 1,000 kangaroos a day, and employs more than 40 locals. It is another important part of Charleville's revival. JOHN BUREY: The reason we picked Charleville is because it's the hot spot for kangaroos. There is more kangaroos harvested in this general area than anywhere else in Australia, and the world seems to be consuming more and more protein as economies get a bit stronger. So kangaroo, I think, has got a brilliant future, particularly for Australian rural areas. I mean, it is well-suited to the drought. I thought with a bit of direction and hard work, we could probably make something come of it. SALLY SARA: The kangaroo meat is for human consumption. It's exported as far away as Russia, South Africa and Europe. John Burey couldn't get any local backers, so he teamed up with foreign investors. JOHN BUREY: And I've always said the same thing - "Oh, we just need someone to invest, we need this, we need that." And when I started thinking about it, I thought, "Gee, I should put my money where my mouth is and actually do something about it." So, being kangaroos and Charleville being where the kangaroos are, I thought, "Why not? Where else would you build it?" SALLY SARA: The processing plant is still in its first year of operation and is only running about half its capacity, partly because of a lack of labour.
JOHN BUREY: From here, once the hide is removed, it will go around to AQIS to have the carcass inspected and then it moves into our boning room where we break it down into its various cuts. SALLY SARA: It is a confronting sight, but the industry has the support of many conservation groups, as long as it's done humanely and the quotas are based on good science. DES BOYLAND: WILDLIFE PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF QLD I think it's excellent. Diversification is the only way to go. They're actually, harvesting the roos, actually doing a favour for everyone because they are reducing the total grazing pressure on the lands out there, and like it or love it, the land out there certainly suffers from drought. SALLY SARA: The 2006 commercial quota for mainland Australia is 3.8 million kangaroos, just over 15% of the estimated population. The kangaroos are tagged so they can be traced from the paddock to the processing plant. JOHN BUREY: We should make the most of what's available to us. Instead of trying to create something new, try and create something new of what we already have, and we've had kangaroo shooters for years. They've either been done for pet food or just skins in the past. So, you know - and they're everywhere. It's not a new industry. We're not trying to develop anything completely new. All we're trying to do is make an existing industry better. SALLY SARA: There are more than 120 kangaroo shooters - or 'wild game harvesters' as they are now known - in the Charleville district. Peter Melano is one of them. It is now one of the best-paying jobs around Charleville. He can earn well over $1,000 on a good night. The harvesters are paid per kilogram for the kangaroos they shoot. PETER MELANO: So at 85 cents a kilo and if you shoot reasonable-size roos, you roughly average 20 kilo, so you're looking at $17 per roo. And on an average night, most of the time you would shoot your 50 roos. Sometimes more, but roughly around the 50, 60 roos on a pretty good average night, yeah. SALLY SARA: The harvesters work under a code of practice for the humane shooting of kangaroos. The RSPCA audited the code in 2002 and found 96% compliance. There are also rules and regulations to make sure only the larger kangaroos are targeted. PETER MELANO: The roos have to weigh 14 kilo at the moment as a dressed carcass. So that's the smallest roo you can shoot. So you try to shoot all the bigger roos you see and try shoot them down as far as you can, so you get enough roos for the night. SALLY SARA: Graziers, scientists and business operators are visiting Charleville to see how the local kangaroo industry is working. It's been used as an example for other regional communities to follow. The industry has worked hard to improve its image. TOM GARRETT: I think it's really significant. I think that this is going to be the shift in the industry and in the way people perceive the industry. In the past, it's been an industry that has perhaps gone unnoticed because as an industry, we have lots of pressures from animal welfare people and, in fact, people that don't like eating meat. They tend to look at the kangaroo and the game meat industry as easy targets, simply because the animal is field-shot. SALLY SARA: While other towns struggle through the drought, Charleville is making the most of the resources it has. The goat and kangaroo industries are returning some of the wealth and employment lost from the wool industry. For John Burey, the answer is to be an optimist. JOHN BUREY: Yeah, and you've got to annoy people, too. Sort of keep pushing, keep pushing until you've actually convinced everyone else that what you're doing is actually going to work. And if you do that, you will find that people get behind you. MARK O’BRIEN: I would have to say that there was a certain amount of pessimism, although for whatever reason, Charleville has always struck me, it's one of the reasons I came to live here so long ago, there is a real resilience about the people here, and I don't know whether it's because it's a sheep/wool industry town, but terribly resilient, and the people on the land here fight pretty long and hard. So even though they were fairly down, probably, emotionally and financially, I think there is always hope. SALLY SARA: Charleville has adapted to changing times. Determination and innovation have delivered much-needed jobs. The challenge now is to make sure there are enough people to fill them. *This Landline story in Feb 2007 was a repeat of a program shown in July 2006. ************************ Sad Stories I had a call a few weeks ago to go out and look at a big old male kangaroo who was unable to get up and move around. When I arrived the old bloke who owned the property walked me down to where he was lying and explained that for the last month or so, this old boy had been living around his house, chewing up his lawn and being a general menace. We went down to look at the old boy and he was lying under a tree looking pretty bedraggled. It was looking as if i was going to have to shoot him but all of a sudden he stood up and hopped off down the paddock. He was swaying a little but was still quite capable of moving. I told the owner that I wouldn't euthanase him as he was just old and had no particular problems. He started to sound relieved, I think he had prepared himself for the old roo to be shot and was putting on a tough face but once he realised he wasn't he spoke very differently about him. Apparently this old boy had moved in a while back, taking advantage of the dams and green grass. The owner and him had got used to each other and it got to the point that when the owner walked around the garden with a bucket to water the plants, the old boy would follow him and drink out of the water bucket when he wasn't looking and nibble on the weeds he pulled out. I told the owner it might be a couple of weeks or a couple of months but the old roo was getting close to heaven. Three weeks later the owner called to let me know that when he went out to check the old boy that morning, he had died, lying under his tree and looking quite peaceful. I think it's wonderful that this old boy had lived out his life in peace, well fed and safe and with someone watching over him in case things got too uncomfortable. If only we had more people like that. *Greg *****************************
A big kangaroo had come onto a 5 acre property and was moving stiffly with what appeared to be an injury to his elbow. He was actually found asleep on the residents front doorstep one morning. The residents (a local policeman's family actually) left him for a couple of days in peace to see if he would wander off. They all used the back entrance and kept their two little yappy dogs well and truly confined. The roo used to quietly potter around the garden on the 5 acres and they all kept their distance. The little children who lived there were absolutely entranced that their own kangaroo had come to visit and stay awhile while he got better, and spent hours by the big window watching him. They were so excited they had their very own kangaroo come to visit. However, after a few days more they became worried about his condition and contacted us. We went over with one of our vets. and had a good look at the old boy who by this time was looking very droopy and miserable. His new little family were very worried about him. So, we managed to sedate him and had a good look at his wounds which were horrible - badly infected wound on his stomach area, deep wound on one arm, etc. etc. non recoverable state. We spent some time talking to the residents about his condition and included them in the decision which was taken. We explained very carefully to the children why and how and how privileged they were for him to choose their house etc. etc. So while he was sedated the sad little family stood apart and he was quietly put down. There wasn't a dry eye to be seen. The children made a little cross, spent many hours making a beautiful poster of 'their' kangaroo and took it to school to show their teacher and playmates of their special time with a wonderful creature. We left knowing that the kangaroo had made a lasting impression on a little family. If one could only wish........... If people could only see what magic we live with and what a privilege it is..... and that's why it is so important for all carers talk about the privilege we have, about the work you do, about how we really can learn to live with each other. The animals are teaching us - we only have to open our eyes before its too late and they are only a memory. Can you imagine how awful it would be for your children one day to wander over the hills with their children and tell them they could remember when kangaroos used to hop freely across the land. *Denise ************************** Recently we received a call from a lady on a property near Hurstbridge, not far from here, who had a visitor to her garden - a 60-70kg. male kangaroo with a sore foot. The big boy had come into her garden and was quite happy sleeping under her veranda well out of the cold and wet and seemingly oblivious to the noise emanating from the house and her barking dog (which she kept well out of the way). His days were spent in her front garden area nibbling on fresh pick and clover hay she put out for him. He didn't move when she went about her daily chores, and didn't seem to worry about the car driving past him. But then again, he was a huge boy without any fear. He showed no sign of aggression to the lady or her family and in saying that, there was a great deal of respect shown to him! To cut a long story short, the lady worried about his sore foot and called us in, we had a good look at it, it did need treating as he was limping badly and it was quite nasty. So, the local shelter and I sat and pondered this huge roo and what would be best for him. Eventually after 2 cups of coffee and talking to our vet, we made the decision to treat him where he was. Which we did. The lady of the house and her teenage son got the job of picking as much grass for him as they could and leaving it in his favourite sleeping spot under the veranda, they also added good clover and lucerne hay which was demolished with gusto. We explained that in order for him to heal he needed good nourishment, so he was well and truly looked after. The local shelter and I have watched with delight to see him improve each day and eagerly awaited news of him from the lady of the house. She was absolutely thrilled that the old boy had come into her garden and I explained to her that they will when they need help. I have seen it so many times over the years and strangely it is always to someone who cares for them and where they are safe. There is just so much we don't know. So, today we celebrate, today he rejoined his mob. Some days are just magic. Some days show us what this is all about. *Denise ********************** This silly story appeared in the Qld Courier Mail last week. Actually there has been a few such silly stories in the Media lately, because the Industry has received Federal funding to promote kangaroo meat. KANGAROO, goat and wild boar meat is being exported from Queensland to 35 countries. So why aren't we eating it here? Few restaurants serve it, and few butchers stock it. In the hands of a competent chef, kangaroo is Australia's venison, a tasty and low-fat meat fit for a banquet.A curry made from Queensland goat meat is a meal to savour in the Middle East. And the Germans swear by our wild pig snags. Meanwhile, the French go for kangaroo fillets with a red berry coulis.I was in Charleville last week, centre of the roo industry, and could not find a single butcher who stocked any of it. (Of course not, local butchers would know all about the lack of hygiene in the Industry.) At Amis Restaurant on North Stradbroke Island, talented chef Peter Roelfes' menu features a ``bush to bay'' treat of Queensland kangaroo loin fillet and Moreton Bay bugs, apple and pear risotto, bilberry rose petal sauce and bush herb oil. If only more of our cooks would be so adventurous. *Courier Mail ******************* Making a real killing - Roo hunters are enjoying a golden era Kangaroo shooters in Outback Queensland are earning $1000 a night while their kill is made into sausages for hungry Russians. The roo meat trade is booming with exports topping $25 million last year. Leading Charleville shooter Peter ``Buck'' Melano said roos in plague numbers were providing a windfall for hunters who worked hard. He said there were 140 professional shooters between Morven and Quilpie alone.``It's the best money we have ever seen,'' said Melano, 40. ``Eight years ago we were getting 35 a kilo, now it's $1. You make $1000 some nights, some times a bit more. But that's not every night.'' Melano said top shooters were taking 50 roos a night. They had an average weight of 20kg. The former shearer said he leaves home around 6.30pm and doesn't get home until dawn. The father of two has been killing roos for 15 years, with most of his meat being turned into pet food at an abattoir in Ipswich.``I suppose I would have killed a few hundred thousand by now,'' he said. ``My record for one night was 207 at Canaway Downs northwest of Quilpie. The Quilpie district is thick with roos.``You could routinely kill 100 a night there. I do pigs, too. They are like a little bonus.'' Roos and wild boar are increasingly hunted for human consumption. Exporter John Burey who set up the United Game Processors abattoir in Charleville two years ago now employs 65 skinners and boners. ``We process between 1200 and 1500 roos a day,'' he said. ``We buy from shooters as far south as NSW, west to Boulia and north to Winton.'' The roo meat goes into containers to Moscow and also to European and Asian capitals. They also trade with the US, Canada, New Guinea and South Africa. Burey, 36, plans to increase his fleet of four trucks and five vans. Until recent years roos were harvested only for their skins. ``That was a terrible waste,'' Burey said.``The world needs protein and roo meat provides it.'' Burey said Charleville had become a ``land of opportunity'' for workers. Another abattoir, Western Exporters, slaughters goats for export. Environment Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr said there were 1787 licensed shooters in Queensland. The kill quota for last year was set at 2,001,715 macropods in Queensland. *Courier Mail (again!) ps It's impossible for me to get anything into the Courier Mail. They won't run anything from me, not even a letter or blog comment! ****************** "Making a killing" They call themselves ‘professional shooters’. They are so full of self importance trying to put themselves in the same league as some Hollywood movie marksman they may have seen on tv. What is it about people with way too much testosterone that they have to kill things? We no longer need to do that in order to survive; it’s the twenty first century. They give themselves cowboy nicknames and try to tell us that their chosen prey is in ‘plague proportions’ in an attempt to justify this sick obsession. There has to be something primal in this mindset that you’d think would have evolved or died out of society centuries ago. There is no place in the modern world for these blood lusting acts. One can just see them running through the bush, hiding in long grass pretending to play war. Some probably even paint their faces with camouflage paint to add to their excitement. People obsessed with guns can be very dangerous people, I don’t need to name those who have made the headlines, we all know them. No prizes for guessing what these cowboys do with the baby joeys they find in their mothers pouches either. Over the past two centuries humans have devastated the Australian bush. Australian marsupials are trying to survive in an ever shrinking habitat. They have been squeezed out of what little bush there is left, and into the open to become unfair game. Therefore, of course it appears as if there are large numbers because they now have little or no protection left around them. Contrary to what these kangaroo shooters would have us believe, it has been proven over and over again that they are not competing with fodder for their sheep and cows; it is actually the continued overstocking of these hard hoofed animals that is destroying our wonderful outback, not our native Kangaroo and national icon. This rampant killing mentality is the same mindset as in the whale killers, they don’t realise that there is far more money to be made by people seeing them alive in their natural habitat than by selling their calved up dead carcasses until they are gone forever. Have they thought of what happens after that? The second most well known symbol in the world behind the Statue of Liberty is not the Great Barrier Reef or the Sydney Opera House – it is the Australian kangaroo. Pam. ********************** CAR insurance claims stemming from crashes with Tasmanian wildlife have increased by 350 per cent in the last six years, according to new statistics. Last year, RACT Insurance received more than 400 roadkill-related claims from motorists, at an average cost of $1620 per claim. The RACT statistics include both collisions between cars and wildlife, and crashes which occur when the driver swerves to miss an animal. The highest number of claims came from Launceston, followed by the Derwent Valley. RACT statistics show that most incidents occur between 6pm and midnight, or between 5am and 7am. RACT Insurance manager Ralph Doedens said the number of claims was "a grim statistic for Tasmania's wildlife". Collisions with kangaroos and wallabies accounted for more than 80 per cent of the claims. Wombats were blamed for 5 per cent, while 4 per cent related to incidents with cows, horses, sheep, dogs and cats. Two claims for deer strikes cost an average of $2872. The most expensive damage to repair was caused by larger animals such as cows and horses, averaging $4760 per claim. ************************* A kangaroo kept getting out of his enclosure at the zoo. After recapturing the kangaroo, the zoo keeper put up a 3-metre fence. Again the kangaroo was out the next morning roaming around the zoo so the fence was extended to 6m. Again he escaped so the zoo erected a 12m fence. A croc in the next enclosure asked the kangaroo: ``How much higher do you think they'll go?'' The kangaroo replied: ``About 20 metres I guess -- unless somebody remembers to shut the gate.''* ************************** Kangaroos Kangaroos have developed a life cycle to help them deal with regular droughts and harsh conditions. Females can rear three joeys at one time, one as a foetus, one inside the pouch and one outside the pouch. Babies are born after only 38 days gestation. Measuring less than 2.5cm long, (less than one inch) this jelly bean size life form crawls from the birth canal up into a forest of thick hair into its mothers pouch and anchors itself to one of her teats. It will remain there for about eight months until it is ready to emerge. The pouch has two teats delivering two kinds of milk. One suitable for the tiny growing baby and the other for the young one born some months earlier She may also have a third weaned youngster Females are able to delay the development of their embryo until conditions improve. What a system. It is a protection of the species. Kangaroos have been known to leap up to 13.5 metres (44 feet) in one bound. They can travel for extended periods at around 20km per hour, (12.5mph) but can move at up to 70 km per hour when they need to. Kangaroos reach maturity at around two years of age and can live for up to 20 years if they are not hunted and killed for their skin to make football boots, golf gloves, baseball mitts and other sports goods. Five years ago the government quota was 6.5 million and this does not include the young in pouches or the second one "at foot" . * Evelyn Underwood ************************* Kangamail Archives can be found at www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com To subscribe to our weekly wildlife ezine, "Wildlife Bytes" send and email to info@wildlifeprotectaust.org.au With 'Subscribe Wildlife Bytes' in the subject line. Pat O'Brien, Coordinator, National Kangaroo Protection Coalition email; pat@wildlifeptotectaust.org.au http://www.wildlifeprotectaust.org.au http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.org http://www.kangarooslaughter.com *2005, The Year of the Kangaroo!*
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