Kangaroo-archives27! 2/5/07Kangaroos are Under Attack, get Active!
After being contacted by a whistleblower within the kangaroo industry, Animal protection groups from around Australia rallied together to expose the cruelty, contamination & dwindling numbers of certain kangaroo species who are slaughtered for a niche export market where profits are earnt by a select few. The groups, including Animal Liberation, Wildlife Protection Association of Australia, Animals Australia, Australian Wildlife Protection Council Inc & others have been investigating the industry for the last 2 years and have found damning evidence which will more than likely halt this brutal trade. Note the whistleblower will remain nameless for safety reasons. Over 24 chillers around NSW and Southern QLD were inspected and swabs of Kangaroo carcasses taken. In summary, the findings suggest: 1. Between 70-80% of all kangaroos shot are currently female. This means that there is a population imbalance between males and females. Obviously there are more females than males now as most of the big males have already been shot which leaves the bigger females to be shot. 2. Another worrying fact remains that for all the carcasses sighted in the chillers, alot of them were only just above the minimum 'human consumption' weight (NSW) of 13kg, some actually weighed less. Females at this weight would be unlikely to even have had their first joey. The kangaroos allowed to be killed in NSW and QLD are Eastern Reds and Eastern and Western Greys. Obviously there were male carcasses in the chillers, however none of them were even close to what would be considered a 'big red' which would have a carcass weight of around 25kg or higher. Up to 65 kg alive! 3. The swab results revealed contamination of carcasses with: E.coli, Streptococcus & Staphylococcus. The results showed muscle tissue having an active growth of these microbes from low to heavy growth. 4. The Australian Government approved method of killing a joey at foot is to either bash it over the head with a heavy object, or chop its head off with an axe. This is essentially too brutal to think about, and as mentioned above the majority of the kangaroos being shot are female. If even half of those females have a joey at foot, then up to 1million joeys will be killed this way in 2007 under the currently approved kill quota of 3.8million kangaroos. For more information on the plight of Kangaroos, please go to: http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroo-facts.html At the end of the investigation in March this year, knowing we needed to move with this information quickly, Animal Liberation and the WPAA sent a delegation overseas to Russia (biggest export country) and Europe to inform not only the public about these concerns, but the relevant health ministers in the various countries as well as EU representatives. So far there has been significant media attention in Russia and several restaurants have been visited in Berlin, as well as the Consular General, Foreign Affairs and Trade based in the Australian Embassy, Berlin. A complete report of the European events will be outlined on the Animal Liberation website shortly. The true outcome of any meetings will not be known for some time, at present however, we do know that the leading company which exports Kangaroo meat for human consumption has closed all its chiller doors in NSW, which, as far as a discerning eye can tell, is as big an admission of guilt if ever there were one. Below is a sample letter which you could use to contact the following important people and let them know what you think about the killing of kangaroos. If you would like a DVD and further information sent to you, please reply to this email with your name and address and we'll get some info to you. National Parks and Wildlife Service, responsible for NSW quotas info@environment.nsw.gov.au QLD Minister responsible for quotas in that state EandM@ministerial.qld.gov.au Restaurants in Germany serving or distributing Kangaroo meat: Corroboree: info@corroboree.info Australian Spirit: info@party-service-noller.de Australian Food and Wine: trendfoods@gmx.net Australia Shop: australia@australiashop.com Las Malvinas: las_malvinas_9@hotmail.com Kangaroo's Land: info@kangaroos-land.de Never Never Land: never-never-berlin@web.de Company in Germany monitoring food: Foodwatch: info@foodwatch.de Restaurant in France serving Kangaroo meat: L'Epicerie, 30 rue Montorgueil, 75001 Paris, France (no email sorry) France - Health ministry contacts: General email: ministre-santesolidarites@sante.gouv.fr Didier Houssin : didier.houssin@sante.gouv.fr Restaurant in Russia serving Kangaroo meat: Australian Open: aus.open@mtu-net.ru Dear Sir/Madam, Re: Commercial Kangaroo Industry I am writing to you concerning the plight of Kangaroos in Australia. It has been brought to my attention that there are at least 4 serious problems with the current legal killing of kangaroos for commercial purposes in Australia. 1. Killing of joeys after their mothers are shot. The national code of practice allows an acceptable way of killing these baby animals is to chop off their head with an axe, or for them to receive a blow to the head with a heavy blunt instrument. Dependent expooouch joeys flee into the night when their mother is shot to die of exposure and starvation. As per the Canadian seal 'cull', killing of baby animals is an extremely traumatic experience, it is in no way humane, and can in no way be regulated. We are living in the 21st century and still allowing medieval practices to occur in our outback. I feel it is necessary to condemn the killing of kangaroos solely on this point alone. 2. Contamination of the carcasses has recently been shown to occur quite often due to the way the kangaroos are processed in the field. They are gutted by a shooter who is not trained nor, after a nights shooting, has the ability to cleanly gut the kangaroo. The result is several types of bacterial contamination of the carcass. All this happens in such high temperatures which promote bacteria and pathogen growth. Even the chillers have been shown to be unreliable when it comes to maintaining temperatures which kill bacteria. 3. Species decline. NPWS (NSW) issues permits based on aerial surveys of numbers of kangaroos. As we all know, kangaroos are mobile animals which can, as far as an aerial survey cares, be in two places at once. Meaning the animals can be counted twice, hence overestimating the population and therefore any quotas for killing purposes. NPWS each year comes up with new ways of counting kangaroo numbers, this is not reliable, nor is it scientific to continuously change counting methods. When it comes to our native animals, close enough is not good enough. 4. Kangaroo shooters are paid per kg, therefore they (understandably) shoot the biggest animals first. Over time, this reduces the population structure so much so that a smaller, weaker genetic species remains. This reduces the survival ability and strength of the targeted species. This has not been scientifically proven by any researcher, it is common Darwinian sense. I along with many other Australians am calling on you to cease your involvement in the commercial harvesting of kangaroos immediately. This will have virtually no effect on Australia's economy, or that of overseas economies which import kangaroo meat. The Russian National Meat Association spokesperson has already stated that kangaroo meat is not a relevant contributor to their economy. I await your response. Yours Sincerely,
Name, Address
On top of the EU & Russia pressure, please read on.... Kangaroos face imminent danger if a California bill becomes law. Senate Bill 880 would legalize kangaroo skin sales in California, where they have been banned since 1970. Go to the following page to simply sign and send a letter: http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/ca_kanga In last Kangamail we carried the story about the Macedon kangaroos that some people want to be shot. In part the article claimed ``Harvesting kangaroos would also produce both meat and skins that are in demand, create employment and economic activity in country Victoria and reduce the cost to both farmers and motorists of the damage caused by kangaroos.'' RSPCA chief scientist Dr Bidda Jones supported the move, saying a controlled cull by trained commercial shooters ``was more humane than by landholders.'' I contacted Bidda about this statement, and this was her reply. Dear Pat Thanks for your letter. I was very angry about the article in the Macedon Ranges Leader as it attributed a statement to me that I had not said. I had spoken to the journalist at some length about the complex issues surrounding the commercial kangaroo industry versus recreational shooting in an attempt to increase her understanding of the subject, but she chose instead to imply in the article that I supported a position she had not articulated to me at the time. Anyway, in response I wrote a letter to the editor which was published in the next edition of the paper. I’ve pasted the text of my letter below. I hope it clarifies our position on this issue. In terms of the other examples you cite, yes, there are some circumstances where the RSPCA has supported the killing of kangaroos – but this has to be considered on a case-by-case basis. I cannot comment on the individual cases themselves as I was not involved in the decisions. Our policy is pretty clear on the circumstances that must be met before we support any control of native animals: Control and commercial use of native animals 1.2.1 RSPCA Australia recognises that, due to a range of factors, in many areas there is an imbalance in wild populations of some species of native animals. RSPCA Australia acknowledges that in some circumstances it is necessary to reduce wild populations of some native animals. 1.2.2 RSPCA Australia is opposed to the killing of native animals in the wild where there is the potential for cruelty. Such killing should only be sanctioned where no successful humane non-lethal alternative method of control is available.
1.2.3 Any measures taken to reduce or otherwise control wild populations of native species must be proven to be necessary and potentially successful at reducing the adverse impact of the target animals. They must be conducted humanely, and be under the direct supervision of the appropriate government authorities as part of an approved management program. 1.2.4 Such control programs should be target-specific, not cause suffering to nontarget animals, and should be effectively monitored and audited with resulting data made available for public information. 1.2.5 RSPCA Australia opposes the commercial removal and use of native animals, unless such use is carried out in a humane manner and only as part of a fully regulated and government supervised management program I would really appreciate it if you could pass on the text of my letter to the editor of the Leader to your members so they are aware of our true position. Kind regards, Bidda Wacol The killing of animals should never be the first response to controlling populations said Senator Andrew Bartlett, responding to reports that the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is planning a cull of the kangaroo population around Wacol on the south-west edge of Brisbane. “Decisions need to be made in consultation with the community and there needs to be clear scientific evidence on which to base a decision,” Senator Bartlett said. “It sounds as if the EPA has fallen down on both these counts. “Having a continuing viable kangaroo population within Brisbane’s boundaries is a special thing, and something we should put extra effort into maintaining. “No-one wants the animals to suffer, but if it turns out that the population needs managing there are other ways to do it. Other options may take effort and resources but the government shouldn’t take the easy way out. “If this is really about protecting the animals from being hit by cars then surely exclusion fencing and underpasses are a more humane option than simply killing them? “The Government should be looking at a long term population management plan including effective and humane sterilization techniques. “I ask the Minister to ensure that the local community is properly consulted and that ethical and scientific criteria are used in deciding the best approach towards Wacol’s kangaroo population,” Senator Bartlett concluded. Roo Shooters Disgruntled DISGRUNTLED roo shooters are warning there could be an exodus of commercial operators from the industry unless a cap is placed on licence numbers and more workable rules are introduced. The number of licensed shooters in NSW has exploded from 620 in 1996 to 860 last year. Three years of record roo meat prices have sparked an influx of “weekend shooters” who are now competing with commercial operators for markets and shooting tags under the quota system. So desperate are shooters in some areas for tags – allocated on a first-come, first-served basis until this year – that some near Glen Innes last year camped on the doorstep of the National Parks and Wildlife Service office the night before tags were released to make sure they were first in line. *Land 26/4/07 Ed Comment; Actually the way that NSW NPNS distribute tags is disgraceful, and I understand some shooters have complained to the CCC, and so they should. NPWS have continued to issue kangaroo shooting permits to anyone who applies, and now they have far more shooters than the quotas can allow to be killed. It's typical of the gross mismanagement of the Industry by the NSW NPWS bureaucrats.
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