Kangaroo newsletter archives 45

By now many will know about the proposal by the Mudgee/Merriwa RLPB's to open up a new shooting zone in Mid-Eastern NSW. What the farmers do (and in collusion with NSW NPWS, (and they did it secretly to get the Southeast Zone opened in 2002,) is that they all apply for shooting permits.

Then they argue that they killed say, 40,000 kangaroos, and why waste the bodies. There is no requirement to prove they actually shot those kangaroos. However while a farmer may shoot a few kangaroos that he sees, farmers in no way shoot as many as an aggressive, financially and mentally challenged kangaroo shooter will...or the 20 or 30 of them that will move into the area. However, this time we found about about the plan and hopefully we may be able to stop it.

What we need everyone to do is write or email the NSW Environment Minister direct at.....Mr Philip Koperberg, PO Box A290, SYDNEY SOUTH NSW 1232 Phone 9995 6750 Fax 9995 6654 Email office@koperberg.minister.nsw.gov.au A posted letter is more effective than an email, but email is quicker for most of us busy people.

The issues are; Only 7% of NSW is permanently protected for kangaroos, and there are no wildlife corridors from these protected areas to allow safe movement of kangaroos and other wildlife.

The few large properties that currently do not allow kangaroo shooting can and do change hands and management.

Kangaroo populations have crashed over Western and Central NSW due to shooting and drought, with many chiller boxes closed, and many shooters have given up the Industry, or now only shoot part-time.

There has been no community consultation over this proposal, which has been developed in secret between the Mudgee/Merriwa Rural Land Protection Board and NSW NPWS.

The Southeast Zone around Canberra which was opened in 2002 for a "four year trial" has not been closed and is unlikely to be closed. If you wish you could ask the Minister if this Zone is going to be closed.

Many wildlife kangaroo carers have release sites in this area, and the kangaroos they have reared and released may now be commercially shot.

Add whatever else you you think is important.

We know these campaigns can be very effective so please send a letter or email now, and please forward this email to your contact lists, asking them to write too.

Mr Philip Koperberg,, PO Box A290, SYDNEY SOUTH NSW 1232 Phone 9995 6750 Fax 9995 6654 Email office@koperberg.minister.nsw.gov.au

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Wildlife Protection Association of Australia is currently Appealing the Federal Ministers decision to approve the 2007 to 2012 NSW Kangaroo Management Plan in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The made-in-secret decision to open the new commercial shooting zone is expected to be announced by NSW NPWS after the Appeal decision has been handed down. Appeal Hearings will be held in Sydney on 31 March - 2 April 2008 with the 3-4 April being held in reserve.

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Seven kangaroos were slaughtered – shot, run over and left to die – in Wollert last week in an attack that has been described as barbaric. Police are investigating the incident at the Harvest Home Rd property, which probably happened on Monday night. They are asking anyone with information to come forward. Wildlife Victoria volunteer Narelle Smith said that when she arrived at the scene around 1pm on Tuesday, six of the animals were already dead. A seventh was put down. One of the kangaroos, a female, was carrying a joey that was torn from her pouch, probably by a fox, between the time of the incident and the time the volunteer rescuers arrived.

Ms Smith said when she was called out to the property, three animals had been sighted – and when she arrived to discover there were four more spread over about 500 metres, she said she felt “anger and frustration”. “I wondered why people would want to do something like this to a protected animal,” she said, describing the killers as “barbaric” and “cowards”. Permits are required for kangaroo culling. Mill Park police Sergeant John Sybenga said it appeared four animals were shot, two had died from causes yet to be established and at least one was killed with a car. “No one had permission to be up there,” Sergeant Sybenga said. He said the owner of the private property had not seen or heard the attack.

He said it appeared the person or people responsible for the slaughter were not professional shooters. Some of the animals were not killed instantly and bled to death. Another had suffered a broken back after being run over by a car. Sergeant Sybenga said the animals’ bodies had been taken to a veterinary surgery where bullets would be removed before being analysed for any forensic evidence. He said a similar incident had occurred at Yarrambat Golf Course several months ago, where kangaroos were attacked with samurai swords but there was no evidence of a connection between the two cases.

RSPCA Victoria’s inspectorate services manager, Greg Boland, said cruelty offences against animals attracted fines of up to $12,000 or 12 months’ jail. He said most cases involving injured kangaroos were the result of accidents. “There’s obviously cruelty issues there if people have shot kangaroos and haven’t killed them instantly and just left them. “It’s not just a one-off accident,” he said. “And to have just run over them is just abhorrent.” He pointed out there was research that showed cruelty to animals often evolved into violent actions against people. The incident came as the State Government announced it planned to double the penalties for people who committed acts of cruelty against animals and introduce provisions that would bar people convicted of those offences from owning pets for up to 10 years. The legal changes will now be considered by State Parliament. Anyone with information about the killing of the kangaroos should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Mill Park police station on 9407 3333. *Star News

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The red kangaroo population in far south-west New South Wales has increased by a third in the past year. Kangaroo numbers have been devastated by the drought, dropping from 500,000 reds in 2002 to 110,000 in 2005. The latest kangaroo count found that while the grey kangaroo population remained steady, the red kangaroo population had recovered significantly, increasing by 65,000 in the Lower Darling. Department of Environment spokeswoman Nicole Payne says the population increase is mostly from migration, rather than a sharp rise in breeding. "Red kangaroos in particular have been noted to be able to respond quite quickly to changes in the seasonal conditions," she said. "They move into areas where feed is coming along from surrounding areas." The increase means kangaroo cull quotas will be lifted in the Lower Darling next year for the first time since 2002. *ABC

Ed Comment; This woman has changed her tune from her earlier comments, after being told it was physically impossible for kangaroos to increase their poulations by 50% in a year. In her earlier media statement she claimed the increase was due to breeding increases.

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CALIFORNIAN SOCCER PLAYERS CAN PUT Roo back on their shoe thanks to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signing a bill overturning the state's ban on the import and sale soccer shoes made from kangaroo leather. California was the only state to ban kangaroo leather, which, because it's lighter than other leathers, is a popular material for high-performance soccer cleats. The Australian government permits exportation of kangaroo leather and meat.

"Australia's wildlife management policies should be respected," Andrea Corso, spokeswoman for Adidas America, said in an e-mail statement to the Chicago Tribune, which reported that adidas said less than 1 percent of its U.S. footwear sales involve kangaroo leather. Adidas had lobbied the state Assembly for passage of SB 880, which passed and was signed by the governor. David Beckham reportedly stopped wearing kangaroo leather Adidas Predators, opting for a synthetic version of the shoe.

Despite the 37-year-old ban, the sale of kangaroo-skin cleats had been poorly enforced. But last year, animal rights group Viva! Vegetarian International Voice for Animals won a lawsuit against Adidas for selling them in California. The state Supreme Court stated that the federal law allowing the sale of kangaroo products did not override the California ban. "The ruling stated the constitutionality of the law," Lauren Ornelas, a spokeswoman for Viva! , told the Tribune before the ban was lifted. "The state Legislature passed this law [banning kangaroo skin] because of the way baby kangaroos are ripped from their mother's pouches and, according to the code of practice in Australia, decapitated or bludgeoned."

Australia is home to more than 25 million kangaroos, according to the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Their leather is used in shoes, boots, belts and gloves as well as items such as purses and backpacks. The meat can be processed into different cuts for people and is also used as pet food. *Soccer America

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Greenpeace Calls for Kangaroo Slaughter Greenpeace is saying "Goodbye to Joey" with a bullet. The one consistent thing these days about the Greenpeace Foundation is its inconsistency. Back in 1986, Greenpeace produced a film about the commercial slaughter of the kangaroos in Australia. The film was called Goodbye to Joey, and it denounced the wholesale slaughter of kangaroos. According to Australian Greenpeace spokesperson Trevor Daley, Greenpeace opposed the commercial trade of kangaroo products on ecological and moral grounds and stated that, "on a purely moral basis, we find it nauseating."

That was then, but today Greenpeace is actually calling for the commercial slaughter of millions of kangaroos as a solution to . . . global warming! Now Greenpeace energy campaigner Mark Wakeham is urging Aussies to eat kangaroo to help reduce land clearing and the release of methane gas. "It is one of the lifestyle changes we can make," Mr. Wakeham said. "Changing our meat consumption habits is a small way to make an impact." Obviously, Mr. Wakeham is not a vegetarian, which of course is the more positive way of changing meat consumption habits.

The proposal to commercially slaughter kangaroos is contained in a report, Paths to a Low-Carbon Future, commissioned and released by Greenpeace. Roughly three million kangaroos are killed and commercially sold for meat each year. They are shot between the eyes at night with high-powered guns. Greenpeace wishes to see this number doubled. Australians eat only about a third of the 30 million kilograms of 'roo meat produced annually. This "delicacy" is exported to dozens of countries and is most popular in Germany, France, and Belgium.

The Greenpeace report has renewed calls for the Australian state of Victoria to lift a ban on harvesting kangaroos for food. Kangaroo meat presently sold in Victoria is imported from out of the state. The commercial kangaroo meat industry has seized the Greenpeace report to strengthen its demand to remove the kangaroo slaughter ban in Victoria. Way to go, Greenpeace - saving the Earth by killing Skippy!

The Australian kangaroo population has been cut in half over the past five years because of excessive drought. A major commercial slaughter is hardly going to be beneficial to this diminished population. The Greenpeace report by Dr. Mark Diesendorf, from the University of New South Wales, states that greenhouse gas emissions need to be slashed by at least a third by 2020 in order to avoid a climate change catastrophe. One of his recommendations is reducing beef consumption and increasing kangaroo meat production. "There's a small sub-set of environmentalists who see the kangaroo as a cuddly animal which should be left alone. They are entitled to their view, but more and more people are moving towards eating it,'' said Dr. Diesendorf.

What is Greenpeace thinking? Or are they thinking at all? Greenpeace is actually calling for a massive slaughter of a wildlife species for commercial purposes. It is bad enough that Greenpeace no longer opposes the mass slaughter of harp seals in Canada. It is tragic that Greenpeace continues to support the trophy hunting of polar bears in Alaska and Northern Canada. But to openly support the largest massacre of any wildlife species on the planet is going beyond the bounds of acceptability. Has Greenpeace received a large contribution from the kangaroo meat industry? What would possess them to issue a call for a kangaroo slaughter?

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Founder and President Captain Paul Watson was also a co-founder of Greenpeace. "I feel a little like Dr. Frankenstein, having helped to create this green mean monster. There can be no justification for this insane proposal." Al Johnson, who founded Greenpeace USA and was a member of the film crew in 1984 that made Goodbye to Joey was shocked when he heard this proposal. "This is inexcusable. How can we produce a passionate film denouncing the horrific kangaroo slaughter and then advocate the mass slaughter of kangaroos a few years later?" "It is interesting that Dr. Diesendorf does not mention vegetarianism as a solution to global warming, nor does he mention the need to reduce human populations or to curb our excessive consumption of fish," said Captain Watson. "Instead, he has chosen to become Dr. Death for the 'roos and is advocating the mass slaughter of a wild native animal that has been a positive member of the Australian ecosystem for tens of thousands of years. And he dismisses those who disagree with him as a 'small subset of environmentalists.' Dr. Diesendorf is going to discover that opposition to this Auschwitz approach to solving climate change through mass killing will be opposed by a great many people." Please contact Dr. Diesendorf m.diesendorf@unsw.edu.au and voice your opposition to the mass commercial slaughter of kangaroos for dinner. Tell Greenpeace that far from being a member of a "small sub-set," you are a true environmentalist, and it may choose to push this plan, but not in your name or the name of environmentalism. *Paul Watson, Sea Shephard

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Letter from a person.....

Hello Pat (O'Brien), Have just listened to your talk on the morning ABC radio program. You are obviously very passionate about your job but that does not entitle you to publicly tell out & out lies to strengthen your augments.

I will summarise your lies . (1) You suggest that commercial shooters are not controlled. Q. Who issues their tags? (2) You suggest that most roos shoot commercially are down around the minimum 13 KG. Q. What is the average carcase weight of commercially shoot roos? (3) You say that their are a number of non lethal management options. I can only assume that you are talking about Fencing & water control. If this is your point can you please explain how either of these methods will help roo populations. My experience is that they lower roo populations over time through starvation, is Starvation non lethal?. If I have got this wrong I'm very interested for you to explain your other options to me. I suspect that you are like most other do-gooders in the world and have made your money throughout your life and are now financially secure. Looking for a productive way to spend your time. Have never had to come to grips with the fact that you are a member of a species that are the most successful predator ever. Live on the eastern side of the sand stone curtain. Feel that one receipt fits all when in fact Australia has very varied climatic regions.Believe that roo counts carried out by NSWPWL from the air are gospel and scentific proven.Have real trouble understanding when what grows and what doesn't but are still happy to sit up at the dinner table and eat all that is in front of you and campaign against the people that produced the food on your plate!.Not to mention the leather and wood products that you have in your posission. Have a long think about where you are and gain some holistic understanding of how the world and its systems work. I will hold off sending a copy of this to the ABC and the Sydney written media until I have given you a chance to reply. Yours faithfully, Peter Wise

Ed comment; I refered this person to the www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com website for further information. Since then he has contacted me again.

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The ACT Government, including their paid advisory council (another waste of taxpayers money) have resorted to deliberately tarnishing the name of kangaroos, and cruelly endangering their lives in the process, driving them to extinctioin with their lies, for housing development on the Lawson site. Neither of the Majura and Lawson sites are fit for Housing development, with both sites having toxic waste buried on them, that are leaking. Toxic chemicals are also being sprayed to kill weeds. Since taxpayers money has already been spent on kangaroo proof fencing on the Lawson site, this site is ideal to turn it into a kangaroo park. The kangaroos were placed in there after the fence was erected, therefore, it would be extremely irresponsible of the government to put the taxpayers money to waste, by pulling it down, not to mention the health risks, to anyone who would purchase these properties for housing by the lingering toxic waste. This would indeed cost billions of dollars for taxpayers in the health scheme, a clean up of the site, development of the site, ripping down an already erect kangaroo proof fence, ready to go for a kangaroo park, and not to mention the senseless cruel butchering of innocent kangaroos, with the extremely high cost of not only lives, but financially to the taxpayers. The Kangaroos have rights. They didn't ask to be placed behind a kangaroo proof fencing, holding them prisoners. These kangaroos are old and will not live much longer. It is extremely irresponsible of this government and defence to spend taxpayers money to place these kangaroos behind a kangaroo proof fencing, and then decide afterwards, they would prefer to do something else. It is not acceptable and is inappropriate behaviour, and a waste of taxpayers money. Lives are at risk here. The kangaroo park will not cost taxpayers anymore money, and will bring in billions of dollars with tourists, who will also spend their money in other areas in the ACT, while they holiday/visit here. We want this government, advisory council, and defence to stand up and tell the truth, and to remove all the bad, false publicity they have released about our kangaroos. Along with the emailing list to the attachment, Also email: attention Matthew Cossey, Secretary of State, info@act.alp.org.au, mark.daile@aph.gov.au Nora Preston, Wildlife Carers Group

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Poor old Skippy — what an utter nightmare.

One minute, he's bouncing happily through the outback, ears flapping, tail flopping, with not a care in the world.The next, he's heralded as the latest superfood — delicious, nutritious and fabulously low fat — the natural solution to global warming, and 20.4 million Australians are being urged to "throw a few kanga bangers on the barbie". Thanks to a special report commissioned by Greenpeace which claims that Aussies can dramatically reduce their carbon footprint by eating less beef and more of the local wildlife, suddenly everyone's terribly over-excited about kangaroos. Why? It's all because they don't …er, break wind.

Or, to put it rather more scientifically, whereas cows and sheep release vast quantities of methane through belching and flatulence, kangaroos release virtually none. The report says cutting beef consumption by 20 per cent (and thus the amount of cattle reared) and substituting it with kangaroo steaks, mince, burgers, ribs and so on would reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 15 megatons by 2020. It's not as mad as it sounds. On top of their impressive personal hygiene, kangaroos make model livestock. They need less food than sheep or cattle, are better adapted to drought and are far less damaging to the fragile topsoil than their sharply-hooved bovine counterparts.

And they don't taste bad, either. With a distinctive gamey flavour, very tender, best brushed with oil and cooked rare to medium rare (to stop it becoming dry and chewy), it looks just like prime roast beef. None of which, of course, is good news for poor Skippy. He's had a bit of a time of it of late. Since 2002, drought has halved the population to 25 million, and already 10 to 12 per cent of those are killed and harvested each year for their skin and meat — shot with high-powered guns between the eyes at night. But while kangaroo has long been considered an occasional exotic delicacy, eating it on an industrial scale instead of beef or lamb is a novel and highly controversial idea.

Granted, Aborigines have been happily tucking into kangaroo for 40,000 years — killing them with spears, pulling out the guts, lopping off the feet and tail, quartering, singeing the hair off on the camp fire and drinking the warm blood and fluids from the thorax while they wait for it to cook — but modern diners have struggled to embrace it. Even in today's less visceral and more vacuum-packed form. The "Skippy factor" hasn't helped. Modern Australians are uncharacteristically sentimental about an animal that has become a national icon and which pops up on the country's coat of arms (opposite an emu) and coins. They claim it just feels wrong — disrespectful, almost — to be tucking into their national emblem.

The kangaroo industry, meanwhile, is doing its best to toughen them up and overcome their squeamishness and two years ago, amid much fanfare, it launched a five-year "eat roo" campaign. There were specialist recipe books (invaluable if you fancied a seared kangaroo salad, smoked fillet of kangaroo with brioche and pear chutney, or maybe a nice bowl of kangaroo tail soup). There were also new products (kangaroo microwave meals, kangaroo kebabs, kangaroo burgers) and a huge drive in supermarkets. Many now have whole sections dedicated to kangaroo meat — steaks, mince, readymade microwave meals, barbecue packs, kanga-bangers, you name it — nestled between the beef and chicken.

There was even a competition to come up with a new name that wouldn't put diners off their dinner — a sort of equivalent to pork for pig and venison for new deer. Sadly, not a great success — after 2,700 entries from 41 countries, "australus" was chosen, but was dismissed by restaurateurs as "silly" and "pathetic" and was too similar to a brand of cosmetics (called Australis) to catch on. Today, kangaroo meat is a £100-million-a-year governmentsanctioned industry — in which a Code Of Practice For The Humane Shooting Of Kangaroos specifies the firearms that can be used in the killing, or "harvesting" of kangaroos. It also requires that "all animals be head shot" and sets out procedures for the "humane dispatch of any pouch young". But it needs to be put in context.

Despite all the hard work, Greenpeace and the kangaroo industry have a long slog ahead. Of the 30 million kilos of kangaroo meat produced each year, Australians eat less than a third — 10 million kilos, as opposed to 70 million of beef — and Australian websites are awash with bloggers who call it "dogfood" or "Aussiehog" and claim they'd "rather eat my mother's pet cat". We British appear equally reluctant to tuck in. The occasional restaurants feature it here and there as an exotic novelty, but it is far from a staple. But the rest of Europe, it seems, are mad for it.

The French eat it in steaks. The Belgians like a nice bit of fillet. The Germans are partial to a warming tail soup and the Russians are particularly partial to sausages — so partial that they eat more kangaroo meat than Australia itself. Kangaroo meat makes up more than half of all Australia's exports to Russia. But if kangaroo meat, with its myriad benefits, seems almost too good to be true, animal rights campaigners are rather less excited by it all. They insist that while the Code of Practice says the pouch young, known as "joeys", can be disposed of by being hit on the head with a water pipe or iron bar until dead, they are often ripped out of the pouch and simply left to die.

They insist the killing of kangaroos by hunters with spotlights at night is cruel and that often the shooters don't manage a clean head shot in the dark, so they die in agony. But are we in Britain missing a trick? Maybe so. Kangaroo meat is low in cholesterol and fat — 2 per cent — and high in protein, iron, zinc and conjugated linoleic acid, which reduces blood pressure. It also keeps for ages, because of its low fat content, and will sound exotic if you're having a dinner party. It's enough to put a spring in your step — if you can just forget for a moment that you're eating poor Skippy. *UK Daily Mail

Ed Comment; Greenpeace have done an enormous amount of damage with their silly research. Stories similar to the one above have appeared in news reports all over the world. They have undone years of work by many other groups. I used to make a monthly donation to Greenpeace, but Ive cancelled it and told them why, and I believe many other people have cancelled their membership and support as well. Perhaps they will get serious about protecting wildlife after this fiasco.