Kangamail, kangaroo newsletter 51Belconnen Kangaroos
One of our allies has just received the following email from Defence about the ACT kangaroos. "Thank you for your email requesting access to Defence's ACT sites -Belconnen Naval Transmitting Station (BNTS) facility and the Majura Training Area (MTA) Unfortunately due to current environmental recovery initiatives at BNTS and Defence training activities at MTA I am unable to grant you permission to visit either of the sites. However, the following is a summary of our work to date at both sites in relation to the management of overabundant kangaroos. To develop a best practice approach Defence engaged an expert independent panel in August 2007 to assess the environmental impact of the kangaroo population on both the BNTS and MTA and to recommend actions that would ensure kangaroo numbers and key ecological processes are sustainable. Belconnen Naval Transmitting Station (BNTS) * The panel confirmed that due to the captive nature of the population at Belconnen it is necessary to manage the population to ensure that it does not result in a reduction of biodiversity and landscape values or degrade on-site ecosystems. The panel recommended this be done through a combination of translocation, fertility control and - only where necessary - humane euthanasia * A tender has just been awarded to implement the recommendations of the panel. * Monitoring programs targeting habitat quality (for the threatened species), kangaroo numbers, and endangered species are currently underway. A kangaroo exclusion fence has been erected around endangered Ginninderra Peppercress at the site. Majura Training Area * A kangaroo exclusion fence has been erected around the Native Temperate Grassland. The exclusion fence is designed to provide relief for the grassland and the habitats of the endangered species. * A monitoring program targeting habitat quality, within the exclusion fence, has been established. Baseline data was established in December and critical seasonal points for data collection have been identified over the course of the next twelve months. Monitoring programs for the endangered species in this area will also continue. * A monitoring program for the woodland area outside the exclusion fence has also been established. This program monitors the condition of the habitat to see if grazing pressure increases due to the erecting of the exclusion fence. These activities will greatly assist Defence in setting future land management strategies for the ACT. In implementing these activities, Defence continues to work with the expert panel, the ACT and Commonwealth environment departments, the RSPCA and a number of universities. Additionally, Defence is also assisting the independent public review of grasslands management recently commissioned by the ACT Chief Minister late last year. I thank you for your genuine interest in the issue. Regards, Defence" ***** Obviously our first concern is the bit about "and - only where necessary - humane euthanasia". We have to wonder why they want to ki ll any of the kangaroos, especially when Defence have previously given a public committment not to ki*ll them. We also understand that Defence accepted the lowest of three tenders to relocate the kangaroos. It's not as though the kangaroos are unwell. They are healthy, with plenty of feed, although possibly a bit interbred. One of the problems that any kangaroos relocated from Defence land at Belconnen face, is that they need to get Permit from the NSW NPWS to take them into NSW. So what if (as is likely) that NSW NPWS only allow a Permit to relocate, say 50 kangaroos? Or even none? What about the other 300 that they claim need to go...will they be ki*lled? And who was on this "expert independent panel" that decided that only 100 kangaroos could stay at Belconnen anyway? No doubt the same academics who wanted to k ill the kangaroos in the first place. We cannot understand how they can talk about "The panel confirmed that due to the captive nature of the population at Belconnen it is necessary to manage the population to ensure that it does not result in a reduction of biodiversity and landscape values or degrade on-site ecosystems" when the whole site is being targeted by the ACT government for a housing development. That's what really behind the whole fiasco. So far Defence have ignored proposals that the whole site should be a Reserve. We also understand that there was conflict between the ACT Labor government and the previous Liberal Federal government, but now with change of Federal Government they are all mates. Meanwhile we are being refused permission to visit the sites, and that can only mean one thing....they have got something to hide! We also understand that someone is running around Canberra and NSW trying to find wildlife carers to take the joeys off the ki lled mothers. More info coming about the ACT Belconnen kangaroos soon. ******************************* Why Kangaroos Count You would have often heard that kangaroos are in plague numbers since early settlers arrived and built dams and grew crops. But are they? How many kangaroos are in a plague anyway? In 1840 when the early settlers arrived and started farming, there were 5 major river systems, with associated wetlands, thousands of square kilometers of native pasture, and plentiful rain. In fact one study by Dr John Auty has suggested that in 1860 there was enough native pasture to support 400 million kangaroos! But Government counting figures suggests there are now only 20 to 25 million. We know that kangaroos are soft footed animals, they tread lightly on the soil, and we know they are directly responsible for the germination and spreading native grasses and shrubs. The kangaroo footprint leaves an impression where the toenail sinks into the ground. A seed is blown into the toenail depression, rain germinates the seed, and up come our native grasses. For thousands of years, kangaroos have been responsible for the germination and the spreading of our valuable native grasses. All this is well documented. Yet suddenly, in the Canberra area, some scientists are claiming that kangaroos are destroying the native grasses, and so destroying the grassy habitat of Earless Lizards, the Golden Sun Moth, and even some birds! Why is it so? How come the kangaroos, for thousands of years of being effective dispersers and spreaders of native grasses, they are now being blamed for damaging the habitat and causing the extinction of moths, lizards, and even birds? Is there another agenda for the need to kill the kangaroos at the Belconnen and Majura Defence Sites? Would it have anything to do with a 4 lane highway and “Technology Park” to be built between Majura and the Canberra Airport...in the kangaroo habitat? Would the Belconnen kill proposal have anything to do with a housing development proposal? Nah, that’s probably just a coincidence! But what is the first thing that our Governments departments think of if someone cries “Kangaroo Plague! Kangaroo plague! I just saw twelve kangaroos under a tree on my place!” Well, the first thing they think of is killing them, and they will issue a Permit to do so over the phone, without any inspections. The reasons they don’t so inspections of course, is that they don’t have the staff or the resources to do them. If the staff do hedge on issuing a Permit, the landholder then threatens to contact his local Member, and the Permit is issued. No one in a Government job wants to rock any boats. This “who cares?” attitude within the Government bureaucracies is the result of a hundred years of propaganda that has convinced many Australians that there are millions upon countless millions of kangaroos out in the whoop-whoops, and they have to killed so farmers can make a living. It’s nonsense of course. For those that believe the new Federal Government will take some action on the kangaroo slaughter ...think again. Even though we have a new bunch of new politicians, we still have the same old, same old, advisors and bureaucrats making their decisions for them! There are many farmers who can live with the kangaroos, have adequate fencing to protect their cropping paddocks, and won’t allow shooters on their properties. And there are not countless millions of kangaroos left anyway. In many of the shooting zones, especially in NSW, kangaroos are regionally extinct. In 2003 the NSW Government quietly opened up a huge new shooting area around Canberra. Shooters from all over NSW moved into the zone, and the kangaroos were shot to pieces. Currently they are trying to open up a new shooting zone around Mudgee. The reason for the new Zones of course in because the other Central NSW Zones have been shot out, and many shooters have left the Industry altogether. But what will eventually close the kangaroo Industry down I believe is the publicity surrounding the new draft Code of Practice for Commercial killing of kangaroos. For decades the Government hid the killing of the joeys under various carpets. Now it’s all coming out in the public view, and the public are not happy about it. For the Government and the Industry to state that decapitating a joey, or smashing its head in with an iron bar, after killing the mother, is humane and appropriate just doesn’t wash with anyone. This is not something we would allow to be done to our dogs and cats, so why would it be acceptable to do this to kangaroos? But the new Draft Code of Practice has at last recognised what we’ve been saying for decades, that the dependent young at foot, when their mother is shot, race away into the night and die of predation and exposure. But after an expert was paid to find a solution, and couldn’t find one, what was the Draft Code of Practice recommendation? Well, now they can shoot them with a rifle, and non-commercial with a shotgun. Imagine that! A tiny joey, bouncing around in terror, at night, and the shooters are told to shoot it! I believe that now it’s out in the open, this appalling treatment of young wildlife will close down the Industry, even more than the health and hygiene issues. I think many people take the view that if someone wants to eat game meat that’s killed in a paddock, carted around in the dark and dust for hours, held in a chiller box for a couple of weeks, then cut up and packaged... well, quite frankly they deserve whatever illness they get! In a recent meeting with Aquis I was told that if people want to eat game meat, they should expect it to be contaminated. In other words AQIS know its unhealthy, but are not prepared to do anything about it. I look forward the day when kangaroos and other wildlife can live in peace in a safe and natural environment....but that's not going to happen anytime soon * Pat OBrien ***************************************** Birth control pill for kangaroos tested IT made the swinging '60s a baby-free party for humans. Now researchers predict a birth-control pill will do the same for Australia's prolific kangaroos. To that end, molecular biologist Janine Buist is refining and testing, with free-ranging eastern grey roos, what promises to be a marsupial-friendly contraceptive snack. The idea is to make a product that looks like pet food, and which farmers and park rangers could put out in feeders to control the fertility of local roos. Ms Buist's colleague Don Fletcher, an ecologist with ACT Parks, Conservation and Lands, said: "We want to create a non-lethal way to control the population of one of Australia's best-loved animals." Plans to cull roos in and around Canberra regularly trigger controversy. Animal protection groups were outraged this month by the release of a new government code of practice for the humane shooting of kangaroos. So far, the pill has worked well in trials with individual animals. If further tests went well, the product could be on the market within the decade. According to Ms Buist, her pill is based on research with possums in New Zealand and earlier work conducted by team member John Rodger. Dr Fletcher said the pill was "species specific" so it would not harm birds or other animals that might eat it. *News.com.au ********************************* Kids for Kangaroos An analysis of entries to Google's Australia Day competition shows children believe kangaroos and koalas strongly represent all that is Australian. Google Australia analysed a sample of doodles entered in its nationwide Doodle for Google competition, providing a unique snapshot of Australia as viewed by schoolchildren. Top of the list were Australian animals, which appeared in 30 per of the doodles submitted. The most popular animals were kangaroos and koalas. Flags, including the Aboriginal flag, and maps of Australia appeared in 15 per cent of doodles, with swagman, swag hats, Aboriginal art and boomerangs making up the majority of "cultural icon" doodles (12 per cent). Iconic locations such as Uluru, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House dominated the landmark category (12 per cent). The most popular sport (nine per cent) to feature among the entries was Australian Rules Football, with cricket a distant second. Other icons to make a notable appearance included gum trees, Vegemite, barbecues, meat pies and beer. A state by state analysis revealed a number of predictable outcomes. NSW students were more inclined to include the Sydney Opera House or Harbour Bridge, while Victorians displayed their passion for the traditional green and yellow tram. South Australians and Queenslanders showed a bias towards animals, while Tasmanians and West Australians featured sport and flora. Territorians gained inspiration from their landscape, while Canberrans showed their patriotic side, being most likely to display the flag or a map of the country. The winning design, from 12-year-old Melbourne student Janelle San Juan, features on Google's home page on Australia Day. * 2008 AAP ***************************** Warrawong Wildlife Santuary Some of our Kangamail readers discovered thet Warrawong Sanctuary is serving kangaroo meat at their cafe. They wrote to Warrawong and asked them to stop serving kangaroo meat, explaining that it wasnt appropriate for a wildlife sanctuary that recieves public funding, to be selling kangaroo body parts. This was the response below. "To whom it may concern. This email has been forwarded to SAPOL (South Australian Police) along with all the other emails received to date. The remarks contained within these emails are seditious, libelous and slanderous. As such, we are looking at civil and or other actions against the above. SAPOL have intimated that these emails are tantamount to harassment and will be investigating accordingly." This was WPAA's response to Warrarong; "Well, all this will make interesting reading through our National and International networks. We have said all this and much more to Woolworths, Coles, Adidas, Tescos, and other International vendors of kangaroo body parts. And we will continue to do so. As spokesperson for the organisations noted below, we support the comments about kangaroo meat made to you in these emails. Please add us to the SAPOL list, and meanwhile in good faith we suggest it would be sensible to remove kangaroo body parts from your restuarant's menu". For those who wish to contact Warrawong about serving kangaroo body parts in their cafe, the email address is; judy@warrawong.com ******************************* Kangaroos Shot Four kangaroos were shot, then taken to one of the Peninsula’s most spectacular scenic lookouts and slaughtered over the weekend. It was a grisly find for a member of the public who filed a report to Council General Inspector Colin Thyer, who referred the matter to Department of Environment and Heritage Yorke District. Yorketown Police were called, with OIC Mark Stuart travelling to the Kangaroo Island Lookout just west of Foul Bay to meet with DEH Ranger Aaron Smith yesterday (Monday) afternoon, to look at the scene and search for evidence. The four kangaroos (three adults and one juvenile) were discovered in the centre of the small car park area. The animals had been shot, the state of the carcases indicating probably on the previous day, Sunday. All four had then been cut up, the hindquarters and tails removed and taken. It was left to Mark and Aaron to clean up the mess, with the remains bagged and taken back to Innes Park Headquarters at Stenhouse Bay for disposal. Kangaroos are a protected species, and under the National Parks & Wildlife Act (1972) it is an offence to take a protected animal, or eggs of a protected animal. While it is acknowledged kangaroo numbers can impact on primary production, destruction permits are only issued on application to DEH and then only following an assessment of the impact and taking into account actual kangaroo numbers. The perpetrators, if located, face charges for taking/killing a protected animal without a permit, and being in possession of any part of a carcase without a sealed tag attached. Police and DEH are both continuing investigations, and are looking for any information from the public to assist them. *Yorke Peninsula News *************************** Whales and Kangaroos The debate about the Japanese whale kill and Australia's treatment of its kangaroos highlights some disturbing facts. The commercial whaling industry was responsible for sending whales to the brink of extinction, while the commercial kangaroo industry is the largest wildlife slaughter in the world, brutally killing millions of joeys annually, cleverly disguised as "pest control" and profiting a select few. Kangaroo numbers have plunged to their lowest level in decades, and may never recover. There are disturbing similarities between these two hunts: both are barbaric, both are unnecessary and both threaten the existence of two unique creatures of our planet. Nikki Sutterby Australian Society for Kangaroos, Castlemaine (Vic) SMH ***************************** "WHILE they say don't hunt whales, they teach you how to kill kangaroos." Japan's newspapers have been unusually attentive, though restrained, during the latest Antarctic whaling controversy, but yesterday Tokyo Sport took aim and fired both barrels. The main story, taking its lead loosely from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, was headlined: "Two major Australian newspapers' explosive report, Japan a terrorist state." Another story leads off: "The Australian Government's official website says how to kill baby kangaroos with shotgun pellets." This broadly repeated reports from Australia nearly a fortnight ago, in which Pat O'Brian of the Wildlife Protection Association complained about a new Environment Department code of conduct suggesting "humane" methods of dispatching orphaned joeys by shotgun blast or braining against a towbar. Japanese sports - actually sports and sex - newspapers are not regarded as reliable in most other areas of reporting, and Tokyo Sport is not even regarded as the most reliable sports newspaper. But the tone of its coverage reflects what people think about kangaroo killing - regarded with far more distaste than hunting whales - the Australian anti-whaling campaign and, especially, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society antics. "People here hate irrational acts of violence that are used to attract the attention of other people who don't really know what's going on with (the whaling) industry," says Kyoko Ebisawa, a senior researcher who has worked for British and Australian. "People here take this as just a performance by Sea Shepherd." However, Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace have drawn more coverage to a matter generally regarded here as a non-issue. Sankei Shimbun, the most right-wing of the mainstream newspapers, headlined its front-page story yesterday: "Aggressive, disruptive actions by anti-whaling activists." Sankei quoted Institute of Cetacean Research director Minoru Moto calling the activists "terrorists" engaged in dangerous, illegal activities. *Australian ***************************** Skippy for supper: Kangaroo meat is healthy, plentiful and leaves a tiny carbon footprint In the cosy confines of a kitchen in Brixton, south London, the preparations for a dinner party are in full swing. Ed and his long-term girlfriend, Anne, are pulling together the ingredients for a bountiful mid-week feast. Uncorking an Australian Chardonnay, they pick their way through some choice fillet and throw it on to a sizzling saucepan as their guest, Natasha, smiles on, unaware of the ordeal about to befall her. Natasha, an Australian expatriate living in London, is keen to sample the mysterious slap-up grub. Her mission is to taste the meat shortly to be served, even though she has only been furnished with the scantest of details of what it actually is. As the cookery wears on (with the author in a back-seat "expediting" role), sausages and burgers join their raw animal bedfellow on the spotlessly clean cooker, which spews forth pungent fumes. Natasha inquires as to the identity of the aforementioned meat, but no answer is forthcoming. Soon, the finished, cooked meal is transported through into a nearby, candle-lit dining room and all are eager to chow down. What those in attendance have failed to tell Natasha is that she is about to tuck into her national mascot, namely kangaroo, and lots of it. In this act of seemingly sadistic cuisine lies an important moral message. Where once "Skippy" warned his human colleagues away from danger, nowadays he is more likely to get digested with a fruity glass of plonk. The kangaroo industry is a £100m-a-year affair in Australia. While the country produces 30 million kg of kangaroo meat each year, it consumes less than 10 million kg; one of the reasons for this is that roos are often unfavourably thought of as "roadkill" down under. Kangaroo meat makes up half of Australia's exports to Russia and is also popular in Europe. While a few restaurants in Britain stock the meat in question, it is yet to get the attention it deserves. Until now. Greenpeace recently funded a survey in which it was claimed that eating kangaroos in place of other meats can radically reduce one's carbon footprint. The perhaps unhygienic reason for this is that kangaroos don't produce flatulence (so to speak). Cows and sheep produce vast volumes of methane through belching and, well, whatever happens at the other end. (Ed Comment; Greenpeace have a lot to answer for with their stupid "research"!) The meat is low in cholesterol and fat, and bursting with protein, iron, zinc and conjugated linoleic acid, which reduces blood pressure – all guaranteed to put a spring in your step. The kangaroo's superiority in many ways might not be as bizarre as it might first appear: the marsupials have great personal hygiene, need less food than sheep or cattle and are better adapted to drought; they are generally high up the evolutionary tree (although, sadly for them, not as high as us). And in the flesh they do taste pretty nice: a gamey flavour (that, it must be warned, tails off into "Gagsville" as the produce cools). It is recommended brushed with oil and cooked rare to medium-rare to stop it becoming dry and chewy. Most of it looks like beef. The fillet looks pretty ordinary. Upon sawing through the loin presented before him as though he were a king, Ed, a London advertising hotshot, says: "Mmm, delicious. I particularly loved the burgers. The fillet tasted somewhere in between pheasant and beef, though I'd prefer a good Toulouse sausage any day. Given the low-carbon impact of kangaroo meat, I'll definitely be eating roo burgers again." The Greenpeace-funded report, authored by the Australian scientist Dr Mark Diesendorf, claims that Australia can reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 30 per cent by 2020. One way it can do this is by cutting down on cows. Dr Diesendorf writes that reducing beef consumption by 20 per cent and putting Skippy on the dinner plate instead would cut 15 megatonnes of greenhouses gases from the atmosphere by 2020. "Kangaroos do not emit greenhouse gases," he writes. "They are not hooved animals, either, so they don't damage the soil." He adds that kangaroo is very healthy and low in fat. "There's a small subset 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." Indeed, there is a slough of websites advertising kangaroo-eating possibilities. One of these is by the Bristol-based meat supplier Osgrow, run by Paul Cook. Cook says that kangaroo is one of his company's best-selling items; he sells it to specialist restaurants. All is imported through container ships, thus obviously avoiding the huge carbon footprint that would be stamped across planet Earth by an ecologically unfriendly jumbo jet. Osgrow uses two cuts of kangaroo; four of the 48 different species are harvested for commercial purposes. The population is monitored by the Australian government, which issues annual quotas for commercial harvesting; no kangaroos are taken from national parks or conservation areas. Although aborigines have been happily tucking into kangaroo for thousands of years, most Australians are uncharacteristically sentimental about doing so. Not Natasha. She happily slices her way through the gamey burgers and stringy sausages – and helps herself to seconds. Skippy is both a problem solver and a tasty meal. What else could anyone ask for? The up-and-comers of the meat industry OSTRICH Ostrich farming in the UK has really taken off in the past decade – and with the health benefits, it's easy to see why. Ostrich meat has a 3 per cent fat content (compared with beef at 11 per cent and chicken at 8 per cent), low cholesterol, and high calcium, protein and iron. The birds also have the best feed-to-weight-gain ratio of any land animal in the world, making them a highly sustainable breed. Best eaten in steaks or sausages, ostrich tastes similar to prime beef. SPRINGBOK The national symbol of South Africa, this small antelope is also one of its most delicious exports. Although springboks are a threatened species, the drive to increase the population relies on successful breeding for both ecological and commercial purposes. The meat is dark red and very tender, with typically half the fat and three-quarters of the cholesterol of beef. It has a small, fine grain, similar in texture to lamb fillet, and a taste somewhere between veal and venison. BISON Bison are North America's largest native animal. Since the 1990s, they have been farmed extensively in order to maintain current population levels. Flavour-wise, bison meat is very similar to beef, with no gamey or wild aftertaste. Because it is a lean meat, it should be cooked at a lower temperature, and does not need to be cooked as long as some other, fattier meats. It's also fairly healthy, being lower in cholesterol and fat than both fish and chicken. VENISON If you fancy something closer to home, try venison. As part of the drive to manage wild-game numbers, deer culling is considered one of the most ethical ways to source meat in order to maintain a target population. Best in either steaks or burgers, venison is low in calories, cholesterol and fat. When cooked lean, the meat contains approximately 150 calories per 100g, and it is a source of niacin, potassium, phosphorus, iron, selenium and zinc. *the Independent **************************** Draft kangaroo Code of Practice Wildlife groups have lashed out at a new draft code for the slaughter of kangaroos , which allows young joeys to be killed by bashing their heads against vehicle towballs. But the RSPCA considers the killing method acceptable, and the Kangaroo Industry Association says the code was written by an independent committee and represents ``current best practice''. The method is allowed under section 6 of the code, which deals with joeys orphaned when their mothers are killed during culls. Australian Wildlife Protection Council president Maryland Wilson said the practice was ``barbaric''. ``The code is a last-ditch effort to keep a filthy, brutal industry going,'' Ms Wilson said. But RSCPA Victoria president, Dr Hugh Wirth, said bashing the head of a joey against a car towball to kill it was acceptable. ``It sounds barbaric, but the truth is that if the joey's head is crushed with one blow, that is the same as shooting it,'' Dr Wirth said. ``The difficulty the RSPCA has is whether it is killed with one blow.'' Dr Wirth said killing joeys with shotguns was acceptable at short range, but he claimed farmers with destruction permits had a lower rate of humane kills than professional shooters. He maintained vehement opposition to the killing of Tasmanian wallabies with shotguns, saying a high percentage of inhumane kills resulted. Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia executive officer John Kelly backed the method. ``The code says a heavy blow to completely destroy the brain . . . results in an instant humane death,'' Mr Kelly said. The code of conduct is be displayed for public comment and can be downloaded here, http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/invitecomment/draft-code-kangaroos.html and make comments there before 6th March. Sun Herald ********************* A kangaroo came off second best when it was hit by a motorcycle at Kelso yesterday morning. The motorcyclist was riding along Kelso Drive about 9.40am when he collided with the roo. He was flung from his bike and escaped with cuts and abrasions. He was treated by paramedics at the scene of the accident before being taken to Townsville Hospital. His motorcycle sustained only minor damage. *Townsville Bulletin 29/1/08 *************************
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