The Kangaroo - World survival barometer?
What has the family Macropod got to do with world survival? How can one species indicate our chances or not of long term earthly occupation? Why not another species in another country or another ocean being the one, if there is one, that can be predictive of future problems? The answer to these questions lays in the uniqueness of this maligned marsupial, the fortunate geographical position of island Australia, our political stability and the comparative wealth of this relatively new nation. Never before in history has a country benefited with abundance of conditions that cannot help but promote the highest aspirations of the human potential. Our political system, even though far from perfect, outshines other democracies to such an extent that very few of us have the desire to live elsewhere unless the minority lure of a better occupation demands this. We are indeed, the lucky country. These are not just words without proper foundation; this is a glaringly obvious statement of truth beyond any glimmer of doubt. Our system and lifestyle is the envy of an overpopulated, strife torn and resource hungry planet. Our island in the sun is the pinnacle of human hopes and dreams. It does not, will not and probably can not get much better than this for most of Australia's population. The flaw to all this luck is also blatantly obvious but human nature, as it is, keeps this side of the equation hidden deep in the recesses of the brain where it remains out of harms way. We are indeed lucky, but some of that luck is overly exploitative of the environment and are short-term exercises with long-term adverse implications. Australia is a huge Island Continent, so vast yet so fragile in its interior, ecologically speaking, that since the arrival of Europeans, it has become not recognisable as its former self. Many would point at the Aboriginal occupation of tens of thousands of years as a similar scenario in landscape altering but convenient as that seems on the surface, it must not be forgotten that the intensity of European dollar making enterprises pales indigenous efforts into complete insignificance. In fact, the environment evolved with Aboriginal burning and even though Mega-Fauna and other extinction are blamed on them, without a fuller knowledge of science, they did pretty well indeed. It must never be forgotten that in just two hundred years we have amassed quite an unenviable mistake ridden record when it comes to the environment. For us to emulate the Aboriginal occupation of fifty thousand plus years, with our present practices, in not even in the realms of possibility. What then is our excuse for the abysmal decline in the health of the Semi-Arid regions and adjacent lands? We have the knowledge in what we are doing, the science is irrefutably pointing to irreversible changes, the overall economic outlook favours non-viability of the majority of holdings and this is the big point, the kangaroo is being promoted by governments, agricultural industries and the kangaroo industry, as the scapegoat. This is certainly a case of, if the lie is big and told often enough, it becomes the truth. European Australia has a dubious tradition of killing kangaroos for "sport" and "pest" eradication since arrival. So entrenched is this tradition that even now many Australians go kangaroo shooting for "fun", as illegal as that might be. Only a few decades ago it was a very common and acceptable pastime. The unfortunate part of this tradition is that it is now being used and reinforced by those that govern us to justify the modern slaughter. It is a despicable way of retaining votes, and even the most stupid of politicians must have a sneaking suspicion of their complicity in continuing the lie. Never the less, whether they know or not, does not make their actions in supporting the brutal demise of millions of kangaroos, somehow, not so despicable. It would appear that the best democracy that can be contrived by humans, in a time of plenty, is no match for the dark side of our nature and if this is so, what hope for the rest of a not so lucky world. If we cannot make it in preserving delicate rangelands, but are inclined to flog them to a slow and knowing death, grimly hanging onto the notion that if we kill enough kangaroo's, "she'll be right mate", then we are being very much more than less than useless to an ecologically collapsing world. Government sanctioned killing of kangaroos is bad enough but how we go about the killing is another example of our smug state of denial on this topic. It is a proud part of advanced civilizations to afford animals rights under law to protect them from the excess of individual acts of cruelty. It is also a proud part of advanced civilizations, even in warfare, to adhere to codes of conduct for the prevention of unnecessary brutal behaviour or consequences. Such as: It is not acceptable to fire upon an enemy that is defenceless and one who cannot retaliate. It is not acceptable to use soft-nosed bullets (dumdum) because of the horrific injuries they cause. It is not acceptable to terrorize an enemy by striking with weaponry in unexpected situations. It is not acceptable to kill or injure the innocent. It is not acceptable to use an overt amount of force. The list goes on and on . All these not-acceptables are disregarded when it comes to the killing of kangaroos. The only excuse for this is that they are animals. Some excuse! Without being too Shakespearian, do they not bleed when they are cut, do they not feel the shattering impact of a faster-than-the-speed of sound soft-nosed projectiles, do they not feel intense terror in the "war-zone", do they not grieve for their kin? Yes, they are animals, but so are we. We must really wake up to ourselves and not accept this double standard of convenience as though we are at war with the kangaroo. Australia has slowly slipped into the role of becoming a nation in support of animal terrorism. This article has steered away from the emotive wounding, clubbing of joeys, the terror experienced before death of the at-foot joey, offal left in the field for ferals and environmental damage by vehicles etc, on purpose. The principle of shooting sentient animals is wrong; these things are extra outrageous consequences. Words could be said about the loss of jobs on cessation of commercial shooting, although one has to wonder how many more would be created in a tourist industry no longer shackled by deceit of what is really happening to our world class icon. The presently male dominated kangaroo industry would be replaced by both sexes having a fair go in showing tourists our first class, in the wild and in numbers befitting their natural state of existence, experience. Examples of changes in societies that affect job opportunities are an ongoing part of life. The end of slavery, the beginning of the steam engine, the petrol engine, aeroplanes, lace-up-boots, etc., etc., did not end civilizations, as those that felt threatened strongly suggested would be the case. Australians have been duped into allowing the commercial shooting of kangaroos to begin and to continue unabated and unchecked and it has been a small number of benefiting vocal and powerful voices that protects the status quo. This, much to the discredit of academia and politics. That we have swapped from eating sheep and cattle to feeding our pets and humans, this wild and free creature, the kangaroo, has no sound argument ethically, environmentally or democratically and is the high point of the barometer of humanity being its own worst enemy. If in a country such as ours we cannot right this terrible wrong, the question has to be asked, what hope for the less enlightened world, and therefore, also, us? I have done a stint at professional kangaroo shooting many years ago and I have recently been involved with the raising of joey kangaroos. I have also been keenly observing wild kangaroos on a daily basis, for a number of years, and interact with people of similar disposition. With this knowledge I would like to try and put across to you the reader, how a kangaroo feels when it is shot. Although a kangaroo does not think in English language terms I consider that I am very fortunate in being one of the few people that has an inkling of how they interpret the world around them. This is a best guess scenario. The judgement, of just an exercise in anthropomorphism, will no doubt ring from the hallowed halls of science, but let me remind those so inclined, of Albert Einstein's words: "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." *************************************************************** "My name is Red and I am seven times as old as the Sun has moved from the North to the South. I really do not think in those terms but suffice to say I am quite large, very fit, very strong and one sexy male. The weather has been hot and I drank two darks ago from the dry riverbed hole that I found already made. What luck, hey! Lying under this low Acacia, in my made-to-order digging, I watch the sun slowly vanish into the mystery. Of course I am also watching the young Joey and his "hot" mother Freeda. My old Alpha-mate, Ruby, died in the two-legged thunder night six or seven darks ago. I had known her for two new ones time and the sight of her dying with her head spit open still haunts me. At the time I was extremely confused and frightened and as much as my instincts tried to make me protect her, I chose to run away. My special mate is gone, my pride in my ability is dented and to top it off, I found her new pouched one dead with the bodies of many of my kind. What does that sort of thing to so many bodies? Later I found some of the body of her dependant new one. One leg caught in a fence and eaten alive by foxes. Both my offspring gone. Freeda, who has had a number of similar experiences, also shares the uneasy feelings I have and try hard as we can to forget them, this deep nervousness always remains. I suppose, at least it is good that I do not have to defend myself against some huge and impressive looking Alpha Male to prove a point and win the females, but somehow it is not the same. The wind is nearly non-existent and I can hear the two-legged machine and it is far away. Even if it loped as fast as myself it could not possibly be here in time to be a threat. Freeda hears it too and is not so sure as she has been caught out before. The machines are very quick. I stand to full height and look out over the long distance and see a moving speck but too far away to be a threat. Freeda also sees the speck and she has bounded away as fast as she can go with Joey trying to keep up with her. I think I will eat. Not going to exert that sort of energy for no good reason. I'll amber over to where she has gone later and mate her. Still, I feel uneasy. The Sun has gone down now and the moon is high in the sky and my landscape takes on the beauty as only seen through the eyes of those who feel completely at home in it. The wind has picked up slightly and my hearing ability drops. I must be careful. Suddenly I hear the machine and it is close. I stand bolt upright to confront it when a small Sun blinds my eyes. The machine stops and the Sun is stationary. My earlier uneasy feelings have been justified. The fear that I am experiencing is so overpowering I do not know what to do. I am terrified but the two leggeds are not within touching range. I move on all fours and then stop; I move again and stop again. What is happeni ? I am struck in the head by something. I find myself on the ground with blood running down my face, I cannot think, I cannot bear the pain, I cannot run. With every effort I can muster I stumble to my squatting position facing away from the sun, looking in the direction of escape. I glance a two-legger at my rear. It takes hold of my tail and lifts it. As hard as I try, in a state of absolute panic, I cannot go forward. I look around and see the two legged about to strike me with a small iron bar. I huff loudly as I feel my skull crunch on one side and an intolerable pain fills my body .." The bar comes down hard again. Nick
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