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Animal groups angry over roo cull

May 14, 2007 11:52am

ANIMAL welfare advocates have vowed to stop the ACT Government and the Defence Force culling more than 3000 kangaroos from two defence sites.

The Government and Defence say the cull is necessary because of overgrazing and the risk of kangaroos starving.

The plan has revived memories of a 2004 cull when the killing of 1000 kangaroos around Canberra's Googong catchment sparked global attention.

ACT Animal Liberation president Mary Hayes said today that another cull would burden the ACT with a worldwide reputation for cruelty.

She said there was no evidence kangaroos were likely to starve.

"It is a very cruel, violent way to treat animals, on a par to just treating them as if they were weeds to be mown or pulled out," she said on ABC radio.

"This is going to produce an enormous reaction, not only amongst animal welfare groups but amongst the general population who will react very strongly to it.

"It is going to give the ACT a reputation for animal cruelty throughout the whole of Australian, and indeed the rest of the world."

Under the planned cull, 2800 eastern grey kangaroos would be shot on the Majura Training Area, a defence firing range complex outside Canberra.

Another 1000 would be shot at the former naval radio transmitter site in the Belconnen area of northern Canberra.

If approved, culling would be done by licensed approved shooters. Carcasses would be buried on site.

ACT acting conservator Russell Watkinson said defence had applied for two licences to cull, with a decision due this week.

Mr Watkinson said the kangaroos weren't starving yet but the ACT Government wanted to avoid it reaching that stage.

"We are reasonably convinced there is an issue at these two sites," he said on ABC radio.

"It certainly seems there is quite an intense population level on these two sites.

"Our concerns are for the welfare of the animals and the potential for a starvation event and also the fact that there are some rare and threatened species in these grasslands under some further threat due to over-grazing."

Queensland Kangaroo Protection Coalition activist Pat O'Brien, arrested in protests at the 2004 cull, said he planned to return.

"This is just an excuse to kill them," he said.

"In fact, it's unlikely there's 2800 kangaroos in the whole of the ACT. There are a few dodgy figures here.

"This starving to death caper is just a red herring. We are likely to get rain this year. There is likely to be feed."

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21726584-1242,00.html?from=public_rss

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