Govt. Plan to Kill 2,000 Kangaroos Angers Aussies
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 3:31 am(June 22) -- Many Australians are hopping mad at what they call a secretive and brutal government decision to kill up to 2,000 kangaroos in the capital city of Canberra, saying the animals are a national emblem and have a right to live there.
The Australian Capital Territory has closed off eight parks and nature preserves in the city and has authorized a team of marksmen to begin shooting the kangaroos over the next six weeks. The authorities claim their grazing has endangered plant and animal species.
As the kangaroos have moved closer to the city center in recent years, seeking water in times of drought, they have even entered homes and caused havoc at twilight by jumping in front of cars, London's Daily Telegraph reports.
Grey kangaroos at the Belconnen Naval Transmission Station near Canberra
Mark Graham, AP
The Australian government's decision to kill up to 2,000 kangaroos in Canberra because they are endangering plant and animal species in the area has outraged many Australians.
On one occasion, the paper said, a kangaroo jumped through a window and landed on a couple's bed, forcing the man to wrestle the animal out of the house.
But the Australian Society for Kangaroos, which told The Canberra Times that it plans to try to stop the killings, says there is no scientific evidence that the animals are endangering the city's environment.
The society's coordinator, Nikki Sutterby, also said the government's assertion that it had ordered the killing of 1,890 kangaroos was "dramatically underestimated," because many of those killed would be females supporting their young, called joeys.
"'Kangaroos are actually a natural and important part of the Australian environment, and they have been in harmony with it for about 16 million years," she told the paper. The joeys, she added, "are clubbed to death or decapitated" once they flee from their mothers' pouches.
"It's absolutely brutal; they don't even spare a bullet," said Sutterby. "A lot of joeys will be orphaned too, because while they're still dependent they won't necessarily be in the pouch when their mums are shot."
For every female killed, two joeys will also die, she said, "pushing the death toll closer to 3,000."
In 2008, according to the Telegraph, large numbers of protesters demonstrated after 600 kangaroos were culled, catching world attention.
As a result, the society says, the local government has not issued exact dates for the culling, saying it will comment only after it has finished. To the kangaroo society, this is culling "by stealth."
Sutterby told the Canberra paper that her organization would deploy members to watch the culling and try to stop it, but declined to be specific about its plans.
"Kangaroos are our dominant native herbivores, and there is meant to be a lot of them, but human beings are really uncomfortable with that," she said, according to the Telegraph.
http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/go ... s/19526285
The Australian Capital Territory has closed off eight parks and nature preserves in the city and has authorized a team of marksmen to begin shooting the kangaroos over the next six weeks. The authorities claim their grazing has endangered plant and animal species.
As the kangaroos have moved closer to the city center in recent years, seeking water in times of drought, they have even entered homes and caused havoc at twilight by jumping in front of cars, London's Daily Telegraph reports.
Grey kangaroos at the Belconnen Naval Transmission Station near Canberra
Mark Graham, AP
The Australian government's decision to kill up to 2,000 kangaroos in Canberra because they are endangering plant and animal species in the area has outraged many Australians.
On one occasion, the paper said, a kangaroo jumped through a window and landed on a couple's bed, forcing the man to wrestle the animal out of the house.
But the Australian Society for Kangaroos, which told The Canberra Times that it plans to try to stop the killings, says there is no scientific evidence that the animals are endangering the city's environment.
The society's coordinator, Nikki Sutterby, also said the government's assertion that it had ordered the killing of 1,890 kangaroos was "dramatically underestimated," because many of those killed would be females supporting their young, called joeys.
"'Kangaroos are actually a natural and important part of the Australian environment, and they have been in harmony with it for about 16 million years," she told the paper. The joeys, she added, "are clubbed to death or decapitated" once they flee from their mothers' pouches.
"It's absolutely brutal; they don't even spare a bullet," said Sutterby. "A lot of joeys will be orphaned too, because while they're still dependent they won't necessarily be in the pouch when their mums are shot."
For every female killed, two joeys will also die, she said, "pushing the death toll closer to 3,000."
In 2008, according to the Telegraph, large numbers of protesters demonstrated after 600 kangaroos were culled, catching world attention.
As a result, the society says, the local government has not issued exact dates for the culling, saying it will comment only after it has finished. To the kangaroo society, this is culling "by stealth."
Sutterby told the Canberra paper that her organization would deploy members to watch the culling and try to stop it, but declined to be specific about its plans.
"Kangaroos are our dominant native herbivores, and there is meant to be a lot of them, but human beings are really uncomfortable with that," she said, according to the Telegraph.
http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/go ... s/19526285
"I'd like a McJoey please with extra sauce"! 
Roo mince is very low fat. Good for ya!
That would give an Arkansan old lady a start..........a kangaroo crossing the road. We have deer that do the same during hunting season. They dart out in front of or into cars. They can total your car. Once my sister........no this has nothing to do with Python............had a horse run into her jeep and totaled it out. Happens in the country quite frequently, animals crossing the road. Could they build fences to keep the roos from jumping out in front of the cars? I guess that would be expensive............sigh. I would love to see one up close so bad. I do know they are dangerous animals. They can kick the ever loving crap out of you, and scratch and bite. I love animals so much. But I can see it keeps them from over populating.