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Big trouble for kangaroos, help them please
It is hoped that people will come to realise, through this website, through the linking contacts and websites and from other sources, the dreadful predicament that kangaroos are facing now in Australia. People in other countries are totally shocked to hear about the plight of kangaroos, the barbaric cruelty dealt out to them, the shameless, selfish, greedy and thoughtless Kangaroo Industry that is shooting millions of kangaroos each year seeing them as nothing but a commodity, a "renewable resource". There are a few people with very loud voices who are enthusiastically encouraging this commercialisation. All they are interested in is the human gain, the dollars they are making and the jobs they are creating.
There is way too much apathy and ignorance, in general, towards what is happening to our kangaroos. It doesn’t seem to matter that already we have made EXTINCT several hundred species of Australian native fauna and that hundreds more are on the endangered list. We continue our careless practices. People do not understand that by what is happening, we are taking the quality of our kangaroos away, their health and vigour is not what it used to be and as species they are becoming weaker. The evolutionary ramifications are incredibly frightening.
Many people do not realise that the Industry is taking the largest males, who of course, are the best breeding stock, the strongest, most virile and desirable gene pool. It is also not publicized that it has now been found that the average age of kangaroos is about 2 YEARS OLD instead of about 20 years old. They are not being allowed to live their full life span and breed how they would choose to do so for the strength, benefit and longevity of their species.
It has been shown through scientific research, that the Red kangaroo populations only grow between 6-8% a year when under pressure and yet the current quota for the allowable killing of Reds is 21% of the estimated population. That is THREE TIMES the growth rate. A quota of 5.5 million has been set for the last 3 years, this year it is 7 million, and they don’t even know how many kangaroos there are in actuality. They do aerial surveys and then estimate how many they think there are?! There is a huge range between the figures that are bantered round by the "experts". And yet the kangaroo management scheme is saying that kangaroos have to be "used" in an ecologically sustainable way?? They are not taking into account the huge numbers of kangaroos who are killed illegally or who die in accidents. Nor does anyone disclose the enormous numbers of joeys who are bashed to death cruelly or who are left to die, night after night.
The kangaroo populations, particularly Reds, are under extreme pressure because humans are predating so heavily on them.
There are not many safe refuges for kangaroo populations now. National Parks are meant to be protected areas, while all around the kangaroos are being shot out of existence. Because kangaroos take refuge in these restricted small areas, after a comparatively short time, the numbers build up and once again humans deem there are too many, go in and shoot, (including the largest and strongest gene pools, of course,) and destroy yet another population’s potential. If kangaroos were left alone and had a large area in which to live as a natural and undisturbed community, their numbers would eventually stabilize. If they could be safe, they would not have to live under pressure, they would not have to breed so intensely. They have been living in and with, their environment in a balanced harmonious way for centuries, before white settlers came and demolished that scenario. Unfortunately there is not much left of their native and preferred vegetation (and health-giving nutrition), that too has been destroyed.
The cruelty factor of all this barbarism is TRULY HORRIFIC. Some kangaroos are shot and die immediately, millions do NOT. They are injured and in pain. Some hop away with ghastly wounds. Some are bashed to death. Millions of joeys, in utter terror, are hauled out of pouches or caught mid-flight and brutally murdered. It’s a ghastly nightmare, only it is too true. Imagine what it would be like for you, to see your father, mother, children, other family and friends mercilessly savaged. This is exactly what it is like, night after night for thousands of kangaroos. They feel every bit of it as much as we would. Kangaroos have many of the same emotions as humans do, it is so plainly obvious to see, when you have the opportunity to live and work with them.
The trouble is that most landholders see kangaroos as pests who cause damage and affect their livelihood. Because shooting is an option and it is by far the easiest, that’s what happens, with the Government agencies' blessings and considerable financial assistance. People do not think about it from the kangaroos’ perspective, do not think about the cruelty and suffering, they only want to see the kangaroos disappear. I realise and acknowledge to the landholders, that sometimes there are hundreds of kangaroos in a mob and that can be troubling. I know it is very difficult to make ends meet on the land these days, we too are experiencing that. But now, after years of the paradigm and practise of "if it moves, shoot it, if it doesn't, cut it down" we must be practising protection and preservation. We must change our mindset and ways to preserve what is left of our native Australia. We must not continue to compromise nature to achieve our aims only, we must be mindful of our fellow species.
WE HAVE TO THINK OF OTHER HARMLESS, NON-INVASIVE WAYS OF "CONTROLLING" KANGAROOS AND LEARN TO LIVE WITH THEM. There are some very creative humans out there and if the option of shooting was removed altogether, there would be some very clever inventions to emerge. Things that have not been thought of before. We could live with kangaroos, we could keep them out of crops or off land that needs a spell from grazing. Kangaroo numbers may initially increase, but once they realised that their main source of predation had disappeared, their numbers would settle down again. They would not have to breed so intensely, to keep their species from becoming extinct. One example is a property in outback NSW, where there hasn't been any shooting of kangaroos for over 30 years. They are not seen as a pest and are not seen to cause grazing pressure. They are left alone and their numbers have not increased.
Please, if there are any clever inventors reading this, or if you know of anyone, - HELP. Can you think of, and create, some harmless methods of telling kangaroos, that for a period of time, a certain area is out of bounds.
Also, if you are feeling concerned and are willing to help protect kangaroos, please write to those in authority and to animal welfare organisations. If you are not sure, send it to me and I will forward it on. Alert other people because many people are simply not aware of what is happening.
PLEASE HELP TO PROTECT KANGAROOS.