Pictures from the killing fields

Niftydog Where are these starving Kangaroos. I’m yet to see a starving Kangaroo in the ACT. I have seen thousands of burnt Kangaroos not so long ago. Hard to imagine that the population has exploded to the point of starving since then. What I do see are farmers having to feed their livestock. That would be the same livestock along our river corridors that are causing degradation to the grass lands and erosion. Or is it that the plague of starving roos doing that. Its so hard to tell amongst the mountains of bull shit.

Take a close look at the photo above and see if you can see a starving roo.

I don’t mind the cull so much as the absolutely immense waste of a tasty resource. How many batches of Roo Vindaloo or Skippy Bolognaise are going to waste here?? Demolition plans for houses have to recoup usable materials, why is the same principle not being applied here??

@yellowsnow

You cannot stand for the protection of the kangaroos whilst ignoring the impact they are having on more vulnerable, threatened species in the same ecosystem. Nor can you simultaneously advocate letting them all starve to death without sounding like a complete hypocrite.

Somehow I think the sight of thousands of kangaroos starving to death kinda trumps anything you might have thought to insert into your brilliant advertising campaign.

The politics are so difficult on this issue. We (human beings) have managed to stuff the environment up so much that it now needs to be “managed”(!) Kangaroo numbers increase when food is available, its a simple as that. Whether we should be shooting them is another issue completely but there are no simple answers to this.

All I can say is how disgusted I am with some of comments here. Having raised injured and orphaned kangaroos and wallabies, I’ve learnt they are amazing native animals with individual personalities and talents. To read that people consider kangaroos to be vermin is ignorant and unbearable. They are beautiful, graceful creatures and should be treated (even if we have “manage” them through humane culling) with respect and dignity. The same way you would if your beloved domesticated animal was killed. I don’t see the difference, expect that we don’t OWN these animals.

It might be better to put it in terms that you all can feel emotional about. Its your taxes.

yellowsnow said :

niftydog wrote

niftydog said :

We can’t just ignore the threat to the other native wildlife within the ecosystem and base our decisions on pure emotion.

I see, so humans know best now do they? Whatever happened to nature taking its course? If kangaroos exceed the carrying capacity of the land, many will starve, the rest will thrive.

So you think it’s ok for us humans to let kangaroos starve to death if we know they have exceeded the carrying capacity of the land?

longshanks said :

For f*cks sake, people, these are f*cking kangaroos!

We live in a world where this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex978/1016152029/
is a daily reality for millions.

But hey, they have different coloured skin, and it’s not on our doorstep, and they don’t bounce around looking all cute and cuddly, do they.

(PRETTY F*CKING HARD TO BOUNCE AROUND WHEN YOU’RE DYING OF STARVATION.)

Still, as long as the buses run on time, and the roadworks don’t inconvenience us too much, and the cyclists/motorists stay off the road/bike lane, we’ll be right…

I’m not advocating that we all sink into middle class guilt about the state of the world, and I am well aware that there is very little we can actually do to change some things.

All I’m saying is this: get some perspective.

Very well said.

niftydog wrote

niftydog said :

We can’t just ignore the threat to the other native wildlife within the ecosystem and base our decisions on pure emotion.

I see, so humans know best now do they? Whatever happened to nature taking its course? If kangaroos exceed the carrying capacity of the land, many will starve, the rest will thrive. It’s been like that for million of years. Humans are not required in the equation, the ACT govt even less so. They can’t even build roads like the GDE properly, how can they expect to interfere and play god with ecosystems?

it’s natural to feel more strongly about what’s happening in your own neighbourhood, paid for by your own taxes, than a faraway land you’ve never been to and have little influence over.

But now that you’ve mentioned the 3 million Australia-wide deaths, they make me angry too — well those ones carried out by governments, under the pretense ‘we’re doing it to save them from themselves’.

I have no problem with culling if the roos are being harvested for their meat, or if farmers are doing it on their own land, with their own funds, to protect pasture for their stock. But when we’re paying not just for the killing but mass graves, not to mention inconveniencing the public by closing access to nature reserves for over a month … i draw the line at that.

For f*cks sake, people, these are f*cking kangaroos!

We live in a world where this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex978/1016152029/
is a daily reality for millions.

But hey, they have different coloured skin, and it’s not on our doorstep, and they don’t bounce around looking all cute and cuddly, do they.

(PRETTY F*CKING HARD TO BOUNCE AROUND WHEN YOU’RE DYING OF STARVATION.)

Still, as long as the buses run on time, and the roadworks don’t inconvenience us too much, and the cyclists/motorists stay off the road/bike lane, we’ll be right…

I’m not advocating that we all sink into middle class guilt about the state of the world, and I am well aware that there is very little we can actually do to change some things.

All I’m saying is this: get some perspective.

(In your best Maude Flanders voice…)
“Won’t someone please think of the Perunga Grasshopper!!!”

Yes it’s not pretty and we’d probably all rather it wasn’t necessary, but something tells me they aren’t doing it for shits and giggles.

We can’t just ignore the threat to the other native wildlife within the ecosystem and base our decisions on pure emotion.

yellowsnow said :

If more people knew what was going on – and saw images like the one above – there’s no way culls like this would take place. There would be a huge public outcry. Maybe it’s time to fund an advertising campaign that counters canberra tourism campaigns … I can see it now … ‘Come to Canberra in winter … you might not be able to take a walk in a nature reserve, but hey, there’s nothing as invigorating as the smell of a fresh roo cull in the morning!’.

I find it interesting that there seems to be an outcry because this is occuring in the Nation’s Capital. Are you at all interested in the 3,000,000 other kangaroos that are culled in Australia each year?

Mmmmm… Roo tail soup.

gg, some poeple seem to. Just need to look around and see that ain’t so. In places, they seem to be lining up to jump in front of cars & trucks (and the odd motorbike, unfortunately).

“Go on Skip, your turn”.

“No no, Joey, you were first, away you go”.

” I’m hanging back because this one’s a Volvo. How would that look – bowled by a bloody Volvo”.

“Oh OK. Oh, here comes Mully – that’s got to be worth a few virgin roos in paradise…”

Bang.

This is a slippery slope, people! In ten years’ time our beneveolent dictator Stanhope will be proposing a cull of derros and bogans in the overpopulated ghettoes of gungahlin, outer tuggers and elsewhere, to prevent them from killing themselves as well as to free the streets from the relentless gridlock. Hey, it’d be cheaper than building more roads, light rail, or funding a logical and well run bus system!

If more people knew what was going on – and saw images like the one above – there’s no way culls like this would take place. There would be a huge public outcry. Maybe it’s time to fund an advertising campaign that counters canberra tourism campaigns … I can see it now … ‘Come to Canberra in winter … you might not be able to take a walk in a nature reserve, but hey, there’s nothing as invigorating as the smell of a fresh roo cull in the morning!’. Cue pictures of a balloon ride over kangaroo killing fields, with a backdrop of duelling banjoes music, followed by footage of rabid looking politicians, made up to look like they’re straight out of Deliverance, taking pot shots at kangaroos and anything else that moves (including tourists and animal liberation activists).

It would put all those mining industry ads to shame!!

Has anyone taken them to task against the principles so lovingly espoused by NoWaste?

http://www.tams.act.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0020/53372/NOWaste_Logo.gif

“Our government… turning waste into… waste” ???

People don’t seriously think Eastern Grey kangaroos are threatened or endangered do they?

Tooks…How do you know they are in plague proportions.

During the Googong cull we where told the same thing only to find out that they where not in plague proportions. At the time the Government new this but just kept repeating the lie.

I think you all just assume that they are in plague proportions because that’s a political perspective. Opposing the bleeding hearts greenies with the salt of the earth country people. What a load of crap. You are being lied too again but its just those horrid pests of Roos so who cares.

PS: the photos show how usless the ‘plan’ was in action. Have to wonder how many times they moved them around…

I would of thought they could of skinned the roos, and at least attempted to get something back.

Goes to show what a rip this is when the Governments policy is for shooters to throw the entire animal away after killing it.

Greg Tarlinton said :

grunge_hippy said :

plenty more where they came from….

That’s what people used to say about koalas, Tasmanian devils, earless dragons, grey nurse sharks, thylacines or any other species that is now threatened or extinct..

Yes, but I don’t think any of those animals were ever in plague proportions.

Greg Tarlinton said :

grunge_hippy said :

plenty more where they came from….

That’s what people used to say about koalas, Tasmanian devils, earless dragons, grey nurse sharks, thylacines or any other species that is now threatened or extinct..

I am pretty sure none of those were in plague numbers like roos are ….. None of those were having major effects on the surrounding flora and fauna either.

crappicker said :

Whatever scientific argumentation is used to justify these cullings, I find these killings utterly disgusting. It seems to me that we will require a cull of grassland ecologists within TAMS in order to restore some kind balance in this government’s approach to management of wildlife within the ACT.

Haha, “There may be research supporting it but waaaaaaaah.”

Greg Tarlinton said :

grunge_hippy said :

plenty more where they came from….

That’s what people used to say about koalas, Tasmanian devils, earless dragons, grey nurse sharks, thylacines or any other species that is now threatened or extinct..

They did?

Ceej1973 Good work on your categorising the over emotional city dwellers and the realistic country people. Nicely polarised. Good luck applying it to the Canberra community.

grunge_hippy said :

plenty more where they came from….

That’s what people used to say about koalas, Tasmanian devils, earless dragons, grey nurse sharks, thylacines or any other species that is now threatened or extinct..

There is always going to be arguements over the issue of culling wildlife. Those bleeding heart city dwellers, and those who live off the land and/or, with/beside nature. From the culls that I have seen in outback QLD, the cull numbers are proportionate to those I have seen in one night, and that occur every night in QLD. Something that is seen as acceptable there, is used for the same reasons as here, as is the culling of feral horses, cats and pigs. As an end note, I am willing to place bets on the numbers of kangaroos killed by vehicles in the ACT and surrounds, being higher than that of an annual cull, yet I hear no protests over road kills!

54-11 said :

Weren’t they shot, Dougal? If so, there were plenty of options. I wonder what the skins alone would be worth?

No, they were not shot. The AFP did not allow it.

Euthanasia
Lethal injection by dart
Shooting has not been approved by AFP
???? High powered rifles unacceptable in built up area
???? Shotguns or low powered rifles not permitted under code of practice
???? Explosive projectiles a possibility

http://www.defence.gov.au/publications/kangaroo_assessment.pdf

What do people expect, a hearse and a procession out to Mitchell for each dead animal?

Welcome to reality

The shooters are supposed to be starting up on Mount Painter in Cook tonight from 6 PM. A front end loader was seen digging large pit over the southern side of Mount Painter the other day, which will probably be for the disposal of the bodies.

hax said :

Lucky for nature humans are here to maintain a natural balance – obviously the world would be a sick sad place without our interference.

It just doesn’t seem right.

I get the sarcasm, and agree with the sentiment.

But that said, I think the argument goes that humans have screwed the surrounding ecology to such a point that the roo numbers are above nature’s norms for that little bit of dirt, resulting in starvation.

Weren’t they shot, Dougal? If so, there were plenty of options. I wonder what the skins alone would be worth?

plenty more where they came from….

As the kangaroos were killed with a lethal injection, it wasn’t possible for the meat to be used as pet or human food.

Lucky for nature humans are here to maintain a natural balance – obviously the world would be a sick sad place without our interference.

It just doesn’t seem right.

I disagree, crappicker. There is an urgent need for not just this cull, but an ongoing program to control numbers.

The only issue, in my view, is what JB says above – what an awful waste of a useful resource.

I have a pal that shoots Roos for a living, they are bought by a place in Queanbeyan that processes them and exports the meat for sausages to Germany. Not sure if they do the processing in Queanbo, or if they just sell on, but it’s done thru someone there.

Price per kilo varies on the season, and demand, plus you need a licence to kill (tee hee), but surely this would be a simple way to not waste all those carcasses.

Whatever scientific argumentation is used to justify these cullings, I find these killings utterly disgusting. It seems to me that we will require a cull of grassland ecologists within TAMS in order to restore some kind balance in this government’s approach to management of wildlife within the ACT.

target practice? Oh, hang on…

dog/cat food?

It might be a bit of a waste, but when I put blood and bone on my garden I don’t like it to be as fresh as that… how do you suggest we utilise the bodies???

Lovely photos!