Archive: Kangaroos
Last Updated 9/4/13
Sign The Petition
(17/10/12 - E) Opposition to commercial kangaroo culling
Link to a petition calling on the Vic State Government NOT to allow commercial kangaroo culling. If you agree, please circulate to your followers:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/don-t-allow-victoria-to-become-a-killing-field-for-kang.html
(30/10/09 - E) Help ban kangaroo products in the EU
MRRA has received a request for help in publicizing this appeal for people to sign an international petition to persuade the EU to ban the sale of kangaroo products. Click here for more information.
Send A Message To The PM: Stop The Kangaroo Slaughter
(3/4/09 - E) First the Belconnen Massacre, and now thousands under threat at Majura Training Base in Canberra
Click here for details of this call for national and international action.
(7/4/08) Call to investigate moving kangaroos
Update (31/3/08) Expert report says 'cull'
LATEST (5/4/08) Cull Put On Hold
LATEST (7/4/08) Wildlife Bytes - Update on action At Belconnen
To sign the petition to save the Belconnen kangaroos, click:
http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/save-the-belconnen-kangaroos/sign.html
Latest Edition of Wildlife Bytes 060408 - further update on Belconnen Kangaroos
UPDATE REPRIEVE: Belconnen Kangaroo Cull Put On Hold
(7/4/08) Call to investigate moving kangaroos
It feels like it is going full circle (i.e. back towards the original agreed plan to use alternatives to recent proposals for slaughter), and some sanity may prevail. Well done to Wildlife Protection Australia and its supporters. With a bit of luck the process will now be talk first instead of shoot first. Click here to link to an article from news.com Click here to see latest edition of Wildlife Bytes and report on the current situation at Belconnen.
UPDATE Belconnen Kangaroos On Borrowed Time
(31/3/08) Expert report says 'cull'
From Wildlife Bytes 30/3/08
Latest report confirms roos should be killed. Expert panels back urgent cull
A new report has contradicted the Australian Defence Force's basis for the translocation of kangaroos at their Belconnen site. The report, backed by the Defence Department's own expert panel as well as that of the ACT Government, maintains euthanising the kangaroos at the Belconnen Defence site should be pursued rather than translocation. In the report, dated March28 and supplied to the Sunday Canberra Times by the ACT Chief Minister's office, seven experts agreed urgent action was needed to protect the temperate grasslands and threatened species at the site. They recommended kangaroo numbers be dramatically reduced before winter.
The report from the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, Maxine Cooper, states all of the experts have consistently supported euthanasia over translocation. Dr Cooper wrote that the Defence expert panel, in their initial report, had recommended a combination of euthanasia and translocation to reduce the kangaroo population at the Belconnen Naval Transmission Station site. However, this was "done to acknowledge that the Department of Defence may have overriding reasons for translocation to be their preferred option".
Members of the expert panel acknowledged this was correct. The Defence expert panel had put stringent conditions on translocation and had expected all of their recommendations would have been implemented by December 2007. The conditions were not met and the panel members now believed only euthanasia should be pursued. Despite this, the Department of Defence, as recently as last week, advised that "based on its panel of independent expert advice in August 2007" it continued to "pursue an opportunity to translocate as many kangaroos as possible from BNTS, including undertaking a translocation research project".
But the panel members, in this week's report, said no expert requested or supported a specific research project involving the translocation. The report also addressed the Wildcare Queanbeyan proposal to relocate the kangaroos to NSW in July 2007. That proposal was reported to have led to Defence abandoning its plans to cull the kangaroos and examine trucking them to the Braidwood area in August. However, the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change had not received any proposal for such action from the Department of Defence, the new report revealed.
The NSW department's Parks and Wildlife Group southern director Alistair Henchman wrote in an email, which was published in the report, "we would normally only consider translocation where it was essential for the survival of the species, which doesn't appear to be the case in this situation". Wildcare Queanbeyan's proposal to translocate the kangaroos also claimed that the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service had offered support staff. "No such offer has been made in fact the Department advised in June we would be unable to second staff to the project," Mr Henchman wrote.
Claims that experts were consulted in animal relocation were also denied. "The members of the senior executive of the department are not experts in animal relocations ... The Endangered Species Unit staff member listed [in the Wildcare proposal] has experience in managing threatened species, but not specific experience in relocation of species," Mr Henchman wrote. Dr Sue McIntyre, Dr Hal Cogger, Dr Graeme Coulson, Dr George Wilson, DrAndrew Braid, Mr Michael Linke and Associate Professor David Morgan put their names to the report under "matters agreed by members of the two expert panels". *Canberra Times
URGENT Action Required Sign Online Petition: Belconnen Kangaroos
Plea for your help to make government think again... Hi Everyone,
Can you please sign this petition - also, could you forward it on to everyone you know......because......
400 KANGAROOS ARE DUE TO BE KILLED THIS WEEK IN CANBERRA
THERE IS NO NEED FOR THEM TO DIE!!!
YOU CAN HELP
PLEASE SIGN TO SUPPORT THEIR RELOCATION
http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/save-the-belconnen-kangaroos/sign.html
Among others, this mother and her joey are targeted….
Many thanks
...and big thanks to those that have already signed
for more information
Dismay at government-sanctioned killing of kangaroos; PROTEST at Belconnen Saturday all day starting at 9am
online petition: http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/save-the-belconnen-kangaroos.html"
(14/3/08 - E) It couldn't be true the kangaroos are being killed to make way for luxury housing - could it?
MRRA has received an update from Maryland Wilson, President of Australian Wildlife Protection Council on the Belconnen kangaroo cull:
VIVA UK has taken up the fight to save Canberra's Belconnen kangaroos against the ACT Jon Stanhope Government's plan to murder them to make way for luxury housing). THANK you , thank you, thank you ~
Next SATURDAY (15th March) there is a huge all-day protest at Belconnen, starting at 9.00 am.
Please join with Pat O'Brien, our National Kangaroo Campaign Coordinator, and tell all your friends.
Pat verified that the land from which these kangaroos are to be removed (murdered) is to be used for luxury housing.
Pat also recorded a Sunday Interview for ABC TV at 8:30 am.
The VIVA ABC story was welcome indeed ~ VIVA are our great friends in the UK and it is wonderful that VIVA has come out against this massacre of innocent kangaroos, and great too that they are joined by Paul McCartney, a long time opponent of the kangaroo killing industry; they have come to the aid of the kangaroos many many many times before. Thank you VIVA!
Maryland Wilson, President
Australian Wildlife Protection Council Inc
247 Flinders Lane Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Coalition for Wildlife Corridors
03 59 788 570 ph 03 59 788 302 fax
Mobile 0417 148 501
email: kangaroo@peninsula.hotkey.net.au
web site: www.awpc.org.au
Registered Charity A0012224D
"As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together." Nobel Prize Winner ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER
Here's a letter sent to the Canberra and Federal Government:
John Stanhope, ACT Chief Minister
The Hon. Kevin Rudd, MP, Prime Minister of Australia
The Hon. Peter Garrett, MP, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts
Dear Leaders
I am dismayed by the ACT Labor Government’s recent decision to slaughter hundreds of kangaroos living in our so-called bush capital of Australia, in preference to the scientifically sound proposal to relocate the animals. When both proposals (translocation or killing) require the initial darting of the animals in order to tranquilise them, it is simply inhumane by today’s standards of compassion and care to opt for the lethal alternative. The proposal to relocate the animals was backed by leading ecologists in Australia, and had the potential to deliver breakthrough science on wildlife management. Moreover, it would have given Australia the opportunity to lead by example when it comes to managing wildlife compassionately, whether on land or at sea.
I therefore urge you to reject the short-sighted proposal of killing the kangaroos on Defence land in Belconnen, ACT, and instead to use non-lethal control methods while devising long-term management strategies that would allow our own species to interact with and appreciate these magnificent and iconic animals.
Sign Up To Help Save The Belconnen Kangaroos
(11/3/08 - E) MRRA has been asked to help by publicizing an online petition
Here's what we received.
"Please sign the petition to save the slaughter of these kangaroos at Belconnen. Details are found on the following :-
Perhaps you could pass on to others and get them to sign too.
http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/save-the-belconnen-kangaroos.html"
(16/7/06 - E) Shot and left for dead - at least, we wish it had been shot dead...
Someone is shooting kangaroos in the pine plantations around Macedon. This week someone shot a kangaroo, but didn't kill it. A wildlife carer was called out to put the disabled kangaroo down after who knows how long it had survived being shot. Unfortunately, dogs got to the wounded animal before the carer, who then had to deal with what was left of the still-alive kangaroo.
MRRA Says:
Sickening, isn't it? We hear the carer, someone who regularly deals with kangaroos and other animals hit by cars or tangled in fences, was terribly upset with this one. It's not the first example of dog attacks on injured wildlife MRRA has heard of either (and we've all seen what dogs do to sheep and other livestock). We don't know how you stop irresponsible shooters (although we hear it isn't hard to get permission from DSE to 'cull' wildlife), but perhaps if we as a community took more responsibility for our domestic pets' behaviour, took a little more care with how we drive, thought more about the impacts of our human activities on the wildlife most of us value, if we condemned the practice of pot-shotting wildlife and were more willing to share what we have with them, we could reduce the pain for these animals and see more of them survive. They were here first - we are the invaders. Please think carefully about it.
(29/5/07 - E) Send a message to Ontario, Canada asking for better standards about how animals are kept, including Tyson the kangaroo
Our Victorian contact said:
"No doubt you would have read the recent article in the Herald Sun where Tyson the kangaroo is living in appalling conditions in the freezing cold. We heard on the radio that the animal welfare people are pushing to ban these roadside zoos. The World Society for the Protection of Animals [WSPA] has a website (details below) and it would be very much appreciated if you could get as many people as possible to send emails to the Canadian Premier and the Tourism Minister as soon as possible as we believe the parliament is going into recess shortly. We give below an excerpt from the WSPA website (www.ontariozoos.ca) which explains the situation."
"Ontario stands out as the worst jurisdiction in Canada when it comes to ensuring the proper care of captive wildlife. With few regulations in place, the province makes it far too easy for residents to collect wild animals and house them in small ramshackle cages.
Kept in a barren cage, the size of a single car garage, Tyson does not have enough space to jump like a normal red kangaroo. All he has is a patch of dirt and a metal shed to sleep in. This is the life he has endured for the past six years because the government refuses to protect captive wildlife.
Ontario does not regulate the keeping of exotic wild animals in zoos. Residents do not even need a licence to keep a tiger, kangaroo or any other animal that is not native to the province, and they can keep them in any condition they see fit.
For the animals imprisoned in these cages, life is miserable. Not a life at all really, but a life sentence. You have the power to change their lives!
Please help animals like Tyson who are suffering in small, barren cages.
Send a letter to the Ontario Premier (Dalton McGuinty) and Minister of Tourism (Jim Bradley). Ask them to pass regulations to ensure all Ontario zoos meet professional welfare and public safety standards.
Messages can be sent to:
Hon. Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Fax: 1-416-325-7578
Email: dalton.mcguinty@premier.gov.on.ca
Hon. Jim Bradley
Ontario Minister of Tourism
Fax 1-416-326-9338
Email: jbradley.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Don't have time?
Send a quick message to the Premier through the World Society for the Protection of Animals' auto emailer, http://www.ontariozoos.ca/Tourist/default.htm We encourage you to personalize the letter to express how you feel about the conditions Tyson is being kept in.”
(5/3/06 - E) Outraged Wildlife Protectors Say 'Not Acceptable' and ask for your support
Here's the message MRRA received from an MRRA/Wildlife Victoria Member:
Could you take the time to write a brief note to the Herald Sun about this? It is just encouraging cruelty towards our wildlife. Herewith the address of one of the journalists: houlihan@heraldsun.com.au You could write to the Herald Sun or local papers as well.
Here's the message sent to Wildlife Victoria members:
See below a letter written in response to an episode of McLeod's Daughters. I am forwarding it to our membership in order that we might also put our voice behind the AWPC.
You could write to the papers or to the station direct. Tell them that there are options for people who hit animals in their cars, they also are legally obliged to stop - it is a matter of animal cruelty if you do not stop. And every marsupial must be checked for pouched young.
Anyhow, enough of my outrage and onto someone else's (remember that we run a 24 hour emergency phone line - Wildline - and we have very experienced operators who can help people who don't know what to do in these circumstances; also if you would like to train as a wildline operator then contact me as we have a training day coming up on the 12th.)
Wildlife Victoria Inc.
Address: 247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, 3000
Email: info@wildlifevictoria.org.au
Web: www.wildlifevictoria.org.au
Wildline - 24hour emergency phoneline for Wildlife: 0500 540 000
Online donations: www.ourcommunity.com.au/wildlifevictoria
Dear Editors:
I watched 'Mc Leods' Daughters' last night in horror and anger as one of the actors hit a beautiful big kangaroo, left it on the side of the road, did not check in the pouch for a joey, and expressed no remorse.
Such disrespect for our native animals is so endemic that the writers, producers simply accepted this road kill as part of Australia's way of life without so much as an " I'm sorry kangaroo for killing you!" ....What kind of a message does this send to the community?
Shame on all in Mc Leod's Daughters for their complicity. I will never LOVE your program again.
Sincerely,
Maryland Wilson President,
Australian Wildlife Protection Council
247 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000 Victoria
tel: 03 5978 8570 fax: 03 5978 8302
kangaroo@peninsula.hotkey.net.au
Year of the Kangaroo 2005 ...and beyond