Australian politician seeks kangaroo cull

Capital Territory's chief minister unveils plan to shoot animals, which he says have reached record numbers in Canberra
Sam Jones and agencies, guardian.co.uk 17 Mar 09;

The kangaroos of Canberra could soon find themselves caught in the crosshairs after a local politician called for a cull of the animals, which have taken to hopping around the busy streets of the Australian capital and snacking on the grass and shrubs in its parks.

Although the kangaroo is a much-treasured and instantly recognisable Australian emblem, the animals can be destructive and dangerous.

Canberra has one of the densest populations of the common eastern grey kangaroo in the country, and the beasts can be seen bouncing through parks and thoroughfares, eating plants and stopping traffic.

Last week, one family in the area was awoken by a confused and panicked kangaroo that had leapt through a bedroom window and bounded around the house until it was thrown out of the front door.

According to Jon Stanhope, the chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory, the time has come to get stern with Skippy.

Earlier today, Stanhope released a draft plan explaining how his government would reduce the city's kangaroo population by shooting the animals.

"There are probably more eastern gray kangaroos in Canberra now than any time in the last 100 years," Stanhope said. "I think we have perhaps tried too hard not to cull."

The population of kangaroos in the area is hard to determine because the animals move frequently, depending on the availability of grass and water.

The territory's government has been involved in efforts to develop an oral contraceptive for kangaroos for more than a decade, but none is yet effective in the wild.

Stanhope did not say how many kangaroos should be killed but added that research into humane alternatives to shooting would be encouraged.

However, supporters say the absence of more effective biological controls leaves shooting as the most humane way to control numbers.

The report rules out trapping kangaroos and driving them to areas where they are less abundant because the process is expensive, untested and illogical given the absence of a threat to the species's survival.

The plan has provoked the ire of conservationists, who have warned that any attempts to shoot kangaroos will be met with protests.

"The whole thing is a propaganda exercise to try to get public support for killing kangaroos," said Pat O'Brien, the president of the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia.

Kangaroo numbers were high, he acknowledged, warning: "But there's certainly not too many of them."

The killing of 400 kangaroos out of 600 at an abandoned military site in Canberra last year triggered several heated protests.

Those animals were killed with lethal injections because it was judged that it would be too dangerous to use guns at the site, which was within Canberra's city limits.

According to recent government surveys, 17% of Canberra drivers have reported colliding with a kangaroo at some time, though 82% of respondents said they believed it was important for wild kangaroos to continue living in the city.