VICTORIAN TAX PAYERS FOOT THE BILL FOR NEW KANGAROO INDUSTRY

17 September 2012:

The South Grampians Shire is seeking support for a motion to be passed this Wednesday at the Municipal Association of Victoria for the introduction of a commercial kangaroo industry in Victoria based on the claim that kangaroos left ‘wasted’ in the field could be used for meat and creates local employment. They also argue that current culled kangaroo carcasses left in the field attract foxes and feral dogs.

Australian Society for Kangaroos spokesperson Fiona Corke said however that “this push will not address these concerns, as commercial shooters dress/gut kangaroos shot in the field anyway leaving their innards and body parts behind. So the problem of discarded ‘meat’ attracting feral dogs and foxes will still exist despite the introduction of a commercial industry of kangaroos in Victoria.”

But Victorian Government statistics show numbers of permits issued for kangaroo culling in Victoria have dramatically halved in the past 3 years, with the numbers of eastern grey kangaroos destroyed under permits plummeting from 58,289 to 29,152 and the number of permits issued notably dropping from 14,999 to 793.

(http://vicmps.greens.org.au/sites/greens.org.au/files/ATCW%20by%20species.pdf )

Ms Corke said “These figures indicate that culling kangaroos is ultimately on the decline due to public opinion and the changing attitudes of landowners.”

“The state government has been also been negligent in providing landowners with up to date information about non lethal measures, causing thousands of innocent animals to be slaughtered annually with great distress to the public and international condemnation. It’s time to start doing things differently.”

Currently the killing of kangaroos and their joeys by the commercial industry and under damage mitigation permit in Victoria is unmonitored and unsupervised in the field.

Ms Corke said “this is the main sticking point for the already shaky kangaroo industry as more overseas markets are demanding this to be a requirement. Animal welfare is a major concern and the awareness that cruelty is inherent in the brutal killing of pouch young.”

“Significant infrastructure will also be required to set up the proposal, so does this mean Victorian taxpayers be footing the bill for the South Grampians Shires pipe dream?”

As to the issue of shot kangaroos being left as a waste, Ms Corke responded,

“The real waste here is that kangaroos are unnecessarily and unethically killed in the first place”