Australian Society for Kangaroos
Puckapunyal Army Base Kangaroo Massacre
Front Line Update
12th December 2013:
Australian Society for Kangaroos front line activists kept kangaroo shooters on the move on Tuesday night in a desperate attempt to distract them and save thousands of kangaroos and joeys now under fire at the Puckapunyal army base near Seymour Victoria. Between 12am and 5am activists were in pursuit of shooters forcing them to abort shooting in some areas as they attempted to fulfill their quotas.
ASK was in contact with senior Seymour police and advised that urgent security talks had been held yesterday with the Defence department. This Dept Environment and Primary Industries sanctioned slaughter of 6000 kangaroos and their joeys is unfounded and without evidence.
ASK president Nikki Sutterby said:
“Their own management plan, the Puckapunyal Military Area Kangaroo Management Plan, clearly states that kangaroo culls do not change animal welfare outcomes, and the Puckapunyal Vegetation assessment reported that any impacts on biodiversity within the base are due to the effects of sheep and cattle grazing and rainfall/drought, not kangaroos.”
“Meanwhile as the Defence department proceeds with its plan to wipe out the kangaroo population within the base, it puts the entire environment and the community at serious risk of wildfre as the grass within the base proliferates to waist height and this is likely to worsen with the annihilation of the primary native herbivore on the 40,000 hectare site.” Ms Sutterby said.
The RSPCA were not consulted about this cull, nor the independent animal welfare advisory committee set up by the state government to consult on large scale culls to satisfy public outcry and concerns.
Ask urges the RSPCA to intervene and suspend this unsupervised, unmonitored, unfounded and cruel slaughter of native wildlife until a full independent animal welfare assessment is made. ASK will continue their pursuit of shooters at Puckapunyal Army Base every night and will not stop until this senseless slaughter of protected native wildlife is suspended.