George Hill
June 25, 2003, 05:03 PM
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-12356819,00.html
OZ KANGAROO CULL
The Australian army has been given the go-ahead to kill 15,000 kangaroos in the state of Victoria.
The move is aimed at preventing over-grazing at a rural army base.
The Defence Department said 103,782 acres of land, home to the army's Puckapunyal training ground, was being threatened by the kangaroos.
Brigadier Mike Hannan said approval to slaughter the animals followed a census in April which found 36,000 kangaroos on the base.
Environmental consultants advised the area could only sustain 10,000 during the present drought, Mr Hannan said.
"The problem is one of environmental degradation and the kangaroos themselves suffer pretty badly once all the food is gone for them," he said.
"We don't want this area to be a dust bowl, it is not a realistic training environment."
Mr Hannan added that licensed shooters would kill an initial 6,500 eastern gray kangaroos.
Another count would be made at the end of August before a decision was made to continue the killings.
More than 20,000 eastern gray kangaroos - many of them starving - were killed by professional shooters at the base last year.
The Victorian Department of Environment and Sustainability approved the killings after the kangaroos overbred and destroyed much of the area's vegetation.
Animal activists have reacted angrily, saying poor management practices have led to the population problem.
Animal Liberation Australia spokeswoman Rheya Linden vowed to organise protests.
"Kangaroo numbers are severely reduced, not only because of the slaughter last year but because the drought has taken its toll as it has on wildlife everywhere," she said.
OZ KANGAROO CULL
The Australian army has been given the go-ahead to kill 15,000 kangaroos in the state of Victoria.
The move is aimed at preventing over-grazing at a rural army base.
The Defence Department said 103,782 acres of land, home to the army's Puckapunyal training ground, was being threatened by the kangaroos.
Brigadier Mike Hannan said approval to slaughter the animals followed a census in April which found 36,000 kangaroos on the base.
Environmental consultants advised the area could only sustain 10,000 during the present drought, Mr Hannan said.
"The problem is one of environmental degradation and the kangaroos themselves suffer pretty badly once all the food is gone for them," he said.
"We don't want this area to be a dust bowl, it is not a realistic training environment."
Mr Hannan added that licensed shooters would kill an initial 6,500 eastern gray kangaroos.
Another count would be made at the end of August before a decision was made to continue the killings.
More than 20,000 eastern gray kangaroos - many of them starving - were killed by professional shooters at the base last year.
The Victorian Department of Environment and Sustainability approved the killings after the kangaroos overbred and destroyed much of the area's vegetation.
Animal activists have reacted angrily, saying poor management practices have led to the population problem.
Animal Liberation Australia spokeswoman Rheya Linden vowed to organise protests.
"Kangaroo numbers are severely reduced, not only because of the slaughter last year but because the drought has taken its toll as it has on wildlife everywhere," she said.
