killing kangaroos

Leave a comment January 21, 2023 admin

Biologically Impossible Population Increases

Research indicates that kangaroo populations increase by 10% to 13.5% under good conditions. During drought, kangaroo numbers decline by up to 65%. Joey mortality is as high as 73% in good conditions and 100% during drought.

According to the South Australian Department for Environment and Water (DEW), between 2021 and 2022, red kangaroo populations allegedly increased by 20% in Gawler Ranges, 62% in Marree (Inside Dog Fence) which wasn’t surveyed in 2022, 47% in North Flinders which wasn’t surveyed in 2022, 52% in North-East Pastoral, 24% in Eastern Districts, 41% in South Flinders and 66% in Yorke Mid-North.

Between 2021 and 2022, western grey kangaroo populations allegedly increased by 33% in Kingoonya, 49% in Gawler Ranges, 21% in North Flinders which wasn’t surveyed in 2022, 316% in Eastern Districts, 29% in Murray Mallee, 60% in Yorke Mid-North, 56% in Eyre West which wasn’t surveyed in 2022, 52% in Eyre East which wasn’t surveyed in 2022, 42% in Hills and Fleurieu and 398% in the Lower South East.

In the 2023 Quota Report, DEW stated that the increase in red kangaroo numbers was likely in response to improved environmental conditions across South Australia and that the increase in SA’s western grey kangaroo population was most likely in response to the recent high rainfall conditions across most of South Australia. The Lower South East was surveyed in May 2022. DEW alleged that western grey kangaroo numbers increased by 398% and eastern grey kangaroo numbers increased by 341%. In May 2022, the Lower South East was still experiencing serious rainfall deficiencies with some areas recording the lowest rainfall on record. It was impossible for kangaroo numbers to increase in response to rainfall. The estimated increases alleged by DEW are simply impossible.

Rainfall Deficiencies During 2021 and 2022

The above maps show serious rainfall deficiencies in the Lower South East, Upper South East, Murray Mallee, Hills & Fleurieu and Yorke Mid-North.

A combination of aerial and ground surveys (walking and driving) were used to survey kangaroo populations across South Australia between May and September 2022. During mid-August 2022, the survey plane flew in east-west transects 250 feet above the Southern Flinders, Murray Mallee, Mid North and Yorke Peninsula regions. A joey stays in mother’s pouch for up to 11 months. Spotting pouch joeys during aerial and ground surveys would be near impossible. For the purposes of checking rainfall since the last survey in 2021, we’ll go back to March 2022 because any joey born before March 2022 wouldn’t be visible in the pouch. The following table is a summary of South Australia’s rainfall since the last survey in 2021.

Month	Rainfall
August 2021	Below average
September 2021	Very much below average
October 2021	Below average
November 2021	Above average
December 2021	Below average
January 2022	Above average (except for southeast)
February 2022	Above average/Very much below average for far west and southeast
March 2022	Above average in east/Below average in central areas including the Eyre Peninsula

The following images show how rainfall deficiencies in South Australia began to improve between August 2022 and October 2022. These improvements came after South Australia’s kangaroo populations were counted, which means that “rainfall” had nothing to do with the biologically impossible increases in kangaroo numbers in South Australia.

Why Did Population Estimates Increase So Much?

The 2023 Quota Report stated: “The kangaroo industry had consistently harvested the full sustainable use quota each year since the sub-region was opened for commercial harvesting on 1 January 2020. During May 2022 DEW undertook a helicopter survey of kangaroos in the Lower South East sub-region to develop a more robust survey method for the region and re-set the sustainable use quota.” Shooters killed more than 99% of the quota on eastern grey kangaroos in 2021 and around 86% in 2022. Therefore, in 2023, DEW increased the population from 20,933 to 92,317 – an increase of 341% – so that the quota could be increased from 2,500 to 15,100. Shooters killed 66% of the quota on western grey kangaroos in the Upper and Lower South East in 2021 and 40% in 2022. Therefore, in 2023, DEW increased the Lower South East population from 7,934 to 39,565 – an increase of 398% – so that the quota could be increased from 900 to 5,900. The increase in populations are biologically impossible. No doubt DEW would say that they did a “more robust survey” in 2022 which is how they managed to find so many more kangaroos previously missed in 2021, 2020 and 2019.

The 2022 Quota Report stated: “Due to the fragmented nature of native vegetation and cover (e.g. pine plantations), kangaroos are in high numbers in relatively small areas and in low numbers across a larger proportion of the harvest sub-region.” This observation has been confirmed by local wildlife carers. The problem with kangaroos in the South East is loss of habitat which has resulted in the unnatural situation of larger kangaroo numbers in smaller areas. Curiously, the situation described in the 2022 Quota Report miraculously disappeared and suddenly, amazingly, kangaroos in the Lower South East increased from 28,867 to 131,882 – an increase of 357% – despite being fragmented with high numbers in relatively small areas and low numbers across a large proportion of the harvest sub-region.

Sorry. These increases are biologically impossible. These increases are also impossible due to the fragmented nature of native vegetation and cover (e.g. pine plantations). The increases in population were solely for the purpose of increasing the quotas. Eastern grey kangaroos and western grey kangaroos in the South East are at risk of serious decline due to excessively high quotas. The 2023 quota on eastern grey kangaroos is 72% of the 2021 population estimate and the 2023 quota on western grey kangaroos is 74% of the 2021 population estimate.

Perhaps DEW wants to seriously reduce kangaroo numbers in the Lower South East due to the fragmented nature of native vegetation and cover (e.g. pine plantations), which resulted in high numbers in relatively small areas and low numbers across a larger proportion of the harvest sub-region. The problem is that such a massive slaughter of kangaroos in the Lower South East will result in these kangaroos being at risk of extinction, especially when bushfires, floods and droughts also threaten their viability. A massive slaughter now combined with a drought next year could force these kangaroos to the brink of extinction.

The mass slaughter of kangaroos in South Australia is for the sole purpose of producing profits for a commercial industry. Sustainability doesn’t enter the equation. That’s why DEW can create ridiculous impossible population increases, to increase kill quotas, and the real number of kangaroos, the real sustainability of local populations is ignored.

Sources:
https://www.kangarooprotection.org/pages/kangaroo-ecology
South Australia in October 2021 (bom.gov.au)
Drought archive (bom.gov.au)
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/month/sa/archive/202201.summary.shtml
https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/news-hub/news/articles/2022/08/kangaroo-survey-takes-to-the-sky-over-northern-agricultural-areas
https://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/regional-showcase/kangaroo-survey-takes-flight-this-month-over-south-australia/
Climate summaries archive (bom.gov.au)

Leave a comment May 9, 2021 admin

The Australian Government and the kangaroo industry would like you to believe that the practice of killing kangaroos is humane and beneficial, even to kangaroos. Let’s see for ourselves.

The following instructions on how to euthanise young kangaroos is taken from the National Code of Practice for the Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes produced by the Australian Government:

Euthanasia of partially-furred to fully-furred pouch young

Concussive blow to the head
* The most suitable method that is currently available for the euthanasia of partially-furred to fully-furred young is a concussive blow to the head (also called blunt force trauma). This method is considered acceptable as the skulls of pouch young are small, soft and thin. When it is applied correctly, unconsciousness and death will occur rapidly.
* A single sharp blow to the central skull bones induces death by physical (or mechanical) damage to the central nervous system and disruption of brain activity. Death then occurs as a result of respiratory and cardiac failure.
* The efficiency and humaneness of this method depends on the operators’ skill and determination. The concussive blow must be delivered with sufficient force and be precisely on target to ensure that adequate damage occurs to vital structures of the brain to cause immediate and sustained unconsciousness and death.
* If this procedure is not performed correctly there will be varying degrees of consciousness and it is likely that the animal will suffer prior to death. If the first blow does not hit the skull but hits for example, the jaw or a limb, or if the brain is not sufficiently destroyed, then the animal will experience pain and distress.
* To deliver the concussive blow, remove the young from the pouch, hold the young firmly by the hindquarters (around the top of the back legs and base of tail) and then swing firmly and quickly in an arc so that the joey’s head is hit against a large solid surface that will not move or compress during the impact (e.g. the tray of a utility vehicle).
* DO NOT hit the joeys’ head against the railing of the utility rack, as this can result in decapitation rather than the intended concussive blow to the head.
* DO NOT suspend joeys upside down by the hindquarters or tail and then try to hit the head with an iron bar (or similar). Holding them in this manner allows the joey to move around and makes it difficult to make contact with the correct location on the head. In addition, the force of the blow may not be sufficient to render the joey unconscious with only one strike.
* Confirmation of the onset of death should occur immediately after the procedure and death must be confirmed within 3 minutes.A combination of all of the following criteria is the most reliable for confirming death:
– No heartbeat
– No breathing
– No corneal reflex (no blinking when the eyeball is touched)
– No response to a toe pinch (a firm squeeze of the pad on the large toe).
* An animal is still conscious (sensible) and may be suffering if it is vocalising, attempts to get up, lifts up its head or is blinking.
* If onset of death or death cannot be confirmed, the procedure must be repeated (i.e. apply another blow) or a secondary method of euthanasia (i.e. bleeding out by cutting the carotid arteries and jugular veins in the neck, or decapitation) applied if the animal is stunned (or unconscious).
* Death must be confirmed before leaving or disposing of the carcass.

The National Code of Practice for the Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes was updated in November 2020. Feedback was sought from commercial shooters at forums in New South Wales and Queensland. The research team gave a short presentation, which was followed by an open discussion of any issues or concerns.

Commercial shooters raised the following concerns:
Clarification is required on what methods can be used and how they should be applied in relation to euthanasia methods for pouch young. Some shooters are still using methods not compliant with the Code. Some shooters are still releasing larger pouch young they think can survive. More guidance is required to help make judgements about whether orphaned young-at-foot are weaned (or close to weaning) and therefore more likely to survive without their mother.

In other words, commercial shooters require more training and guidance but the only training and guidance they currently receive is what’s written in the National Code of Practice for the Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes. If what’s written in the Code was enough, shooters wouldn’t have stated that they need more training and guidance.

According to the report The ethics of the commercial killing of free-ranging kangaroos: an evaluation of the benefits and costs of the industry (Ben-Ami et al, 2014): On average, some three million kangaroos are commercially killed annually (Table2). A projection based on the above considerations (as there is no formal assessment) and the national commercial kill statistics (Department of Sustainability, Environment, Population and Communities [DSEPC] 2010) for the period 2000–2009 estimates that approximately 840,000 females, 210,000 young-at-foot and 590,000 pouch young were killed annually (Table 2).

The report states: the welfare costs include deliberate and indirect harm to dependent young (a by-product of the commercial kill), and a number of unintended harms to adult kangaroos, including increased mortality during drought, inhumane killing of a portion of adult kangaroos, and a disruption of social stability and the evolutionary potential of individuals. Furthermore, a substantial gap exists between the intended welfare standards of the code of practice governing the kangaroo industry and the welfare outcomes for both dependent young and adult kangaroos. We found that, on balance, the benefits are lower than expected and the welfare costs are likely to be considerably higher than acceptable.

The report continues: Our analysis suggests that some provisions in the Code relating to best practice by shooters are not met. First, it is unlikely that young-at-foot are killed when their mothers are shot (see above) as required by the Code (Table 1). Second, there is a strong concern about the fate of mis-shot adults. As noted above, existing evidence from RSPCA Australia and Animal Liberation NSW suggests that many kangaroos are not shot in the brain per the desired welfare standard in the Code (Table1), and it is impossible to know how many mis-shot kangaroos are left in the field. The mandated methods for pouch young euthanasia have also been questioned, as discussed above, and there is no requirement for training in the Code—for either the killing of adults, or euthanasia of pouch young.

A study conducted by Animal Liberation NSW of carcasses in 25 chillers between 2005 and 2008, identified that up to 40% of kangaroos per chiller may have been neck shot (Ben-Ami 2009).

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