End the Canberra kangaroo cull permanently

The Issue

The annual kangaroo cull is an exercise in needless cruelty.

The reasoning supplied by TAMS and the ACT Government was shown by an expert witness to be inaccurate, misleading and was eventually described by a TAMS representative to be merely “PR” (ACAT AT13/41, 2013). In fact, the evidence supplied through this tribunal, and in other literature, has shown that the kangaroo is a keystone species and is integral to maintaining biodiversity.

So integral, in fact, that following culling, livestock has been used to graze the vacated land to reduce the bushfire risk due to overgrowth of grasses!


Fifty international academics, writers, lawyers and artists have already called for an end to the culls, highlighting the lack of humanity and the lack of scientific evidence justifying such abhorrent actions. Animal welfare and animal rights activists have been opposing this since the first cull. We ask you to add your voice to this and call on the ACT Government to end this massacre now.

 

We thank you for your support! If you want to do more please go to http://stopthecull.net.au to find social media resources to share, email addresses of relevant MLAs and a draft email to send (edit as you please!), as well as posters and flyers which can be downloaded!

 

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The Issue

The annual kangaroo cull is an exercise in needless cruelty.

The reasoning supplied by TAMS and the ACT Government was shown by an expert witness to be inaccurate, misleading and was eventually described by a TAMS representative to be merely “PR” (ACAT AT13/41, 2013). In fact, the evidence supplied through this tribunal, and in other literature, has shown that the kangaroo is a keystone species and is integral to maintaining biodiversity.

So integral, in fact, that following culling, livestock has been used to graze the vacated land to reduce the bushfire risk due to overgrowth of grasses!


Fifty international academics, writers, lawyers and artists have already called for an end to the culls, highlighting the lack of humanity and the lack of scientific evidence justifying such abhorrent actions. Animal welfare and animal rights activists have been opposing this since the first cull. We ask you to add your voice to this and call on the ACT Government to end this massacre now.

 

We thank you for your support! If you want to do more please go to http://stopthecull.net.au to find social media resources to share, email addresses of relevant MLAs and a draft email to send (edit as you please!), as well as posters and flyers which can be downloaded!

 

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Stop the CullPetition Starter
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The Decision Makers

Caroline Le Couteur, Greens MLA
Caroline Le Couteur, Greens MLA
ACT Greens
Responded
“The ACT Greens have looked carefully at this issue over a period of time, and have asked many questions about the policy, the science, and alternative approaches. Since 2004 we have reluctantly but consistently accepted the necessity of managing populations of Eastern Grey Kangaroos in order to protect threatened temperate grassland ecosystems. We understand that reduced habitat and reduced predators have created the imbalance in these ecosystems. The range of scientific evidence presented to date has informed our view that a precautionary approach requires us to take some action, since many of the species that depend on these grassland habitats are at risk of extinction. Our support for the conservation cull is consistent with our belief that the protection and conservation of biodiversity is essential for the wellbeing of all life on earth. The loss of biodiversity poses an unacceptable threat to the health of people and ecosystems, and drastically reduces our ability to cope with major threats like climate change. Unfortunately since European settlement, 99.5 % of Australia’s natural temperate grassland communities have been destroyed or damaged, and many plant and animal species have become locally extinct or critically endangered due to habitat loss and degradation. In the ACT, we have been lucky enough to retain a comparatively higher level (although still only about 5%) of the original temperate grassland remaining in moderate to good condition. Many of the species that depend on this threatened community are at risk of extinction, such as Grassland Earless Dragons, the Striped Legless Lizard, Perunga Grasshoppers, Coorooboorama Raspy Crickets and Ginninderra Peppercress. We believe that the ACT Government has a legal and moral responsibility to protect these plant and animal species and the ecological communities that support them. These critical conservation areas are under threat from overgrazing by kangaroo populations, which leads to a deterioration in the quality of the grasslands. This in turn puts pressure on the species that rely on this habitat. Conditions in the ACT region are very favourable for Eastern Grey Kangaroos, contributing to an extremely high kangaroo population. Eastern Grey Kangaroos are the most numerous species of macropod in Australia, and their conservation status is not threatened. The numbers to be culled have been based on scientific kangaroo counts in each location each year. This has been compared to the sustainable carrying capacity for each area that ACT Government ecologists have established by taking into account the habitat requirements of grassland dependent animals and plants. The condition of the vegetation at each site is also taken into account each year. When Shane Rattenbury was the Minister responsible for the portfolio, we investigated alternative methods for reducing kangaroo populations in our nature reserves: o Fertility Control – The ACT Greens achieved additional funding for more research into the best way to implement a fertility program for kangaroos in the wild, as this would be a far preferable option to culling. Currently available methods of fertility control require each individual to be captured and handled, so are suited to small, contained populations. However, the ACT Government is trialing a new method of remotely delivering GonaCon Immunocontraceptive Vaccine via a dart to female kangaroos. Preliminary results looked positive, and we are now following up for recent results. o Translocation – Unfortunately investigations have not shown a way for successful large-scale translocation, due to low survival rates following relocation as well as the lack of available appropriate relocation areas. We appreciate that culling native animals is never the preferred option. The ACT Greens will continue to call for the ACT Government to investigate non-lethal alternatives to reduce the population of kangaroos and protect the biodiversity of Canberra's nature reserves. We will also continue to work hard to ensure protection of the natural areas that surround the ACT. For further information about the ACT’s conservation cull, visit https://www.environment.act.gov.au/parks-conservation/plants-and-animals/urban_wildlife/local_wildlife/kangaroos/2019-kangaroo-cull”
Elizabeth Lee
Elizabeth Lee
Shadow Minister for the Environment (November 2016–present)
Mick Gentleman
Mick Gentleman
Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management

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Petition created on 3 May 2018