Kangaroo... Cian, sapa nak bela as a pet?

The cull of the wild

One of Victoria's largest kangaroo culls is under way. It has many people questioning how we manage our kangaroo population.

Why the cull?

To cull or ``harvest'' kangaroos is to hunt and kill them. It is a method used throughout Australia under government control to manage kangaroo populations and to protect the environment. Only the most abundant species of kangaroo can be hunted, and only by licensed hunters.

The army and the RSPCA say the kangaroos on the Puckapunyal army base in central Victoria are starving and sick. The 45,000hectare site has an estimated population of more than 80,000 eastern grey kangaroos. A consultant's report has suggested that a more sustainable population would be between 45,000 and 50,000 kangaroos.

A team of shooters has been employed for the emergency cull of an initial 15,000 kangaroos, estimated to take several weeks. Shooters follow guidelines for humane culling, which require that kangaroos be shot in the head and that no more than 100 kangaroos are shot each day. Shooters must check the pouches of dead females for joeys and kill them, too. Their bodies will mostly be dumped in ditches on the base. Up to 30,000 may be culled under the Defence Department's kangaroo management plan.

Why is the kangaroo population out of hand?

In the 1990s, the army removed the flocks of sheep that kept the grass down on the property. With the sheep gone, the kangaroo population boomed. When neighbouring farmers complained about the growing kangaroo problem, the army surrounded the property with a 1.8metre electric fence. The fence effectively trapped the kangaroos. They have overbred and eaten themselves out of food.

In desperation, many kangaroos try to jump the electric fence to feed on nearby farms. The growing population has proved a problem in the neighbouring township as the roos search for food. They have caused costly damage to crops and fences, and local panelbeaters have experienced an increase in trade as kangaroos become a hazard on the roads.

The Defence Department has acknowledged it failed to manage the kangaroo population adequately.

The reaction

Some see the culling as a sensible approach to dealing with rapidly growing kangaroo populations - ensuring their survival and limiting the damage to crops and property.

Animal rights activists are not so convinced. A protest group has established itself outside the Puckapunyal base. Activists claim that the animals they saw on the base boundary were healthy and not suffering. They argue that the cull is inhumane and that kangaroos would naturally come to deal with an overpopulation problem.

A spokeswoman for the Animal Active group, Rheya Linden, said culling kangaroos was the ``cruellest way possible'' to deal with the problem.

Others wonder how the problem at the army base was allowed to become so severe. Could the slaughter have been avoided with a comprehensive management plan?

~ sesungguhnya perkara-perkara yang baik itu akan menghapuskan keburukan. demikianlah peringatan kepada orang yang mahu beringat..... ~