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Australia to Kill 6K Kangaroos

Burgeoning population is harming rare plants; protests planned

By the Associated Press

Posted May 8, 2009 9:08 AM CDT
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(AP) – Australia's army has started shooting 6,000 kangaroos to thin the animal population on an army training ground near the capital, an official said today, outraging conservationists who have vowed to protest. The killings are intended to protect endangered plants and insects that share the grassy habitat with the kangaroos. A much smaller slaughter of 400 kangaroos in Canberra last year was disrupted by protesters.

Civilian marksmen contracted by the department began shooting the kangaroos on Tuesday night at Defense's Majura Training Area, where an estimated 9,000 of the wild marsupials roam, an official told reporters. "The culling is intended to reduce the kangaroo population to sustainable levels," he said, describing the action as that of a "responsible landowner." The nighttime shooting is expected to continue intermittently until August.

They bounce across the roof of Parliament House. They collide with cars. They come in through the bedroom window. Canberra, Australia's capital, has a problem: too many kangaroos.
They bounce across the roof of Parliament House. They collide with cars. They come in through the bedroom window. Canberra, Australia's capital, has a problem: too many kangaroos.   (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, file)
In this May 20, 2008 file photo, kangaroos are corralled in a pen before they are culled at a abandoned Department of Defense property near Canberra, Australia. The culling has begun again this year.
In this May 20, 2008 file photo, kangaroos are corralled in a pen before they are culled at a abandoned Department of Defense property near Canberra, Australia. The culling has begun again this year.   (AP Photo/Mark Graham, File)
In this March 15, 2008 file photo, a kangaroo is seen at the Belconnen Naval Transmission Station near Canberra, Australia.
In this March 15, 2008 file photo, a kangaroo is seen at the Belconnen Naval Transmission Station near Canberra, Australia.   (AP Photo/Mark Graham, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 8 comments
hungrydave
May 9, 2009 5:29 AM CDT
Haha I guess I sort of had it coming on that one. I was just curious because I know they use their skin to make leather for soccer cleats. The leather is very soft.
freethemall
May 9, 2009 4:49 AM CDT
Why do you ask? Are you hunrgydave? Sorry, I couldn't resist.
freethemall
May 9, 2009 4:34 AM CDT
I wonder why there is no natural predator to keep the kangaroo population under control. Do they have no natural enemies in the wild?

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

World • Green

 
endangered species • Australia • cull • kangaroos • animal population

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