British AR's to Seek Kangaroo Meat Ban

[erron]

It's not just the local antis we have to worry about:

British group to battle Australian kangaroo cull

© 2001 Reuters
July 16, 2001
Story by Michael Christie

SYDNEY - A British animal rights group launched a global campaign on Friday to halt Australia's annual cull of millions of kangaroos and the sale overseas of their meat and skin.

Viva, which successfully fought to have kangaroo meat taken off the shelves of leading British supermarkets, has linked up with influential US group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and others.

Viva Director Juliet Gellatley said the campaign would begin in August to persuade consumers in markets such as Germany, Belgium, and South Africa that the cull in Australia was "cruel" and the industry's argument that kangaroos were pests was based on "myths".

"You're blasting them (kangaroos) to bits," Gellatley told a news conference in Sydney.

Exports of Kangaroo meat from Australia have boomed this year after European meat eaters scorned beef in the wake of Britain's mad cow disease and the foot and mouth outbreak in Europe.

Cuddly and cute in the eyes of many foreigners, kangaroos are seen as a major pest by most Australians.

In parts of the outback, Australians say kangaroos are so plentiful that driving at night is a serious hazard.

OFFICIAL CULL

Official figures for the kangaroo population vary from 18 million to 50 million, and the government authorises an annual cull to control numbers.

The kill quota for 2001 has been set at 5.5 million, with the meat used in sausages, petfood or sold as game meat in Europe.

The industry dismissed Viva's campaign, saying it was a vegetarian organisation determined to stop global meat consumption and as such had little general appeal.

Craig Harwood of the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia said Gellatley's arguments against the kangaroo trade "have been trotted out a lot and been discredited".

Mike Mulligan of the Australian Game Meat Producers Association said the industry had decided it did not need to react to Viva's campaign.

"Everything we do is legal. It's supported by the government," Mulligan said.

The Australian branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals criticised the annual cull as an out-of-control frenzy and is conducting an inquiry into cruelty.

Australia sells around five million kg of kangaroo meat each year overseas and has been exporting kangaroo meat to game-loving European connoisseurs for 35 years.

[Papabear]

erron - do y'all hunt(?) roos with a bow or gun or what? Do you hunt(?) them like in open areas or is it like a fenced area? Questions???

[erron]

Papabear,

others may have more info. from other states, but as far as I know you can't hunt roos anywhere without a culling permit, and they're difficult for recreational shooters to gain. Farmers can sometimes get a permit, depending on local numbers of roos. Forget killing them legally with a bow, again, as far as I know.

It's definitely something that should be on our agenda, IMO. The waste in culling is ridiculous, and Kangaroo meat cooked right is about the best meat I've eaten!

Cheers,

Erron

[Stickbow Hunter]

Papabear,

Erron is pretty much correct. It is illegal to shoot a kangaroo with anything but a centre fire rifle and providing you have the permits etc.

The greenies are reponsible for this. Sadly they also had it made law that the only humane way to kill a roo is by shooting it in the head. I feel that they are directly responsible for causing quite a number of roos pain and suffering.

I say this because having to shoot them in the head obviously means that the target is very small. If the roo moves even slightly as the shooter fires they can be wounded. Why? - because the target is too small. Most of these shooters are fantastic shots to and have to pass a strict accuracy test to get a culling permit.

There are much bigger kill zones on roos or any animal, other than the head, that will effect a quick humane kill.

Just for any of you overseas visitors to this site I will tell you this. The Kangaroo in this country is not endangered in any way shape or form. Their numbers have increased dramatically over the years. Farmers have opened up much of the inland country and put in dams, bores, etc. Because they have more permanent food and water their numbers increased. For the good of the kangaroos they must be culled.

One of the most sickening sites I have even witnessed was roos suffering, starving to death in the mid nineties in a big drought. They died by the tens of thousands. Why? - because they had overpopulated.

Where were the greenies then - safely enclosed in their concrete jungle in the city. The roos died a horrific death by starvation rather than quickly and humanely by bullet or arrow. The kangaroos need culling each year to keep their numbers at realistic levels.

Sorry for the long post but this side of the story is seldom told. Jeff

[Papabear]

Thanks guys for yer replies. A little knowledge never hurt anyone - even this old dumba$$!

[Papabear]

Thanks guys for yer replies. A little knowledge never hurt anyone - even this old dumba$$!