Shooters hired to kill up to 15,000 kangaroos on Australian army base

Star Publications (Malaysia) ^ | 2002/5/20

[jedi150]

!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> Shooters hired to kill up to 15,000 kangaroos on Australian army base

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP): Shooters gathered Monday to begin killing up to 15,000 kangaroos on grasslands within an army base in southern Australia, after
the animals' population surged and they were beginning to starve.

The Defense Department hired nine shooters to reduce the kangaroo population on the 44,000-hectare (110,000-acre) Puckapunayl army base in the southern state
of Victoria, department spokesman Brian Humphreys said.

"Shooting will start in another day or so,'' he said.

Inspectors from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will have access to the base to make sure the cull is conducted humanely. The animals
will be shot in the head, and their carcasses buried in mass graves on the base.

The killing will take an estimated three months and cost about 700,000 Australian dollars (dlrs 385,000).

The base's kangaroo population exploded to more than 80,000 -- from about 45,000 in 1999 -- after the removal of sheep flocks from the area allowed grass to
grow unchecked, providing fodder for hordes of kangaroos.

Ecologists recommended the cull after hundreds of kangaroos began starving and tangling themselves in wire fences in a bid to find new pastures.

Animal welfare activists have said they were prepared to stand between shooters and kangaroos if they deem that the animals are being unnecessarily killed.

Spokeswoman Rheya Linden of the group Animal Active said that only sick kangaroos should be shot, while healthy ones should be fed and released.

Several protesters were evicted from the base Sunday when they broke through a fence and attempted to feed bales of hay to some of the kangaroos.

There are over 60 different species of kangaroo in Australia. While it is impossible to determine the exact number in Australia, the population of the four most
common species is thought to be more than 50 million.
 
 

[What Is Ain't]

Someone alert PETA.

[TomServo]

Why didn't they just hire Nugent to do this? It would only take him a couple of hours.

[jedi150]

Is that People Eating Tasty Animals or the other one?

[demlosers]

Those dang roos are like rabbits.

[lsee]

The law of unintended consequences strikes again...

[mseltzer]

Be careful of eating at McDonalds in the coming months.

[shaggy eel]

,,, well, that's some of the military land taken care of - when do you think they'll shoot the ones on the golf courses?

[shaggy eel]

BUMP

[jeremiah]

Animal welfare activists, said they were prepared to stand between hunters and kangaroos

Good.

[Grut]

Er... the Army is hiring people to shoot for them?

[another cricket]

What does kangaroo taste like? Inquiring minds want to know!

a.cricket

[jedi150]

Kangaroo.

[shaggy eel]

,,, a few years back the Aussies shipped kangaroo meat to the US as "beef". It was discovered and their export industry took a hit for quite a while. I haven't tried kangaroo but I fully intend to and know it's on sale here in New Zealand. Obviously, it's a red meat and not too far off what beef is like, in my estimation.

[Ditter]

I don't know how they taste but I know their hides make the best rawhide for making braided items.

[gwynapnudd]

"Animal welfare activists have said they were prepared to stand between shooters and kangaroos if they deem that the animals are being unnecessarily killed. "

"I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five. Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kind have lost track myself. but bein' this is a 44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question.......do i feel lucky?..........well do ya punk?"

[jedi150]

They taste similar to Deer meat.

[shaggy eel]

,,, are their hides tougher than Texans'?

[NEW YORKCITYGOPMAN]

Never mind PETA! Hey, Nugent, are you on tour? We have an assignment for you. Will make a great new chapter for your new book Kill it and Grill It.

[No Truce With Kings]

Maybe I am strange, but I do not understand why an Army would hire hunters to do shooting for them, even for kangaroos. Seems to me an excellent opportunity for realistic live-fire practice. If not line troops, then snipers.