AUS Army Culling 'Roos near Canberra

[The Bread Guy]

From the Associated Press:

Australia's army has started shooting 6,000 kangaroos to thin their population on an army training ground near the capital, an official said Friday, 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 on another Defense Department site 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, Army Brig. Brian Dawson told reporters.

"The culling is intended to reduce the kangaroo population to sustainable levels," Dawson said, describing the action as that of a "responsible landowner."

The nighttime shooting is expected to continue intermittently until August. The training ground covers more than 7,400 acres (3,000 hectares) and includes grenade and artillery firing ranges....

More on link

EDITED to add link here to AUS MoD news release on the issue, which includes the toll-free "Defence Kangaroo info-line" number.

 

[The Bread Guy]

....according to this ADF statement

.... The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal yesterday issued an interim injunction, which affects the licence issued by the ACT Conservator of Flora and Fauna to Defence. 

Effective immediately following the Tribunal’s announcement, Defence’s contractor ceased all kangaroo culling activities at the Majura Training Area, pending the hearing.

The Majura Training Area is an operational Defence training range used for infantry, artillery and navigational activities. Live-firing activities are still taking place, both during the day and at night. These activities are strictly limited to military training.

The safety of those in and around Defence training areas is a priority. Members of the public are reminded not to attempt to enter the Majura Training Area for their own safety ....

 

[1feral1]

Here is some pics of Majura taken six years ago (May 2003).....

I snapped a pic of an albino eastern grey roo 'in the wild'. Truly a rare beast even in a zoo.

The countryside is really nice, roaming hills, and huge ghost gums to match, but in the winter - freezing- literally with lows as nasty as -8C at times.

I froze there, that is with the insufficient kit we had then, and its really no better now.

EDIT: Thats me with the F88  :nod:

 

[david_wright]

Nice shot of the albino roo. Majura is bloody cold. I remember piquet one night in minus 4 wearing just a t-shirt, wool jumper and DPCU shirt. Not warm enough.
I remember being on the range in 2002 and having a mob of roos bound across. A couple of other officers were eagerly eyeing them off, but in the end they just went their own way.
I think I counted at least 8 roos by the side of the road on the way to work yesterday, and that's 25 km away via a major road.
They really do a lot of damage to cars if hit, probably much the same as a deer would do. I live in Canberra and
I can understand why they're to be culled, there are huge number and the population just continues to grow. It would be sad though, driving past mobs of them really makes you realise how small a town and how bushlike Canberra is.