IT’S a controversial topic that will no doubt be a talking point again during this Race Week in Bathurst.
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The ever-increasing kangaroo population in the Mount Panorama precinct has been a problem for years.
Concerns about a collision between a race car and a ’roo during the Great Race are invariably raised at this time of year.
Bathurst Regional Council has been exhaustive in its endeavours to make the track ’roo-proof, installing kilometres of high fencing to try to reduce the problem.
But there can still be no 100 per cent guarantee that the barriers will keep the kangaroos at bay.
And it will only take one ’roo to cause an accident in the Great Race that will get all of Australia’s attention.
It now seems another sporting venue is being affected by the Mount’s kangaroos.
Chief executive officer Danny Dwyer says more than 100 ’roos have started to take a liking to the grounds of the new Bathurst Harness Racing Club complex off College Road, which is just a stone’s throw from the circuit.
As with the Mount track, the big danger is a ’roo causing havoc if it finds its way on to the harness racing track in the middle of a race.
The club has not yet decided on its course of action, but there are many in Bathurst that will have made up their mind on the solution: a cull around Mount Panorama.
It’s a topic that will always raise strong emotions on both sides, and it’s unlikely complete agreement is ever going to be reached.
Councillor Warren Aubin wants to know if we rate people’s lives above animals, and that’s a fair question.
But anyone at council who has looked at this problem will know that, whatever decision is made, it will upset a significant section of the population.
That’s the dilemma. But that’s no reason to avoid a decision.