ALTHOUGH I regret having to keep writing on this topic, Windradyne Whisperer Lachlan Sullivan’s constant criticisms of the Kangaroo Relocation Project are likely to dangerously mislead some of your readers.
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The Whisperer keeps on claiming that the kangaroo problem on Mount Panorama could have been simply solved by mass shootings.
I do not know everything but I do have some experience in these matters and I still maintain that shooting was entirely inappropriate in this situation - both for human safety and the almost certain failure to reduce numbers enough to make Mount Panorama safe to hold car races.
1. As I pointed out in a letter published on July 29, a night, the site where the kangaroos were being collected was almost totally ringed by lights from houses, Rydges, College Road, etc.
Anyone with even a basic awareness of firearm safety would know this area was totally unsafe to start discharging high power firearms.
2. Shooting can kill a lot of animals in a short time and this may be called humane culling but a large number of the smaller, more inconspicuous animals are dispersed by this action and they will repopulate the area very quickly.
This is exactly what happened on the previous two occasions council attempted culling. The only solution to this dispersal would be to gradually tempt the animals into a compound and then systematically shoot all of them.
However, WW seems as vehemently opposed to the use of a compound as he is to relocation.
3. Shooting has often been advocated to eradicate pest species such as rabbits, foxes, feral pigs, cats and now goats and deer. To my knowledge, in not a single case has shooting ever achieved effective control.
WW cites other ecologists around Australia as recommending humane culling, but I would like to correspond with these people to see just how efficient their programs have been.
4. The situation at Mount Panorama was that there was no use just culling a percentage of animals – to make the race track safe they had to be eliminated as far as possible.
The volunteers on the relocation project removed some 500 animals. The fact that two animals got on to the edge of the track during the race represents a failure rate of 0.4 per cent.
No biological system or treatment is ever quite perfect and I am sure if any other animal researcher in any field achieved a failure rate this low they would be ecstatic.
5. Likewise, the suggestion of shooting animals for meat was totally impractical as it would only be commercially viable to shoot animals large enough to produce a respectable amount of meat.
Also, if meat is to be used for human consumption there are basic hygiene rules that must be followed and the animal must be bled, gutted, skinned and refrigerated very quickly after death.
I cannot imagine any commercial shooters would be happy to have to drive a refrigerated truck up and down the slopes of Mount Panorama, cutting fences etc, so they could get to the bodies in time.
I have no doubt at all that although the kangaroo population on the Mount has been drastically reduced that other animals will soon move in from nearby, and the only practical way I can see for council is a total exclusion fence around the whole area.
This will be very expensive but far more effective and safe than annual culling.
If anyone takes a trip to Canberra they should notice many miles of high fences lining nearly all the main roads, as they have a significant kangaroo population as well.
I think Councillor John Fry`s suggestion of buying a property and continually relocating animals would be more expensive than fencing but qualified people would have to crunch the numbers.
