KA’s Mission

Submission 1

“The drought decimated the Kangaroo population, as did the bush fires and yet there are no laws to stop the continued slaughter of our Kangaroos by the Commercial Industry.

I would like to see laws put in place to stop the slaughter of wildlife and in particular Macropods. I would like laws to be put into place to stop the cruel treatment of all Kangaroos regardless of their sex and I would also like to see the complete halting of the slaughter of Kangaroos for any type of commercial gain.

The current laws that ensure kangaroos are slaughtered in a sustainable and cruelty free way, are not adhered to, nor is anyone checking to ensure they are killed without cruelty and that mothers with Joey's at foot and or in their pouch, are remaining unharmed by shooters.

There is evidence of the worst cruelty going completely unchecked by Government departments, not to mention the barbaric way the meat is handled and kept before being chilled.

Laws need to change, our kangaroos need to be protected from cruelty and extinction“

Submission 148

“The commercial slaughtering of kangaroos in Australia is sanctioned and financially supported by the Australian government. All Australian wildlife is, by law, ‘protected,’ but not from the government. Killing kangaroos for profit is the largest land-based slaughter of wildlife on our planet, not something the Australian Government or Australian citizens can be proud of. The average Australian knows very little about the killing of kangaroos for commercial purposes, so effective is the facade erected by the government to hide the truth.

Today the main driver for the slaughter of millions of kangaroos has changed from purging the countryside of a perceived pest to landholders to utilizing this “protected” native animal as a managed and profitable renewable resource.

The Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia, or KIAA, was formed in 1970 and is self-governed. Its original purpose was to take over the shooting of kangaroos from farmers to spare landholders the time this required, and the cost of guns and bullets. Today the KIAA orchestrates the commercial killing of kangaroos for profit. In addition, through a permit system in every State and Territory, anyone can apply for a permit to kill wildlife. By far the greatest number of animals killed under the permit system are kangaroos. Kangaroos are now being slaughtered on two fronts, the commercial industry and the permit system.

The KIAA kills well over two million kangaroos and joeys each year, with more than an additional million killed under the permit system. The in-pouch or at-foot joeys that are killed in accordance with the recommendations in the ‘National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies’ are not counted, as they are considered collateral damage. When a female kangaroo is killed and she has an at-foot Joey and an in-pouch joey, three kangaroo families are lost. …

Our (2021) Federal Government views kangaroos as a ‘commodity’ and fully supports their killing. For every kangaroo killed, the processor pays a levy to the Federal Government. The money is used for research projects that benefit the commercial industry. Our taxes are used to support the commercial industry dedicated to killing our national icon. …

Kangaroos are a slow breeding animals. The greatest possible increase is 10% a year, and this is during ‘good times.’ Juvenile mortality rate is around 75% but can reach 100% during drought. It takes 18 months to bring a joey to the point of weaning. During drought, kangaroos can control their breeding and it is very limited. Landholders are very fond of saying “kangaroos are in plague proportions” but interestingly there is never any evidence to verify these claims. On the contrary, kangaroos have been wiped out in many regions and have become ‘locally extinct’. The population is less than half what it was in 2001 and collapsed by nearly 2 million between 2009 and 2010. The numbers game is a controlling manipulation of population figures for the monetary benefit of the government. No consideration is given to the permanence of the kangaroos.

Tourism plays a significant part in Australia’s economy, contributing to both GDP and employment. In 2018–19, GDP from tourism was $60.8 billion, making the economic value of the kangaroo industry minuscule. The 3rd most popular ‘must-see’ for tourists is the kangaroo. It makes much more sense to use this ‘natural resource’ to attract tourists than to continue to decimate kangaroo populations for commercial trade.

THE SLAUGHTER OF OUR KANGAROOS MUST STOP BEFORE WE LOSE THEM.

THEY ARE WORTH MORE ALIVE THAN DEAD“

www.kangaroosatrisk.net

Submission 270a

“THE DEPARTMENT TOOK A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON NOTICE – WHO WILL ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?

The DoPIE / NPWS representatives who fronted the Inquiry took many of the questions that were put to them on notice; they answered other questions incorrectly. I am not going to go through their responses one by one here, however Mr Quirk’s reference to the population density being “…200 kangaroos per hectare…” in Sturt National Park before the drought does bear mention.

A hectare is an area of 100m x 100m. If there were 200 kangaroos per hectare in Start National Park you would not have been able to move for all the kangaroos; Dr Letnic would have run one over every time he drove 7 meters in any direction. Sturt National Park is 3,253 km2, , and there are 100 hectares per square kilometer. A density of 200 kangaroos per hectare would have been a population of 65M kangaroos in the park; there were only ~2M kangaroos (combined species) in the entire Tibooburra zone in 2016. While Mr Quirk may have meant 200 kangaroos per square kilometer (and anyone can make a simple mistake), these sort of statements really prove that the departments admitted lack of expertise as it pertains to kangaroos and the kangaroo management program was amply demonstrated by their verbal evidence.

The questions the department took on notice will be sent to their stable of supporting experts; people who have been involved in the kangaroo management space in some cases for decades. One of the department witnesses stated that Dr Cairns had been queried about the reported ~260% increase between 2014 and 2016 in Wallaroo estimates in the Glen Innes KMZ, and that assurances were provided that such an increase was within the acceptable margin of error for the survey program. This is despite Cairns (2004a) writing that “in order to set harvest quotas that will guarantee sustainability, it is necessary to have reasonably accurate estimates of the sizes of the kangaroo populations proposed to be harvested.”

It is clear that one or other of the estimates was not accurate, however the explanation provided was that Wallaroos sometimes hide under trees. What magnitude of reported increase would fall outside of the expected margin of error for the survey program? Would Dr Cairns like to comment on the reported increase of 426% for grey kangaroos in the Tibooburra zone between 2014 and 2015?

It is worth noting Dr Cairns’ first two Central Tablelands survey reports (Cairns et al (2009) and Cairns & Bearup (2012)) which both stated “state forests, reserves and gazetted national parks… …were all excluded from the survey areas of each zone”, and this was not the case. These critical errors effectively deprived the Central Tablelands zones of valid baseline population estimates.

Dr Cairns has played a key role in the development of the survey program in NSW, and was central to the 2001 mid-drought revision (proportional increase) of the correction factors which were being used at the time, which he did in partnership with the then manager of the Kangaroo Management Unit, Josh Gilroy.

He has written other reports for the Kangaroo Management Unit with other KMU managers (one of the et als in Cairns et al (2008) was the then KMU manager Ms Nicole Payne), and he continues to be engaged to conduct surveys in the eastern kangaroo management zones, despite having made clear errors in the design and implementation of these survey programs.

Given the Ms Molloy testimony to the Inquiry, it seems likely that Dr Cairns will assist the DoPIE with their Questions on Notice, and it seems likely that he will also provide assurances that everything is absolutely fine, and even biologically impossible increases in reported populations of 260% (or over 400%) should be easily explained by someone who has been involved in this space since he was one of the et als in Grigg et al (1986).“

Submission 337

“Millions of kangaroos are killed each year in this country and many are injured from shooters. There is a code of practice that shooters are required to adhere to . I would like to know how the ‘code’ is enforced? How do we know this code is even being adhered to ? How do we know these shooters are not drinking on the job? That’s right we don’t.

Also why is this code only asking for the minimal standard? If there is not a higher standard of animal welfare asked for then one can only imagine the unnecessary suffering this must permit.

There also should be acknowledgement that young kangaroos not only feel physical pain but they also feel emotions and are at least fearful if not terrified.

We have lost millions of to bushfires in the last year that have claimed the lives of many kangaroos.

So as the killing of millions of kangaroos happen each year for the profit of this industry , many would agree that this is ethically twisted in itself so then at the very least there should be an enforcement code and one which recognises that these animals suffer both physical and emotional pain. They are sentient. How is it acceptable that shooters are allowed to bash a Joey or decapitate them? How is this considered acceptable practice? Community sentiment is catching up on animal welfare and this industry will be exposed.“

Submission 234

“ The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (POCTA) applies to kangaroos and kangaroo shooters. In theory therefore, shooters would be committing an act of cruelty to a kangaroo if they committed an ‘act or omission as a consequence of which the animal is unreasonably, unnecessarily or unjustifiably… beaten, …killed, wounded, …mutilated, maimed, abused, tormented, tortured, terrified or …inflicted with pain’ (ss4(2) and 5).

The ADO is unaware of any actual investigations into or proceedings against shooters for failing to comply with animal welfare laws in the course of shooting kangaroos. Rather than indicating compliance with those laws, this instead suggests a complete absence of enforcement activity and consequential failure to detect offences.

The ADO submits that enforcement agencies under the POCTA Act, being RSPCA NSW, the Animal Welfare League, and NSW Police, should monitor commercial and non-commercial kangaroo shooting at the killing points, to ensure compliance with animal welfare laws. Animal cruelty complaints and tip-offs from industry participants should also be encouraged, even if on an anonymous basis. Finally, monitoring and inspections relating to animal welfare laws should be reported in kangaroo management program annual reports.

The final word in these submissions will be left not to a lawyer but to a philosopher. In 2005, the internationally renowned Australian philosopher Peter Singer proposed what would be a gamechanger for how the law regards wildlife:

‘We need a Mabo decision for Australia’s wild animals, a legal recognition of their special status as original residents of Australia, alongside its original [human] inhabitants. The only ethical approach is one that gives their interests equal consideration alongside similar human interests. ‘

In 2021, such a legal recognition is more urgent than ever for NSW’s kangaroos in light of the vast numbers killed across the State, the pain and suffering inflicted on so many of the victims, and the fundamental flaws and gaps in the legal framework that is supposedly designed to protect them.“

ASK

“In Wodonga Victoria in 2012 a 19year old man was found guilty of deliberately running over a female kangaroo and her joey, throwing the joey into the bush, kicking the mother repeatedly and finally tying her up to his car and dragging her around the streets of Wodonga. Australian Society for Kangaroos along with many disturbed and concerned volunteers and members of the public attended the court hearings in an effort to find justice for kangaroos however the offender got off with a 12 month suspended sentence for crimes under the Wildlife Act and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

IN Seymour in 2011, three men deliberately caught a joey with their dog and proceeded to torture, kick and bash it to death while filming themselves. The judge in Seymour Magistrates Court let all three off with a good behaviour bond and a fine for crimes under the Wildlife Act. None of their crimes under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act were even mentioned.

In Bendigo a kangaroo named Josie was run over and then pushed down a set of stairs in a shopping trolley.

In December 2012, a Queensland police officer got off with an infringement notice for gunning down more than twenty kangaroos and their joeys in Booral. He had no permit to kill wildlife and he left most of the kangaroos to die from abdominal and body wounds as well as three little joeys who were left to die in their pouch after shooting their mother.“

Submission 271

“One of our firm supporters and donors, began following X on Facebook to aid her pained heart. She told us on several occasions, that she needed X to exist, so she could watch healthy happy kangaroos to make her feel better. She relocated to find nature and instead, is faced with the sound of gunfire as kangaroos are shot on the property next door to her. In response to a complaint she made regarding this trauma, a shot dead kangaroo was left impaled on her fence.

We are aware of another rescuer, Emma, who boldly asked a commercial shooter to pull over so they could check the pouches of the killed females. EIGHT ALIVE JOEYS were pulled out and rescued. EIGHT joeys that were still alive.“

Submission 255

“My intention was to go on holiday to Australia to be among kangaroos in their natural habitat whilst supporting 2 people who wanted to provide this eco-tourism experience, sharing their love and dedication for the majestic kangaroo. To take unpaid leave from work and use my savings to see kangaroos- ALIVE, That was my wish.

I had always been fascinated with kangaroos and fell in love with them during a short visit to Australia in 2018. However, the disturbing images/footage captured in the film 'Kangaroo: The Love/Hate Story' (I saw in 2017 at the International Animal Rights Conference in Luxembourg) was etched in my mind. I had been very shocked and appalled at the extent of the cruelty and as a UK citizen we are led to believe kangaroos are an admired National Icon. I'd had no idea there was a Kangaroo Commercial Industry and that the massacre is the largest in the world.

So, my intention was to capture the Truth and help in any way I could.

I went back to Australia March-June, 2019 and stayed with Greg and Diane in New South Wales. They have never been able to develop their plan for an eco-tourism business since purchasing their property over a year ago. All because of the Commercial and non-Commercial shooting of kangaroos. How outrageous!

During my stay what struck me the most was the unregulated, relentless and very VERY cruel killing.

Also, the huge financial and emotional impact on Diane and Greg and as a tourist with a dream to spend my time (and money) seeing the world's most famous mammal but treated so badly. There is nothing humane about it.- nor are the females left alone to avoid joeys being 'disposed of'. Also, I saw very few male kangaroos during my long visit, all gone.

I saw the chopped off discarded heads, tails, innards, hands and feet of the slaughtered kangaroos left behind after the night's Commercial Shooting. I noticed many gunshot wounds on the neck or side of head area and some heads didn't have any shot wounds at all.

Is this what the Australian Government want tourists to see? !

Greg, Diane and I rescued an unfurred Joey in April, 2019 at CULLEN BULLEN (see photos) the day after we'd heard shooting. His mum was left after being shot and left (commercial shooter) We saw a head shot wound although not in between the eyes as suggested by the National Code of Practice for an 'immediate death'. It was a miracle that he had survived the night ! but, his future is bleak because he will be shot if he goes near the paddocks that has the commercial shooter visiting.

We saw shooting one night (April 2019) at Cullen Bullen with two trucks parked side by side for 45 minutes after the Commercial shooting. When we visited the area the next day to check for survivors- it was sickening - there were 2 dead kangaroos dumped adjacent to a public road just where the trucks had parked the night before- see photos- she was an old kangaroo signified by the amazing white stripe on her beautiful face. We were so sickened- she had three inflicted injuries on her body- a stab wound under her chin (in her throat) a gun shot on her thigh and a broken leg. She had milk in her teats, so she had an at foot joey, we searched for him/her butnothing - we think predated. She had a blooded hand which showed she tried to comfort herself and it was not an immediate death. The male suffered a similar fate, he had sustained 3 injuries. The image of her face is still etched in my heart & mind.

We saw shooting in April and when we went to see if there were any survivors we came across the carnage left behind. Kangaroos and a wallaroo had been shot at (not head) and run over, they had suffered a sustained brutal attack/killing.

Diane made of me holding Leggo (the rescued un-furred Joey) explaining why i hold vigils at the Australian High Commission in London, UK. “

Submission 341

“Australia’s Landscapes of Fear October 12, 2019. Peter Hylands reports from Australia, where the killing of kangaroos is commonplace and the population estimates and hunting permits just don’t seem to match.

What I see the following morning makes me feel sick, in heart and stomach. The mother’s head lies severed in the dust: blood and other liquids leak from her mouth and nose, her entrails smudged on the earth, her legs and fore-limbs docked and thrown to one side.

In this gruesome and cruel scene, I search for the joey. The beautiful animal is still alive; half its face is torn away. Its body stomped and broken. It looks like our little joey was wrenched from its mother’s pouch, and its head smashed against a fence post.

Then the joey was thrown into a bush.

As my tears spill onto the little joey, she dies. In the journey to death last night, there would have been hours of agony for this tiny animal. Its joy of life so evident a few hours ago, cut short by a vicious and cruel attack.

What I describe here occurs across the Australian Continent. It occurs every night and over and over again to thousands of these animals across a whole range of species. This callous and immensely cruel behaviour is promoted and supported by Australia’s Federal and State Governments who claim the slaughter is humane, sustainable, necessary, and good for the environment. None of these things are remotely true.

Welcome to Australia’s landscapes of fear.“

Submission 404

“In November 2016, the killing reached a whole new level of horror. A new shooter whose brief was clearly to completely eradicate kangaroos from the landscape and to do so with as much torment and terror as he could inflict upon us and our gentle, majestic Kangaroos. He returned night after night, pushing kangaroos up against our fence, shooting, mis-shooting, bludgeoning, cutting legs, cutting hands, cutting throats, leaving babies behind. Barbaric, inhumane, slaughter. Reported. Ignored.

Then, in August 2018, the NSW Government removed what little protection Kangaroos had claiming that the statewide drought meant that Kangaroos must be able to be killed more readily, without the ‘red tape’, and that this was for their own good so they would not die of thirst or starvation at some time in the future. Our Kangaroos were not at risk of dying of thirst or starving to death, they had access to 7 dams (which were well over half full) and one creek (which was running) on properties where they were welcomed, appreciated and cared for. They had an abundance of native and introduced pasture to eat, as well as pristine bushland to which they belong not only on our property but the two 40Ha properties to the South of ours, a large property of at least 500Ha to our South West and undisturbed grassy woodland, perfect Eastern Grey Kangaroo habitat of 400Ha, to our North. Our Kangaroos did not need to be killed for their own good. Regardless of all of the above and the fact that the Commercial Kangaroo Harvester was still taking Kangaroos, albeit 18 month old male joeys and 20kg adult females as he had completely wiped out every adult male and almost every one of the larger females, the owner of the property adjacent to ours, the NPWS employee, began, in August 2018, to take pot shots at the few remaining young mother kangaroos. We assume he was granted a licence under the new legislation but finding out is nigh on impossible. He shot the young mums in the abdomen, they fell down, got up and ran away, to our place. When he did manage to kill one, he would tie her onto the back of his vehicle and drag her along the ground on her stomach, her pouch, with her joey in it and still alive, at least for the first hundred or so metres. On several occasions, the commercial shooter turned up and began shooting kangaroos in the same paddocks less than one hour after the non commercial shooter, the farmer, had finished. The Commercial Kangaroo Harvester also shot young mother kangaroos in their abdomen, male joeys in their bottom, I guess to help out our neighbour and “for their own good” so they wouldn’t die from what would be an impossible scenario in our area, of thirst or starvation, at some time in the future.”

Extract from ‘Conceptualising Animal Abuse with an Antisocial Behaviour Framework ‘; December 2011 Animals 1(4)

E. Gullone

“Ascione has defined animal abuse as “socially unacceptable behaviour that intentionally causes unnecessary pain, suffering, or distress to and/or the death of an animal”. Consistent with human aggression definitions, this definition of animal abuse and most others (e.g., “the wilful infliction of harm, injury, and intended pain on a nonhuman animal”) include acts of abuse that are intended to cause either physical or psychological suffering.

Following a detailed consideration of a number of definitions of animal abuse, including Ascione’s, Dadds, Turner, and McAloon have noted that most definitions comprise a behavioural dimension including both acts of omission (e.g., neglect) and acts of commission (e.g., beating). Thus an important dimension of animal abuse is indication that the behaviour occurred purposely, that is, with deliberateness and without ignorance. The requirement of deliberate intention to cause harm excludes behaviours that cause pain, suffering or distress to animals as a consequence of other behaviours even though the end result is the killing of animals, often with measurable suffering involved.

Thus, animal abuse can be defined as behaviour performed by an individual with the deliberate intention of causing harm (i.e., pain, suffering, distress and/or death) to an animal with the understanding that the animal is motivated to avoid that harm. Included in this definition are both physical harm and psychological harm. As per the literature on human aggression, animal abuse at the more extreme end of the aggression dimension (e.g., burning whilst alive, torture—c.f., murder, rape, assault versus, for example, teasing, hitting, tormenting), should be considered to be a violent sub-type of animal abuse, and consequently one that should be of particular concern to officials and legislators.

Indeed, more consideration needs to be given to the severity of acts of animal abuse than is currently the case.

However across very different respondent groups (e.g., school-based youth, women from violent homes, incarcerated adults, undergraduate students) and methods (e.g., self-reports, third-party reports, analysis of criminal records), the co-occurrence between human-directed and animal-directed aggression and violence continues to emerge. Evidence is also accumulating to support shared pathways of acquisition of these aggressive behaviours including most significantly the important role played by the direct experiencing of the aggressive or violent behaviour particularly in the form of child abuse, and that played by exposure to, or witnessing of, aggression. There has for sometime now been strong acceptance of these pathways of acquisition for human-directed aggression. Given the clear conceptual overlap of human-directed aggression and animal abuse and given the increasingly strong empirical evidence for the co-occurrence of these behaviours beginning in childhood through to adulthood, it should come as no surprise that the two share acquisition pathways.

In concluding, my position is that given the extensive knowledge base that exists with regard to antisocial and aggressive behaviours, our need for action is currently greater than our need for more research. In this paper I have attempted to demonstrate that there is substantial theoretical and empirical evidence supporting a link between human aggression and antisocial behaviour, and animal abuse. In other words, there is substantial evidence pointing to the very important role that a pattern of abusive behaviour toward animals can play in raising the alarm that other criminal behaviours are likely occurring in the same environment. In the case of adults, if they are abusing animals, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that they are likely to also be engaging in other criminal behaviours, particularly human-directed aggressive behaviours. Aggressive and abusive behaviours against animals are alarming in themselves. They are criminal behaviours that deviate from the moral and humane attitudes held by the vast majority of people worldwide and they cause unspeakable levels of suffering to our fellow sentient beings. “

Submission 257

“During the 2019-2020 bushfires, I was rescuing and treating native wildlife in the surrounding forests and nearby farms. I led search and rescue operations in the local area. During the crises, a temporary treatment facility was established in my home, where volunteer veterinarians treated the survivors. I oversaw the release of treated animals at the sanctuary. The ABC reported on these rescues. A New Zealand NGO, HUHANZ, set up treatment facility here. They produced a documentary which was shown on NZ TV. It took over a week for veterinary help to arrive at the sanctuary. Up till then I had been treating the survivors myself. The wildlife group I was a member of and licensed under, was XXXX. They refused to assist. I repeatedly rang requesting assistance, however my pleas for help were ignored. A few days after the fires and before any veterinary assistance was forthcoming, a NSW Dept of Primary Industry veterinarian visited the sanctuary. He was asking if i had any livestock that needed veterinary attention. I told him no, that this was a wildlife sanctuary, but that I did have burnt kangaroos and wallabies that urgently needed to be seen by a veterinarian. He refused to even look at the injured animals and immediately left. Eventually, HUHANZ, a New Zealand NGO animal welfare group arrived. They brought with them Australian veterinarians and immediately started treating the survivors. Whilst I was thankful for the help, I was shocked to see that none of the Australian vets had any wildlife experience. They would often prescribe medications unsuitable for macropods and weren’t confident on treating them. Euthanasia was an easy way out. I refused most euthanasia requests as I knew the vets weren’t in a position to know. 2 weeks later a disaster response team arrived at the sanctuary and took over from HUHANZ. It was obvious from the start that they had no intention of continuing the treatment of any macropods and started to call for the remaining survivors to be euthanised. It was clear that were not interested in the medium to long term treatment of macropods and were prioritising euthanasia over treatment. This explains why were so slow to provide assistance. knew that if a macropod suffered burns, there is only about a 3 week window to treat - outside this, infections are too difficult to treat. By delaying assistance, knew there would be very few survivors to spend money on treating. I terminated my membership with ? and they left the sanctuary. I continued to rescue and treat the survivors with the help from humane Society International. All of the animals they wanted to kill, recovered from their injuries and have been released back into the wild. They are monitored regularly and are doing very well. “

Submission 270

“When I first entered this “debate” in 2009 I was told to go away – NPWS rangers were “not interested” in the rather obvious decline in the data sets. Despite being the expert they came to, to identify plants, and lizards, and butterflies and other insects, and to deliver surveys including for threatened species, I was told “better people” than me were looking after kangaroos.

When I put my concerns in writing (the 2011-13 threatened species nomination and supplements) my findings were arbitrarily dismissed (“it’s drought”). Scientists in the field for whom I had a lot of respect, people like Dr Lunney, did not answer emails. No-one entered into a spirit of rational discussion about my findings, despite having taken years to carefully itemize the serious problems with the harvest model and survey methodologies, errors in the application of the surveys, and catastrophic decline in the datasets, which was later confirmed to be the case by the NSW Scientific Committee. I was clearly an unwelcome outsider. Subsequently the department and their supporting scientists seem to have manufactured population increases. Long running survey methodologies have been abandoned, I have been derided publicly and privately by legislators and industry supporting scientists who I have never met or even talked to. Meanwhile pro-industry experts have published “peer reviewed” papers in their own journals which give the program an A+++. To date no-one has made any attempt to counter the evidence I have presented to the Inquiry, all we hear is that everything is absolutely fine, and the department will “take that question on notice”. Griggs’ impassioned plea for “disciplined debate” has gone unanswered.

I would sincerely value the opportunity to discuss and share my research and finding with the experts from the OEH / DoPIE Kangaroo Management Unit and their supporting scientists, or the experts from the universities, or the members of the Kangaroo Management Task Force. It is not rocket science – the evidence of decline is clear, and any reasonable thinking person should be able to understand the basic concepts of the kangaroo’s reproductive biology and behavioural ecology, as well as our human impact on the environment and the species in it. I am told I am an effective science communicator. If we – government, scientists and farmers – are going to describe ourselves as the custodians of kangaroos, then we must accept responsibility for whatever has happened and is happening to kangaroos in Australia. If it turns out that they have been and are continuing to be systematically eliminated from many of the landscapes in which they formerly abounded, then we will be held accountable by future generations. The facts remain unchanged, and shooting continues. …

“The NPWS recently announced (Wolter (2018)) that the surveys no longer use correction factors (since 2016), or sample national parks (from 2018). These were two of the criticisms of the survey program made in the 2011 nomination (and supplements) to list the large macropods as threatened species in NSW (Mjadwesch (2011-2013))

Constantly changing survey methodologies is a key indicator of pseudo-science; changing survey methodologies after critical errors in a program have been identified in an independent review could be seen as shifting the goal posts. Good science relies on repeated and replicated methodologies, however kangaroo monitoring in NSW has failed in this regard completely.“

Submission 271

“What is the point of having a Code of Conduct in place for shooting kangaroos, when there is constant and clear evidence that the Code is violated? No one is onsite regulating the code. Complaints about the Code not being complied with, fall on deaf ears. A letter was reportedly sent to one offender from National Parks and Wildlife, but the lack of tagging and kangaroos shot but not killed continued. “

Submission 336

“While wildlife carers are still working day and night rehabilitating burned, otherwise injured, and starving animals, the New South Wales government is allowing permits to be issued for the mass slaughter of kangaroos – often simply because they compete for food with introduced farmed animals raised for meat, leather, and wool.

It's outrageously easy to get a permit to kill kangaroos in NSW – in fact, in New South Wales, it's called a "Licence to Harm" and applicants can even renew over the phone. “

Submission 404

“Within 3 months of moving in, we had frequent shooting of kangaroos along and adjacent to our 3 km boundary as well as further to the east. We were told by a local shooter that most of the kangaroo shooting on the adjacent property to ours was Commercial (even though this property was not yet within a Commercial Zone) and also that our neighbour on whose land the killing was occurring, had a chiller box for storing shot kangaroos and “his best mate is NPWS”. We raised concerns about the frequency of the shooting, and what we had been told, with NPWS. NPWS responded by issuing licences to harm to these properties. There were then recurrent non commercial licences issued to the neighbouring properties by NPWS from 22/08/2006 to 30/06/2010 for 878 kangaroos (OEH GIPA). The Central Tablelands South area, within which our property is situated, became a Commercial Zone (49) in June 2009 and with this came the issuing Commercial Licences running concurrently with Non Commercial Licences from 13 April 2010 to 1 June 2013 for 350 kangaroos (OEH GIPA). 350 Kangaroos equals about 8 and a half Commercial killing events yet there were over 90 kangaroo killing events in the period 2011 to 2013, most of which were conducted by Commercial Kangaroo Harvesters who shot, butchered and removed the kangaroos from the properties and transported them to a Commercial Kangaroo Industry chiller about 40km away. ”

Submission 1

"I have lived most of my life in Western NSW though have worked throughout NSW, in Canberra and Melbourne. I have travelled throughout the Eastern States and more recently in 2019, through Central Australia from Orange to Uluru via Forbes in NSW, the Flinders Ranges in SA, onto Alice Springs and home via Mt Isa & Cunnamulla QLD, Nyngan and back to Orange where I now live and work. I am very concerned about the way we treat our wildlife and in particular the Macropods (Kangaroos) throughout Australia and most concerningly, NSW.

Throughout my travels I have witnessed first hand the decline in Kangaroo numbers over the past 36 years. There was a time you could not travel anywhere in NSW without having someone on Kangaroo watch, to ensure we did not hit one.

Now you can travel freely throughout this country without hardly seeing a kangaroo. They have been over slaughtered by a completely unsustainable Commercial industry for years, with true numbers being over inflated to justify the continued slaughter.

During my drive through Central Australia in 2019, I saw 6 Kangaroos that were barely clinging to life between Nyngan and Cobar, none between Cobar, Flinders Ranges, Alice Springs, Mt Isa, Cunnamulla and back to Nyngan, and between 7 to 10 between Bogan Gate and Forbes. Less than 20 live Kangaroos in over 6,000kms."

Submission 271

“In June 2020 I drove from Runnyford near Batemans Bay to Sydney, via the Mogo State Forest and Princes Highway, returning 2 days later. I saw NO kangaroos alive or dead in that time. This included driving at dusk and night. In September 2020 I drove from Runnyford near Batemans Bay to Sydney, via the Mogo State Forest and Princes Highway, returning 1 day later. I saw NO kangaroos alive and saw ONE deceased kangaroo in that time, which included driving at dusk. In September 2020 I drove from Runnyford near Batemans Bay to Canberra, via the Mogo State Forest and Kings Highway. I saw NO kangaroos alive or dead that day, which included returning at dusk.. “

Submission 341

“THESE ACTUAL TAKE (kill figures) as of 30 Sept 2018 NSW highlights some worrying concerns EXONERATING OUR FEARS.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos Zone 1 Tiboobura quota 21,041 Kill 410

E Grey Zone 2 Broken Hill quota 27,410 kill 4600

EGrey Zone 10 Coonabarabran quota 127,061 kill 65,000

EGrey Zone 16 Sth East NSW quota 192,645 kill 6,600

Red Kangaroos Zone 1 Tibooburra quota 193,040 kill 15,800

Red Kangaroos Zone 6 Cobar quota 39,014 kill 3,800

Western Greys Zone 6 Cobar quota 10,742 kill 2,500

Sth East NSW Zone 16 was surveyed under 2000 kms to cover a region of 41,211 (km2)

Looking over dozens & dozens of quotas & kill figures, nowhere was there a 100% quota taken over several years . I find it hard to believe that shooters simply woke up one morning & found enlightenment, deciding not to kill their maximum quota limits.“

Submission 404

"The Commercial Kangaroo Harvester was still taking Kangaroos, albeit 18 month old male joeys and 20kg adult females as he had completely wiped out every adult male and almost every one of the larger females. The owner of the property adjacent to ours, the NPWS employee, began, in August 2018, to take pot shots at the few remaining young mother kangaroos. We assume he was granted a licence under the new legislation but finding out is nigh on impossible. "