Kangaroo Cull Plan Sparks Anger

[Tokis-Phoenix]

"Plans to cull more than 3,000 kangaroos roaming near the Australian capital Canberra have been labelled cruel and violent by animal rights groups.

Defence officials say the animals are near starvation. They have asked the local authorities for permission to cull almost half the area's population";

http/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6653397.stm



To be honest i don't see what is cruel about shooting the kangeroo's if its a choice between letting them starve to death or shooting them, cutting down on their massive population would be for the good of the species as a whole. As long as they are killed humanely, then i don't see anything wrong about it, its hardly like they are a threatened or endangered species or anything like that.
But how much of a reality starvation is for them is the real question here IMHO- it would be interesting to see the true crisis of the current Canberra area grey kangaroo population- either way though, kangaroo's are prolific breeders and it would not take long at all for their population to bounce back. A female kangeroo can be pregnant while with a little joey inside her pouch and an older joey by her side.
What are your opinions/views on the kangaroo cull?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

if starvation was the reality the population would die off over time by itself, not enough food = not enough adults making it to maturity to breed = less population.

populations of all sorts of animals fluctuate depending on a number of factors, available food being a key one

 

[DevUK]

If they over-breed and the population is too great, nature takes its course. Its possibly a bit harsh letting them starve, but as long as its natures doing, and not man's then I say leave it to nature.

 

[OohFeeshy]

The thing is, cullers aren't fussy. They'll shoot any old kangaroo, which completely mucks up nature. In real terms (ie, if they were left to it), the strong would survive, the wek wouldn't. Nature- strengthens the genetics, so on, so forth. Culling, however, means that strong may die, weak may not. They'll regulate their own numbers.

 

[geo7x]

omg, its so stupid its almost funny

if it was really that bad then they wouldnt breed, and if there isnt enough food, then let the weaker ones starve, its all natural selection, theres no point in shooting them. Also if they really are starving then i say let the weaker ones die off and the strong ones live, as feeshy said shooting any old ones will completely muck it up.

 

[kribensis12]

here is no such thing as natural selection, but i say let them starve, if they are that bad, and themn the numbers will be regulated, by the fact that there isnt enoguh food to go around.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The thing is, cullers aren't fussy. They'll shoot any old kangaroo, which completely mucks up nature. In real terms (ie, if they were left to it), the strong would survive, the wek wouldn't. Nature- strengthens the genetics, so on, so forth. Culling, however, means that strong may die, weak may not. They'll regulate their own numbers.

Yes i guess i agree with you there, starving to death isn't a nice way for these animals to go, but then again this is part of australia's climate and this kind of thing happens a lot and kangaroo's have only evolved to be so tough because they have had to deal with situations like this throughout their evolution. Let the strong live and the weak perish, i guess.

 

[Danno]

I would rather shoot a kangaroo then let it starve and rot itself to death on the side of the road.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would rather shoot a kangaroo then let it starve and rot itself to death on the side of the road.

I suppose on the other hand though, if there is a cull their bodies will be removed from the wild- if the kangaroos are starving, then their bodies would make good food for other animals suffering in australias bushland.

I think i would agree with a cull though if only old animals were killed, it wouldn't be good to kill kangaroo's in the prime of their life who are a valueable asset to the overal kangaroo population. The problem is though, i wouldn't count on the hunters killing only the old or weak kangaroos though...

 

[Danno]

It could get out of hand as you said. Old kangaroos is a good idea though. I guess we will have to see what gets past down their.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Ah, but the article also says that opposition to the cull say they're definately not starving... Now I'm sure both sides are exaggurating, but don't forget how horrible natural selection can be. Starvation is practically a boon compared to some gruesome ways of being killed....