EU President supports ban on kangaroo products

Mark Coultron, the Federal member for Parkes, and the opposition has reacted to the EU campaign, declaring that if the kangaroo industry stops, there will be a population explosion of kangaroos. How can he or any government in Australia make such pronouncements when it is common knowledge that the state and federal governments in Australia simply lack statistical data of sufficient standard to know what the kangaroo population is or does? What we do know is that humans are overpopulating this country and the governments are all encouraging that, yet we are running out of water. Mr Coultron is in a rural electorate and NSW appears to be going broke, so his constituents are probably desperate and so is he. It is a pity that we are in an economy where the cost of everything basic, but particularly land for housing is so high that it drives the cost of doing business beyond the ability of the small entrepreneur or family farmer. We can't blame kangaroos for that. Mark also wants to promote tourism in rural areas. Good idea, but most of the tourists would like to see kangaroos, and there aren't many around. And most tourists would like to think that the kangaroos were well treated. If farmers were not so under the gun from ridiculous global competition policy, they would not be overstocking their paddocks with neglected sheep and cattle and would not therefore get so hysterical about their stock sharing a bit of pasture with kangaroos. Face it Mark, the kangaroos got along perfectly well in this land before a bunch of desperados decided to shoot them for not much more meat than rabbits. They are not the ones that need to control their population. Sheila Newman, population sociologist