Forrester kangaroos

Back in July Parks and Wildlife culled about 600 of the island's kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons. Adults were being shot and vets were euthanasing orphaned joeys.
Parks says it is necessary to "manage" the island's wildlife population.

Correspondence from David O'Byrne, Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage. O'Byrne grew up in Launceston and studied at the University of Adelaide where he gained a degree in Labour Studies. He has no environment/wildlife expertise or training. He is a manager of Tasmania’s parks and reserves system.

Forester kangaroos and Bennetts wallabies were introduced to Maria Island in the late 1960s. However, by the early 1990s the numbers had increased greatly and there were indications that parts of the island had been adversely impacted by overgrazing with regeneration failure of trees, shrubs and herbs and erosion problems on foreshore areas.

This overgrazing was not only affecting the survival of native vegetation but also leading to serious animal welfare concerns where animals have become sick, stressed and eventually died of starvation during periods of low rainfall when there is insufficient feed to support their numbers.

Another massacre on Maria Island leaves me in despair. What is Tasmania doing to her wildlife? This is not a cull – a cull removes the weak and sick animals. This is an outright massacre of 600 beautiful native Australian animals, supposedly 'protected.' The people making this decision are government officials devoid of compassion for the individual animals so tragically destroyed and for the suffering of the people who love those animals.

Governments lie saying their 'cull' was 'sustainable,’ 'humane' and necessary as the animals were 'overgrazing' or 'threatening endangered species.' Nothing humane about bludgeoning a joey to death which is the 'humane' code of conduct for killing kangaroos. Nothing true about overgrazing or threatening other species either. And why is there never a non-lethal alternative such as fertility control or relocation? Does it cost too much? Another lie.

It cost the ACT government $500,000 to kill 514 kangaroos at Belconnen in 2008. Relocation by wildlife people would have been a fraction of the cost.