kangaroos

Climate change poses roo threat

We in Australia often think of kangaroos as a pest/nuisance species, and over-abundant. They are not invincible but vulnerable to climate change and human threats. They are blamed for grazing pressure when their impact on native grasslands is actually beneficial. They have been vilified since Colonial days as a threat to farmers. Kangaroos' biggest threat is not just a 2 degree increase in temperature, but human "harvesting", misunderstanding, land clearing and feral animals. Based on Government figures, wildlife welfare groups fear that kangaroo densities which are down to less than 5 kangaroos per square kilometre across most of NSW, South Australia and Queensland - a figure defined by the Federal Government's Murray Darling Report as "quasi extinction"- are already in a downward spiral into extinction. However, the killings continue! We have threatened or killed-off about one-third of our native species, needed for a healthy and sustainable ecology. All the things that make Australia different, and attractive to tourists to this country, are disappearing, including kangaroos and koalas, our flagship species. Why would tourists bother coming here to see more cities and man-made structures? Kangaroos are seen as a barrier to economic “progress” and as a meat-source solution for a post-carbon age. Why is a meat-free future so threatening? Our wildlife will not supply our present meat "needs".

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