Animal Protectors Alliance

Animal Protectors Alliance (APA) spokesperson, Robyn Soxsmith is delighted at the outcome of yesterday’s Supreme Court decision which overturned a magistrate’s guilty verdict against a angaroo slaughter protestor. Two charges of hindering government officials at last year’s annual kangaroo slaughter were heard in the Magistrate’s court earlier this year. The Magistrate found Dr Chris Klootwijk, guilty on only one of the two charges. Magistrate Walker dismissed the charge in relation to one of the officials purported to have been hindered after she found that the ACT licence to shoot kangaroos was invalid, therefore the killing was illegal, therefore it was not illegal to hinder it.

However, she found Dr Klootwijk guilty on the charge relating to the other official, the ranger who had acted as ‘Incident Controller’ on the night of Klootwijk’s arrest. She found that this official did not need a valid killing licence for his role as Incident Controller.

Justice Elkaim ruled that Magistrate Walker was in error on this point because the Incident Controller was there as part of an unlawful activity.

Meanwhile, Ms Soxsmith claims that this year’s kangaroo slaughter, which has been going on mid May, and which is scheduled to continue until the end of July, has been conducted
entirely under this invalid licence.

“The government seems to think it can get away with anything. Just this week they were shooting so close to Mugga Lane in Isaacs Ridge Reserve, no more than 30 metres away, a
passing motorist could easily have been killed by a ricochet.

“Last year they were shooting, with exactly the same arrogance and impunity, very close to the Centenary Trail which is used by cyclists all hours of the night.

“And this risk to human life is on top of the many ways they are breaching to Code of Practice for shooting kangaroos. The Code, which is supposed to minimise the cruelty of the
slaughter, is very nearly useless as water in a sieve. But at least it says animals should not be wounded and left in agony for hours before being euthanased, by a heart or head shot. And at least it says that orphaned dependent joeys should not be left to starve. Yet eye witness statements attest to both these horrors happening during the ACT slaughter as a matter of
routine.”

Ms Soxsmith assures the people of the ACT that protestors will continue to protest the kangaroo killing every night until it ends this year and will be out in force to do the same next year and every year until the ACT public put an end to “this insanity”.

Source: APA_Media_Release_Outcome_of_Court_Case