The Slaughter Begins...

We were contacted on Monday 12th July 2004 by Simone Gray from ACT Animal Liberation. I sent Simone’s plea for help out to our support lists, asking our readers to write to the ACT Minister, John Stanhope, asking him to stop the kill until there was time for a community consultation process.

As we found out more about the kill Permits that were issued, we became increasingly concerned. It appeared that Googong Dam was on land owned by the Commonwealth, and was supposed to be jointly managed by NSW National Parks and Environment ACT.

We could find no evidence of a Management Plan, or any indications that a short or long term Plan was being developed.

The ACT was saying in the media that erosion was the reason to kill the kangaroos, then when we pointed out that domestic stock may also be causing the erosion, the reason was changed, and the kangaroos were declared to be starving, and it was kinder to kill them.

We asked Simone if it would be helpful if I came to Canberra to support the local groups, and she indicated that it would be of assistance. I phoned Environment ACT, and asked for a meeting with the Minister, to see if some other solution could be found for any problems. That was declined but we were, albeit with some reluctance, granted a meeting with the CEO of Environment ACT, Dr Maxine Cooper.

Meanwhile weI had received many emails and phone calls from our members and supporters in the district, asking the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia (WPAA) to intervene. I flew to Canberra, and spent the morning talking to local groups about their strategies, and meeting with Ms Cooper that afternoon.

First Meeting with Environment ACT

It was not the best meeting I have attended, but Simone and I went along with the best of intentions, to canvass an alternative option to the kill. Ms Cooper was there, along with a dozen or so of her experts. We were asked what other options we thought were achievable.

Off the cuff, we mentioned fencing of sensitive areas, sacrifice crops and feeding. None of these options was accepted as being appropriate by Environment ACT. Early in the meeting I was attacked by one of these experts, who demanded a reference point for my statement that kangaroo populations were at an all-time low Australia-wide.

We asked repeatedly for a delay of the kill, so that further options could be explored. Ms Cooper refused any such delay, but finally agreed to let us have one day to canvass further options, and a meeting was tabled for early Friday morning.

Ms Cooper agreed to stop the kill for two nights.

Domestic Livestock and Erosion

We spent the next day searching for other options, and talking to the local groups. By this time some people who had emailed the Chief Minster had received a reply.

It was obvious from his reply that he was not aware that domestic livestock and gross overgrazing allowed by farmers around the catchment were largely responsible for the erosion and loss of water quality.

Soft hoofed animals like kangaroos do far less damage than hard hoofed livestock. However, it is the kangaroos who are blamed and will die as a consequence.

Second Meeting with Environment ACT

Early Friday morning we reconvened the meeting, with Simone, myself and our WPAA vice-President Bill Corn. Bill lives in Canberra, but was unable to attend the first meeting. Ms Cooper of Environment ACT appeared to be in a foul mood, and seemed affronted when the local media suggested that we were looking at a legal injunction to stop the kill.

We raised the option of using Geotext fabric in erosion prone areas. Geotex is used extensively on Fraser Island, building sites, and other erosion prone areas worldwide. Our suggestion met with a limited response.

The meeting fell apart fairly quickly, after some abuse by Ms Cooper. She then made a visible effort to control herself, but when we started asking how we could have some input into the development of a long term management process, she abruptly declared the meeting closed. We thanked her and her staff, and left.

An hour later I rang Ms Cooper's office, and pleaded with her secretary to ask Ms Cooper to phone me back in a last minute attempt to avert a confrontation. Ms Cooper didn’t phone back. It was obvious to us that they were not interested in any other option except to kill the kangaroos, which made us suspect that another agenda was involved. It was.

The Real Reason Behind the Cull

This was the first time that NSW National Parks has ever issued kill permits in a Protected Area. It was also the first time they have used commercial kangaroo shooters in this manner. After some investigation we discovered that NSW National Parks were developing management Plans for new National Parks, which which make provision for the shooting of kangaroos in those National Parks!

In other words, a strategy is being developed within the two government departments, without due consultation process, to provide commercial kangaroo shooters with access to Protected Areas, including National Parks. Nowhere in NSW or ACT will be safe for kangaroos, with no point of refuge provided for the protection of our national icons.

The Protest Begins

A rally had been planned for Friday lunchtime at the gates of Googong Dam. We hoped it would be a Rally to provide good news. We hoped we would be able to say that the ACT government had listened to the concerns of the community. Unfortunately that was not the case.

All through this process we had been asking if Simone and I could accompany ACT Parks staff into the Googong Dam site to inspect the erosion problems. We were consistently refused the opportunity to assess real situation for ourselves.

Friday afternoon when myself and Kurt Sedimaier (Canberra resident) attempted to walk down to inspect the alleged erosion, we were immediately arrested. Protestors blocked the gate so the police vehicle, with Kurt and myself locked inside) could not get out.

A vehicle tried to drive through the protestors, with the driver claiming to be a kangaroo shooter. A young woman fell in front of his vehicle and was almost run over.

Because the police couldn’t get out the front gate, they drove out through the adjoining property. This property was completely barren of grass, and had fairly large numbers of beef and sheep, all of which were being hand fed with hay. Sheep and cattle manure was an inch deep on the ground. Runoff from this property would go straight down the hill and into the dam, along with the manure and other farm chemicals. However, once again it is the kangaroos who bear the brunt of the blame for jeopardising water quality in the area.

The Protest Continues...

Local protestors will now monitor the dam site while we seek other options to stop the kill, and they will also be going in after dark to try to monitor and/or stop the shooting.

Unfortunately the weather at the moment, as we write this, around the Googong Dam site is as cold as the heart of the ACT government. Continual on-site protests are not easy.

However, our protesters are determined to save as many of these beautiful creatures as humanly possible, and will not let up.

Accountability for the Googong Slaughter

I must say that I have spent more than 30 years trying to find better options than killing wildlife, and trying to instill better attitudes towards wildlife management decisions within government. I have attended hundreds of meetings with politicians and bureaucrats, some easy going, some a bit tense, but mostly all productive. Unfortunately I must also say that in this case that I have never been treated so badly by any government department, or any politician.

At these meetings we were mislead, not given all the relevant information, and treated with contempt and amusement by the ACT government. And even more.

What should concern Canberrans, and others who live in the vicinity of Canberra, is the issues of accountability. In this issue, Canberrans have been mislead, lied to, and they have not been consulted on this issue. There is no short or long term management strategies for their water catchment areas.

In an election year in the ACT, one really has to wonder why any government would allow itself to self-inflict so much political damage. An easy solution to the whole mess would have been to stop the kill for a couple of weeks and listen to the community.

Instead of that sensible option, our kangaroos are once again taking the blame for continuing environmental mismanagement by the ACT and NSW governments.

Cheers, Pat

Pat O'Brien, President
Wildlife Protection Assn. of Australia Inc.
Coordinator, National Kangaroo Protection Coalition
Wildlife Division Representative, Animals Australia
PO Box 309, Beerwah, Qld, 4519
Ph 07 54941890, 0408 711344
email, pat@wildlifeprotectaust.org.au
www.wildlifeprotectaust.org.au
www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.org

*2005, The Year of the Kangaroo!*