The ACT Parks and Conservation Service has announced that its annual conservation cull of Eastern Grey Kangaroos has begun with some nature reserves and nearby Territory land to be closed until 26 July.
Director of the Service, Daniel Iglesias said the cull of up to 4,076 Eastern Greys from Canberra Nature Park reserves would protect biodiversity and maintain kangaroo populations at appropriate levels to minimise impacts on other plants and animals.
“The cull this year will be the largest undertaken in the history of the program in terms of numbers and sites to be targeted,” Mr Iglesias said.
“This is due to prevailing dry conditions across Canberra Nature Park which have resulted in a decrease in grassy habitat in many of our reserves,” he said.
“Given the lack of rain, if we don’t cull the kangaroos humanely now, many will starve to death during winter and the quality of the habitat for other species that rely on the ground-level vegetation will deteriorate.”
He said Parks and Conservation Service ecologists had used the best current scientific knowledge to analyse the status of each reserve’s population, the amount and type of vegetation, rainfall and other relevant factors to determine the numbers to be culled to support conservation outcomes.
“While nobody likes culling kangaroos, it is currently the most humane method of population management available to the ACT Government as a responsible land manager,” Mr Iglesias said.
“To help improve public safety and detect illegal activity, warning signs will be placed at all entry points to the reserves, surveillance cameras used and reserves patrolled by Parks and Conservation Service staff during culling operations.”
He said 11 sites would be closed to the public while culling operations took place with high-use reserves given shortened closure times to lessen community disruption.
