Nine reserves in the Territory have been reopened to the public following more than two months of conservation efforts to cull kangaroo populations.
Thanking the public for its cooperation, Acting Conservator of Flora and Fauna at the ACT Parks and Conservation Service, Bren Burkevics said 1,645 eastern grey kangaroos were removed from the nine priority reserves within the Canberra Nature Park.
“Nine reserves out of 37 were chosen for this year’s conservation cull as kangaroo densities at each site were found to be above the level deemed appropriate for biodiversity conservation,” Mr Burkevics said.
“Extreme care was taken during the program to ensure all culled kangaroos were removed from each location, every night,” he said.
“The ACT is recognised as a leader in kangaroo culling by being the only jurisdiction that operates only during a specific time period each year.”
Mr Burkevics said that by completing the operations between March and July, the ACT Parks and Conservation Service significantly reduced the risk of orphaning dependent young and increased welfare outcomes for the Territory’s kangaroo populations.
He said the ACT had some of the largest and highest quality remnants of critically endangered grasslands in Australia.
“If areas are overgrazed, we risk the grasslands no longer providing the necessary food and shelter for small animals and threatened species such as reptiles, insects, small mammals and ground feeding birds, as well as kangaroos,” the Acting Conservator said.
He said this year’s works also saw a kangaroo contraceptive (GonaCon) integrated into the mainstream program for the first time.
“The conservation cull was undertaken in strict accordance with the National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Non-Commercial Purposes,” Mr Burkevics said.
“The ACT also employs additional measures so that best-practice animal welfare standards were met and exceeded.”
Additional information on the use of GonaCon can be accessed in this PS News article.
