Shotguns can now be used to kill kangaroo joeys at close range under proposed changes to the Federal Government’s kangaroo shooting laws.
The proposal has enraged animal welfare groups, including the late Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Protection Association and RSPCA Australia, which had called for a total ban on shotguns in the revised National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies.
The new code also recommends killing pouch joeys by “forcefully swinging” the head against a vehicle tow bar, despite calls for the Federal Government to fund urgent scientific research to establish more humane ways of disposing of pouch young after the mother has been shot.
The previous code did not provide any guidance on dealing with orphaned young at foot joeys aged from nine to 12 months that have left the pouch but are still dependent on the mother for food. The new code suggests using shotguns to kill these joeys, as well as pouch young, at close range if the mothers are shot.
The Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia said it was “generally happy” with the new code and defended current killing methods including decapitation of unfurred joeys and a blow to the brain with a metal pipe or vehicle tow bar for larger pouch joeys as “perfectly humane activities”.
“Animal welfare is precisely what this code of practice is all about,” the association’s executive officer, John Kelly, said.
“New roo kill code targets joeys” The Canberra Times January 5, 2008.
