Monday 22nd April 2007

Conservationists and local residents plan to disrupt cull
in absence of consultation.

Friends of Pooh Corner condemn a plan by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and supported by RSPCA Queensland branch to exterminate the last permanent population of  wild Kangaroos in Brisbane in the Wacol Pooh Corner bushland area.

This 'kill the roos' announcement comes after a two week public relations campaign organised by the RSPCA over the number of Kangaroos that are killed by traffic on Wacol Station Road.

Friends of Pooh Corner plans to organise a disruption of the cull if the EPA does not attempt to engage in meaningful community consultation over this issue, as they said they would. 

Friends of Pooh Corner supports the efforts of the RSPCA in raising the road mortality issue in the media however we totally disagree with this brutal solution.

The RSPCA has a lot of experience with unwanted domestic animals. The usual solution to deal with thousands of unwanted dogs and cats is to humanly destroy them, a task the RSPCA admirably carries out. However the Kangaroos at Wacol in South West Brisbane are wild animals and belong to the whole community of Brisbane. They are not unwanted pets but wild animals, loved and appreciated by thousands of residents in south-west Brisbane. Hence the whole community must be consulted about the future and welfare of the Kangaroos.

The killing of kangaroos is a simplistic overreaction to this issue. There must be consultation with the residents of south west Brisbane. This a gross example of throwing the baby out with the bath water; arguing that thousands of Kangaroos must be gunned down because a small percentage of them are killed on the roads.