ACT's Draft Kangaroo

Management Plan

In May 2009, the Animal Law Committee (“Committee”) made a submission to the ACT Department of Territory and Municipal Services on its draft ACT Kangaroo Management Plan ("KMP"). In its submission, the Committee restated its position that the killing of kangaroos or any wildlife is unjustified and unwarranted.

The Committee also asserted that the proposed plan to slaughter kangaroos set out in the KMP exposes kangaroos to unnecessary pain and suffering, including the possibility of extinction. The submission sought to identify a number of deficiencies within the KMP that may result in acts of cruelty inflicted on the kangaroos during the cull.

There also exists the risk that such reckless behaviour will go undetected and unpunished. Some other issues raised by the Committee in its submission was the scope of content included in the KMP, the killing of pouch young, enforcement of the Code of Practice for the Humane Destruction of Kangaroos and a general critique of the environmental considerations.