Animal Welfare Areas of Concern
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--Nichole Hoskin 11:40, 28 June 2008 (EST)
Contents |
Animal Welfare Areas of Concern
An area of concern in relation to the commercial harvesting of kangaroos was the potential for harvesting to lead to changes in the gender composition of kangaroo populations. Grigg argued, in 1997, “in the future industry there would be greater selectivity exercised in the harvest with one possibility being that the largest males could be left, to provide more stable social structures.”[1] Such changes in the harvesting of kangaroos arguably would further ensure that kangaroos are utilised as a sustainable resource.
While RSPCA Australia’s 2002 report found that State Government’s effectively regulate the commercial harvest of kangaroos, there were areas of concern about the effectiveness of existing regulations for non-commercial shooting, illegal shooting and the killing of pouch young and young at foot. Each area of concern are considered below.
Non-Commercial Shooting:
RSPCA Australia found that there were major animal welfare issues arising from the killing of kangaroos outside the commercial system, with a consensus in opinion of those involved in kangaroo management that “there is a far higher degree of inhumane killing of kangaroos in non-commercial killing than in commercial killing. It is assumed that this is largely because there is a much lower level of control over non-commercial killing compared to commercial killing.”[2] RSPCA Australia also found “that cruelty associated with non-commercial kangaroo killing is neglected by the authorities and control over the number of kangaroos killed and the methods used is ineffective.”[3]
In 2000, according to RSPCA Australia’s 2002 report, the percentage of kangaroos shot under non-commercial licences was 4.2% in New South Wales, 1.5% in Queensland and 10.7% in South Australia, with no figures available for Western Australia because of the use of an open season for kangaroo shooting.[4] However, RSPCA Australia found difficulties in collecting accurate information about non-commercial shooting since the available figures were essentially only estimates that relied on information provided by landowners and it failed to take into account the extent of illegal shooting, which is inherently difficult to estimate.[5]
Several commercial shooters provided RSPCA Australia with descriptions of finding injured kangaroos in paddocks after landowners had engaged in non-commercial shooting for damage mitigation purposes, with commercial shooters having to destroy injured kangaroos that had body-shots or leg-shots.[6] RSPCA Australia found supporting evidence for these views in newspaper reports, reports of kangaroo shooting in settled areas of South Australia and surveys from veterinarians and animal carers.[7] Surveys from veterinarians and animal carers also provided evidence of a range of methods used to inflict injuries on kangaroos, such as the use of knives, snares, bow and arrows, dogs and iron bars.[8] There is additional evidence, from skinning and boning staff at processors, of finding old shotgun pellets and other projectiles in the muscle of kangaroo carcasses.[9] While some commercial shooters had first hand experience of the cruelty of non-commercial shooting of kangaroos, commercial shooters also objected to non-commercial shooting because they argue that this activity disturbed kangaroos so that they were more difficult to shoot.[10] Commercial shooters also objected to non-commercial shooting because it takes away kangaroos that could be utilised for a commercial purpose.[11]
Given the problems that RSPCA Australia identified of inhumane killing of kangaroos from non-commercial shooting, RSPCA Australia recommended, “In order to achieve the principle of humane shooting of kangaroos in the long-term, the existing damage mitigation licensing system should be phased out, ie all kangaroos to be killed would be killed by commercial shooters and the carcasses sold to processors.”[12] This effectively means that the levels of regulation for commercial shooting achieves humane killing of kangaroos, while the absence of similar levels of regulation for non-commercial shooters allowed inhumane killing to occur.
RSPCA Australia also recommended, “that it be made compulsory for all non-commercial licence holders to successfully undertake that part of the game meat harvesting course that covers humane killing, as well as a firearm competency course that includes the shooting accuracy test.”[13] The effect of the adoption of this recommendation would be to impose conditions on the granting of non-commercial shooters licences that are comparable to those for commercial shooters. However, it is relevant to note that this reform alone would fail to provide the supervision for compliance with the Code of Practice that occurs with commercial shooters. This is because it will not be possible for inspections of carcasses and skins at the processor level since the carcass usually remains in the field where the kangaroo died.
Illegal Shooting of kangaroos:
RSPCA Australia’s 2002 report found evidence of illegal shooting from prosecutions, with prosecutions in Western Australia for offences of supplying untagged carcasses to processors and for the processor accepting untagged carcasses.[14] In Queensland, RSPCA Australia found that the introduction on on-the-spot fines in 1999 had lead to a large increase in the numbers of prosecutions, with 210 prosecutions between 1999 and 2000.[15]
Queensland agency staff also provided RSPCA Australia with evidence of illegal shooting, with descriptions of landowners shooting kangaroos and wallabies in the body so that the animal travelled off their property before dying to avoid detection and prosecution.[16]
RSPCA Australia also found that 1.7% of responses from surveyed veterinarians and animal carers included evidence of poisoning of kangaroos, with descriptions of farmers added urea to water troughs after the removal of stock from paddocks, which “can result in a slow death to any kangaroo drinking at the trough.[17]
Killing of orphaned pouch young and young at foot:
RSPCA Australia 2002 report on Compliance with the Code of Practice found that, like non-commercial shooting, the fate of dependant pouch young and dependent joeys at foot was one of the major animal welfare issues arising from the shooting of kangaroos.
One of the main issues arising from the shooting of kangaroos is the effect of the loss of a mother kangaroo for its larger dependent young. RSPCA Australia found that, although we do not know the proportion of orphaned joeys that survive, “a proportion of kangaroos orphaned through shooting will die of starvation, exposure or predation in the days and weeks following the loss of their mother.”[18] While some young at foot will die, RSPCA Australia found that “the survival rates of joeys that have lost their mothers will be dependent on a combination of factors including the age, gender and health of the joey, the social structure of the mob, and the prevailing environmental conditions (availability of food, water and shelter).”[19]
The Code of Practice for the humane killing of kangaroos specifies decapitation for killing small hairless young and a heavy blow to kill larger young. (See, Code of Practice) RSPCA Australia reviewed veterinarian studies of humane methods of euthanasia in order to determine whether the methods specified in the Code of Practice are humane.[20] On the use of decapitation, RSPCA Australia found that veterinarians hold conflicting views on whether decapitation qualifies as a humane method of euthanasia.[21]
On the use of a heavy blow to the head, RSPCA Australia found that veterinarians generally did not consider this method as a humane method of euthanasia for most species, with the result that reviews of euthanasia methods did not include this method. [22] A 2000 report by the American Veterinarian Medical Association (AVMA) found that “this technique must be evaluated in terms of the anatomy of the species concerned” and that only people with proper training and monitoring should use this method.[23] This is because some species have a cranium that is susceptible to a heavy blow, while other species may have cranium features that will prevent the immediate destruction of the brain using this method.[24]
Given that these concerns, RSPCA Australia recommended, “Research should be immediately undertaken to determine the most humane method of disposing of small pouch young after the mother has been shot. The Code must be amended accordingly with specific advice provided on the circumstances in which a recommended technique is appropriate.”[25]
RSPCA Australia also recommended, “That the only solution which would avoid the potential of cruelty to pouch young would be to avoid shooting females altogether. The RSPCA recommends that research be carried out to examine the potential effects of this policy on the gender balance in local populations, and what factors should be taken into consideration when estimating the survival chances of pouch young. In the short term, the Code of Practice and the appropriate licence should contain a condition that no female kangaroos carrying large pouch young should be shot.”[26] Thus, while it is necessary to gain scientific evidence on the effects to gender balances in kangaroo populations, RSPCA Australia recommended that commercial shooting only target males to avoid the challenges associated with killing pouch young and young at foot.
There is evidence that similar concerns exist within markets, about whether humane methods of euthanasia were utilised for orphaned kangaroos, since “one company apparently had a contract in 1997 with a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom which specified supply of male meat only, presumably to ameliorate concern about joeys and young-at-foot.”[27] Thus, there is some evidence that the market was demanding a humane approach that avoids problems associated with dependent young kangaroos, independently of legislation.
RSPCA Australia’s discussions with shooters suggested that shooters immediately killed pouch young, although there were problems associated with young at foot because they were more difficult to kill.[28] There also appears to be individual differences between shooters since some shooters always let mobile young go free, while others attempted to catch and kill mobile young.[29] RSPCA Australia also became aware of several cases where shooters brought young at foot home, with the shooter himself or friends of the shooter raising the young kangaroo.[30]
While there are individual differences in how shooters deal with young at foot, RSPCA Australia found that the general approach of shooter was that if the young at foot easy to catch and kill, shooters will catch and kill the young at foot.[31] However, if the young at foot were mobile then the shooter would leave it alone because it would take too much time to catch and kill.[32] RSPCA Australia also found that some shooters tried to avoid this problem by avoiding shooting female kangaroos carrying large pouch young because of a repugnance to killing large young and the belief amongst professional shooters that leaving obviously breeding kangaroos on a property ensures the availability of kangaroos in the future.[33]
References
--Nichole Hoskin 11:39, 28 June 2008 (EST)
1. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 9, p 3.
2. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 4.
3. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 4.
4. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 2.
5. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 2.
6. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 2.
7. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 2.
8. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 3.
9. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 3.
10. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 2.
11. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 2.
12. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 5.
13. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 5.
14. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 3.
15. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 3.
16. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 3.
17. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 3.
18. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 6.
19. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 6.
20. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 7.
21. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 7.
22. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 7.
23. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 7.
24. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 7.
25. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 7.
26. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 9.
27. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 9, p 3.
28. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 5.
29. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 5.
30. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 5.
31. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 5.
32. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 5.
33. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Other animal welfare issues relevant to the Code of Practice’, p 5.
