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kangaroo population...
malak118
Member Posts: 221
www.startribune.com/722/story/1181961.html
I read this article and thought that there are some aussies here at mmorpg.com. I was wondering if there is a hunting season and if people eat kangaroos? Is the meat gamey or is it good? When they have one of these culls do they just burn the carcasses or feed the poor. I was also wondering if they allow hunters to take the hides? any other thoughts would be welcome also.
Comments
Good question!
As always the answer is complex.
Although its great to see you seeking first hand information rather than what a lot of us Aussies have to put up with from UK and USA so called animal rights activists who base thier knowledge on rumours and a video on U tube....... but enough ranting...
I have lived in all but one state in Australia and being both and animal lover, someone who has had pet kangaroos, and someone who shot and eaten kangaroos as well as fed them to my dogs.... I can say this.
Kangaroos and Wallabies (small other species types) are covered by a variety of laws in each state and territory. They vary in population from the extremely abundant grey kangaroos of NSW and Victoria to the very rare yellow footed rock wallaby of the northern territory and parts of western Australia (I think).
In Northern New South Wales for example, near a town called Milparinka, which is about 500km from anywhere worth mentioning out in to the desert, there have been commerical roo hunting operations for like 50 years. They supply both the pet meat and restaraunt industries and continue to do so to this day. The Kangaroos are shot from a vehicle at night using a spotlight and the shooters (while not infallible) are extremely accurate and tend to try for headshots as it does less damage to the carcass.
In other states like Victoria the Grey Kangaroo is protected pretty much state wide. Right now they are in VERY high numbers. Right in my town of Mildura, about 1 mile from my house you can stand on a main road and see them in large numbers grazing in the bush, near the river anytime you want to go look. They are talking about a "cull" right now and thats where it gets.... um ugly and silly.
To answer your ? in this regard.... the policies under which they are culled make no bloody sense to me. They are shot and one of the very strict rules is that the carcass must be left where it falls ??? I dont get it ....
They are excellent to eat. I have been eating Roo all my life. The fillet (same as fillet from beef) is a beautifull peice of meat and tastes like beef but has almost no fat at all and is very tender and juicy. You cook it just like any other red meat and unless you suck at cooking its always yummy.
As a kid from about 10y/o till maybe my late teens, I would go out and shoot 1 or 2 a night, maybe 2 nights a week on our property (parents and grand parents are 3rd and 4th generation farmers from South Western Australia). I would have to drag the carcass to a fencline, go get the ute (pickup truck) and load em up. Take em home, hang em up and skin, gut, bone and bag them for the working dogs. The fillet and tail (tail is gr8 for soup) would be kept for us to eat. Thats another reason Im pro gun ownership.... but thats another debate...
So in short.... it varies around the country. Some Aussies are appauled at the thought of eating kangaroo, others love it. Some Aussies say they should all be protected, others think the balance is about right now (Im one).
Personally I think we should be farming them. They are far better suited and less destructive to our environments than sheep and cows and they require much less care and chemicals to get to harvesting size.
Thats about all I could be bothered to type
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"MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol"
http://purepwnage.com
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"Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
I've had kangaroo once. It was pretty good but nothing all that special. From what I hear most Aussies aren't to keen on the idea of eating them but it's a huge export business.
As for the culling it probably is needed. I can go 2mins down the road and find a population of several hundred kangaroos that evidently from their bodies on the road have caused a lot of accidents. I shat myself (not literally) the other day having to drive down a 200-300m stretch of road passing about 30 kangaroos standing no more than 1m from the car as I passed. If just one decided to step out there would have been a problem.
On a side note I've been doing a fair bit of possum culling lately. Ran over 3 in the last month. Not on purpose by the way.
*Notice: The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author... got sick of holding backspace.
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ParaTrooper, That guy that used to mod the MMORPG.com forums.
Your argument is like a two legged dog with an eating disorder...weak and unbalanced.
The closest comparison I can make with what you've told me is pigs here in Florida. Pigs and their various sub-species were released here for a food source ages ago by sailors (released on just about every landmass they found). Now, they can run amok. There is a pig hunting season, but if you're on private property with permission you can hunt them however much you please. The way they dig for food, with no natural predators to stop them, they wreck the environment wherever they go and do freakish damage. Generally someone's property will get ravaged, and they'll go out with friends and thin the populations.
There are some people here who allow hunters on their property to cull the populations. Some even pay them to exterminate every pig they can find. I've been on one of these expeditions, it was a little strange at first. But you have to remember that these animals are not native to the area and pretty well wreck everything around them if left alone. We killed far more than we could eat, just because the owner wanted them exterminated. In the end it was really helping, even though we weren't able to haul off every last carcass and eat it. Pest animal and all that.
I will say it's very odd to walk up to a pack of them with a friend and hear the order "You take the five on the left, I'll get the six on the right." "Hey John, some of those look mean and have tusks." "Yeah, get them first."
So much for the NBA...
I believe you have to protect the natural balance of the environment (as best as possible). That is difficult nowadays and even more so when you do have the animal rights activist going crazy everytime an animal is hurt.
"It is easier to be cruel than wise. The road to wisdom is long and difficult... so most people just turn out to be assholes" Feng (Christopher Walken)
How about the Irish??
"It is easier to be cruel than wise. The road to wisdom is long and difficult... so most people just turn out to be assholes" Feng (Christopher Walken)
We even have official road signs to warn us.
REALLY ?
I thought they indicated where to speed up
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"MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol"
http://purepwnage.com
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"Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
Thats coz they are too busy shooting at the Roos
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"MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol"
http://purepwnage.com
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"Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
Well.....
Our last pet one used to give the dog a bit of a flogging now and then by beating it about the head with its hands LOL.... so maybe. They do box after a fashion so its not complete BS.
It was a weird character because it also used to get into a little amatuer dentistry on the dog too. The dog would lay down or sit there and allow it to pull her lips back and kinda pick at her teeth with its claws..... pretty odd stuff....very funny to watch.
As for the kangaroo rugby team... I think not LOL
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"MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol"
http://purepwnage.com
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"Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
Eh? Well, well who are we going to play? What's England's national mascot, rain?
Kangaroos are tough, a kick in the head could probably kill. And they hit hard too.