2 September 2013

Massive skippy slaughter on defence land

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times is getting very excited about a vast culling campaign on the Majura Training Area:

The federal government has killed nearly 14,000 kangaroos on a military firing range east of Canberra in the past four years, internal Defence Department documents reveal.

The mass cull of adult kangaroos and their joeys, detailed in documents released under freedom of information laws, has been branded a “dirty little secret” by animal rights activists.

Operating under a “licence to kill” issued by the ACT government, the Defence Department has hired shooters to destroy the animals grazing the grasslands of the Majura Training Area, in the east of the ACT.

The scale of the operation dwarfs the territory government’s controversial annual cull of eastern greys in the Canberra Nature Park around the capital, which typically kills fewer than 1500 animals each year amid a regular storm of protest, legal challenge and media coverage.

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Shot so that shooting can take place? Weird stuff, and quite revolting.

“Hey Gronk”, said Hurg. “You know that piece of meat you gave me? It made me sick”
“Did you cook it properly?” asked Gronk.
“I didn’t know I had to!” replied Hurg, indignantly.
“The last thing I said to you was ‘Cook it properly, or you’ll get sick'” said Gronk, who was getting a bit defensive.
“I don’t remember that. You should have written it on the packaging.”
“Written it on the packaging?” shouted Gronk “We haven’t even invented letters yet, you bellend, let alone packaging.” Gronk was now very defensive.
“Not my problem”, said Hurg. “You should have known I’m a numpty and properly warned me. You didn’t do enough to ensure the safety of your product, therefore you were negligent. I want many, many shiny things as way of compensation for my suffering, both intestinal and emotional.”
“Fine” sighed Gronk, as he knew Hurg could afford better cave-lawyers. “I’ll invent writing, and packaging and a code of practice so that everyone can see I have done enough to ensure the safety of the meat I give away”

And thus Hurg the Stupid forced Gronk the Unfortunate to invent the Nanny State.

MrBigEars said :

460cixy said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

The only tragedy here is the waste of meat.

You’re right and why its wasted is beyond me. FFS its lean high protein and plenty full it should be processed and handed out to the elderly who often have poor diets due to the expense of meat. Even if its just ground up to feed the cats and dogs at the RSPCA is better then dumping in a hole

As I understand, that would require a different (commercial offtake) license, even if the meat was given away. I’m not even sure such a license exists in the ACT. Plus the added cost of field dressing those carcasses in a manner fit for consumption.

Of course, the wet socks will call “Bureaucracy Gone Mad” and “Nanny State”, but I bet they’d engage a lawyer if they ate a dodgy kangaroo steak. And then complain about the waste of taxpayers dollars.

This topic brings the stupid out in everyone.

I can just imagine my distant ancestor, 7,000 years ago in Central Asia somewhere,

“I just killed this big meaty thing with my flint-tipped spear, want some?”
“Did you have a commercial offtake licence?”
“A what?”
“Have you field dressed it in a manner fit for human consumption?”
“Do what?”
“Sounds like I will have to get a lawyer onto you, not to mention OH&S, and the RSPCA”
“A what? You know, just %#$@ it, you can stick to your berries if you like, I’m going to cut myself some nice big meaty steaks, then I’m going to cut the rest up and lay it out on rocks in the sun – this much will keep me going for weeks. By the way, have you noticed how you berry-eaters are evolving much smaller brains than we meat eaters?”

460cixy said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

The only tragedy here is the waste of meat.

You’re right and why its wasted is beyond me. FFS its lean high protein and plenty full it should be processed and handed out to the elderly who often have poor diets due to the expense of meat. Even if its just ground up to feed the cats and dogs at the RSPCA is better then dumping in a hole

As I understand, that would require a different (commercial offtake) license, even if the meat was given away. I’m not even sure such a license exists in the ACT. Plus the added cost of field dressing those carcasses in a manner fit for consumption.

Of course, the wet socks will call “Bureaucracy Gone Mad” and “Nanny State”, but I bet they’d engage a lawyer if they ate a dodgy kangaroo steak. And then complain about the waste of taxpayers dollars.

This topic brings the stupid out in everyone.

460cixy said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

The only tragedy here is the waste of meat.

You’re right and why its wasted is beyond me. FFS its lean high protein and plenty full it should be processed and handed out to the elderly who often have poor diets due to the expense of meat. Even if its just ground up to feed the cats and dogs at the RSPCA is better then dumping in a hole

Agreed!!

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

The only tragedy here is the waste of meat.

You’re right and why its wasted is beyond me. FFS its lean high protein and plenty full it should be processed and handed out to the elderly who often have poor diets due to the expense of meat. Even if its just ground up to feed the cats and dogs at the RSPCA is better then dumping in a hole

IrishPete said :

davo101 said :

IrishPete said :

Can I direct you to the word “native”? Rabbits and foxes were introduced by European settlers. They are not native. Same with pigs, goats, camels, horses, cane toads etc.

I direct you to the words “Or is it all animals? Humans too?”.

no, because that makes no sense.

IP

They were your own words.

Ironically, Davo seems to have understood them, though.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd9:43 pm 03 Sep 13

The only tragedy here is the waste of meat.

davo101 said :

IrishPete said :

Can I direct you to the word “native”? Rabbits and foxes were introduced by European settlers. They are not native. Same with pigs, goats, camels, horses, cane toads etc.

I direct you to the words “Or is it all animals? Humans too?”.

no, because that makes no sense.

IP

IrishPete said :

Can I direct you to the word “native”? Rabbits and foxes were introduced by European settlers. They are not native. Same with pigs, goats, camels, horses, cane toads etc.

I direct you to the words “Or is it all animals? Humans too?”.

460cixy said :

EvanJames said :

Driving on the roads between 8am and 9am, there’s cars everywhere! There’s too many people! We need to cull them! And lunchtime in Civic, it’s crowded, there’s too many people! Cull them now! Not to mention the Bus Depot Markets on a Sunday morning, a cull is way overdue.

See lots of roos, that means there should be a cull? Why? What is the logic of this? I have several hundred roos living around where I do. I don’t think they want to be culled, they seem quite content. Why should they be culled?

Can we start the human cull with you?

if you first cull the people who think there should be a people-cull, before long there won’t be much demand for a cull. Not until the rest of you catch on that human population growth is a far bigger problem than a few roos.

IP

Pitchka said :

IrishPete said :

Pitchka said :

Keep up the good work, the less roos the better.

Are there any other native animals that you think there should be less of? Or is it all animals? Humans too?

IP

Yep, rabbits, foxes, and the local irish imports…

Can I direct you to the word “native”? Rabbits and foxes were introduced by European settlers. They are not native. Same with pigs, goats, camels, horses, cane toads etc.

Kangaroos are a protected species, like most or all native animals, which I think is I why TAMS and Defence need a licence to shoot them.

IP

IP

Robertson said :

EvanJames said :

Driving on the roads between 8am and 9am, there’s cars everywhere! There’s too many people! We need to cull them! And lunchtime in Civic, it’s crowded, there’s too many people! Cull them now! Not to mention the Bus Depot Markets on a Sunday morning, a cull is way overdue.

See lots of roos, that means there should be a cull? Why? What is the logic of this? I have several hundred roos living around where I do. I don’t think they want to be culled, they seem quite content. Why should they be culled?

Because roos are just dumb animals, and they are a declared pest species to boot.

Declared by whom? This might be interesting reading http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=asj

IP

EvanJames said :

Driving on the roads between 8am and 9am, there’s cars everywhere! There’s too many people! We need to cull them! And lunchtime in Civic, it’s crowded, there’s too many people! Cull them now! Not to mention the Bus Depot Markets on a Sunday morning, a cull is way overdue.

See lots of roos, that means there should be a cull? Why? What is the logic of this? I have several hundred roos living around where I do. I don’t think they want to be culled, they seem quite content. Why should they be culled?

Because roos are just dumb animals, and they are a declared pest species to boot.

IrishPete said :

Pitchka said :

Keep up the good work, the less roos the better.

Are there any other native animals that you think there should be less of? Or is it all animals? Humans too?

IP

Yep, rabbits, foxes, and the local irish imports…

EvanJames said :

Driving on the roads between 8am and 9am, there’s cars everywhere! There’s too many people! We need to cull them! And lunchtime in Civic, it’s crowded, there’s too many people! Cull them now! Not to mention the Bus Depot Markets on a Sunday morning, a cull is way overdue.

See lots of roos, that means there should be a cull? Why? What is the logic of this? I have several hundred roos living around where I do. I don’t think they want to be culled, they seem quite content. Why should they be culled?

Can we start the human cull with you?

Driving on the roads between 8am and 9am, there’s cars everywhere! There’s too many people! We need to cull them! And lunchtime in Civic, it’s crowded, there’s too many people! Cull them now! Not to mention the Bus Depot Markets on a Sunday morning, a cull is way overdue.

See lots of roos, that means there should be a cull? Why? What is the logic of this? I have several hundred roos living around where I do. I don’t think they want to be culled, they seem quite content. Why should they be culled?

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd7:38 pm 02 Sep 13

troll-sniffer said :

gazket said :

IrishPete said :

Pitchka said :

Keep up the good work, the less roos the better.

Are there any other native animals that you think there should be less of? Or is it all animals? Humans too?

IP

possums, there out of control .

spelling it’s even more out of control lol

lol

troll-sniffer5:54 pm 02 Sep 13

gazket said :

IrishPete said :

Pitchka said :

Keep up the good work, the less roos the better.

Are there any other native animals that you think there should be less of? Or is it all animals? Humans too?

IP

possums, there out of control .

spelling it’s even more out of control lol

IrishPete said :

Pitchka said :

Keep up the good work, the less roos the better.

Are there any other native animals that you think there should be less of? Or is it all animals? Humans too?

IP

possums, there out of control .

Interesting slant the CT placed on the ‘ownership’ of this cull.

“The federal government has killed nearly 14,000 kangaroos on a military firing range east of Canberra in the past four years,”

So not really anything to do with the Dept of Defence?

IrishPete said :

Pitchka said :

Keep up the good work, the less roos the better.

Are there any other native animals that you think there should be less of? Or is it all animals? Humans too?

IP

He’s talking about a pest species, and he’s correct in saying their numbers need to be drastically reduced.

I took a short walk up Red Hill yesterday and there were three mobs in my path: far too many.

I also found one that appeared to have been taken down by a dog breaking its right foot (and cleaned by foxes, perhaps cats as well – I assume the wedgies had been at it as well.). It was an interesting forensic exercise for the little ones.

Pitchka said :

Keep up the good work, the less roos the better.

Are there any other native animals that you think there should be less of? Or is it all animals? Humans too?

IP

I walked up Mt Taylor from the Chifley side over the weekend and I couldn’t believe the number of roos. I haven’t made the trek up Mt Taylor since the middle of last year, and normally it is rare to see any roos, usually a small mob of about 8 or 9 near the bottom. This time however there were over a hundred all the way up and down, and most had joeys in their pouches meaning there are many more to come. Surely we need to step up the culling program because the numbers are escalating out of control.

Keep up the good work, the less roos the better.

tim_c said :

It was on the military firing range, and they had to hire shooters to shoot the kangaroos?!

I don’t think sexual misconduct is going to reduce kangaroo numbers.

It was on the military firing range, and they had to hire shooters to shoot the kangaroos?!

I guess the “dirty little secret” is a hyperbolic way of referring the fact that TAMS has had to publicly reapply for its license each year, but Defence seem to have been able to do it on the QT. (What does QT stand for?)

I hope they are at least using the Skippies as target practice. And BBQ-ing the bodies. That would be less wasteful than just paying professional shooters (isn’t that what the Army are?) and burying the bodies.

IP

poetix said :

They’re releasing a film about the cull called Full Metal Pocket.

I hear Skipp Sudduth is in the running for the lead role.

They’re releasing a film about the cull called Full Metal Pocket.

I say jolly good show but another 50,000 to 60,000 more would be better again keep up the good work

I’m not sure it can be a “dirty little secret” if it started after “a bitter legal fight with animal rights activists”.

Hopefully they combine the cull with a bit of training……na, na, na, na, nah.

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