An independent review has praised the effectiveness and animal welfare standards of the ACT Government’s kangaroo management program as ‘extremely impressive’, Rebecca Vassarotti, Minister for the Environment, Parks and Land Management, has announced.
The Eastern Grey Kangaroo: Controlled Native Species Management Plan was set up in 2017 to cull kangaroos, the government stating that the animal “negatively impacted on environmental, economic and social values”. However, the program has been controversial: advocates have called for the “massacre” to stop, and the Canberra Liberals last year called for an independent review.
The ACT Government last year commissioned an independent reviewer, Professor Sarah Legge, an ecologist at the Australian National University and a principal research fellow with the University of Queensland, to look over the program.
Professor Legge heard from rural landholders, wildlife carers, animal welfare groups, and conservation groups.
Ms Vassarotti said the review was “a strong endorsement of a program which gets the balance right, protecting our natural ecosystems while prioritising animal welfare”.
“A good Kangaroo Management Program is a program that undertakes the best animal welfare standards, while making sure we manage the impact of species on the precarious balance of our natural ecosystem.
“While it can be very confronting, if we don’t control species that are negatively impacting our natural environment, then we would very likely see the decline and possible extinction of our native grassland ecosystems.
“The Government has always used evidence to direct the Eastern Grey Kangaroo Management Plan, and this external review provides the public even more assurance that our animal welfare and conservation methods reflect the best possible practice.”
The review makes 34 recommendations, which the government will consider when developing a new Controlled Native Species Management Plan, to be released for community consultation next year.
These include additional options to utilise carcasses and strengthening internal administrative processes, Bren Burkevics, ACT Conservator of Flora and Fauna, said.
Some recommendations have already been addressed in this year’s program, Ms Vassarotti said, including increasing the involvement of ACT Government veterinarians in the program and updating communication materials to provide even more clarity for the community.
The government will consult Ngunnawal people to better understand their perspectives on kangaroo management and ensure the new plan incorporates community values and aspirations, Ms Vassarotti said.
Mr Burkevics said: “The independent review confirms that kangaroos are an important component of our grassy ecosystems but too much or too little grazing changes the grass structure and leads to declines in other grass-dependent species.
“This review and the independent animal welfare audit from the 2023 Kangaroo Management Program that was released in late 2023 provide full transparency and reassurance to Canberrans that the ACT’s approach to managing kangaroos is very high standard with animal welfare and conservation at its core.”
The Conservator is legally required to internally review Controlled Native Species Management Plans every five years.
