“Win-win, win-lose, and lose-lose are game theory terms that refer to the possible outcomes of a game or dispute involving two sides, and more importantly, how each side perceives their outcome relative to their standing”. Brad Spangler is an Associate at Resolve in Washington, D.C.

“While the emphasis of the Plan is on ecological sustainability, the Plan fails to assess or account for the ecological costs of operating a commercial Kangaroo industry in Victoria”. Tina Lawrence

Denials and rebuttals from the Victorian Government are commonplace when it comes to our duty of care for Australian wildlife.

Question: So which feedback fell outside of the ‘scope’ for this review?

Answer: The fundamental and central issues were those that fell outside the scope of the review.

These are:

• The hyper-inflation of population estimates, leading to quotas that are far too high, leading to systematic removal of Kangaroo populations, region by region, across Victoria (the existing Mallee shooting zone is just one example).

“The Plan fails to meet this Objective because the methodology used by the Victorian government to estimate Kangaroo populations and set quotas is fundamentally flawed and represents a serious risk to both Kangaroo populations now and into the future and the health and persistence of the ecosystems in which they are the dominant large herbivore”. Tina Lawrence

• The new Plan redefines the boundaries of Victoria’s commercial shooting zones (from 7 to 5 zones) which will exclude (from 2025) the City of Melbourne and include the expansion of commercial shooting into public lands, including National and State Parks. The latter is both disgraceful at international scale and very dangerous.

“If it is not bad enough that they leave the guts, heads, hands and feet of the Kangaroos at their pop up abattoirs all over the bush for tourists to find, now they are actually shooting these poor little Kangaroos right there in front of the tourists". Peter Hylands

• Serious human rights abuses related to the commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria are totally ignored, including by senior ministers in the Victorian Government.

"So people who live in a place, run businesses in a place. Have customers and guests staying at a place they own and have developed, have no rights to be there (nor have their guests), and in the process are criminalised when they are a very long way from criminals, leading gentle and productive lives". Peter Hylands

• Claims that the cruellest of all activities in relation to the commercial exploitation of wildlife in terms of its scope and scale and government connivance is humane is total nonsense. Just one aspect of this is that young Kangaroos are required by the Victorian Government to be beaten to death or decapitated after their mothers have been shot.

“If you add up all the ways in which 'protected' Australian wildlife can be abused in Victoria, the killing covers roughly a million native animals targeted each year and 100 'protected' native species. Australian Animals in Victoria can be killed by beating (blunt force), decapitation, shooting, gassing, trapping and poisoning, in the case of 'protected' birdlife, shooting, dislocation, pithing, destruction of nests and windmilling”. Peter Hylands

• Carbon intensive nature of this commercial activity per dollar value.

“I have publicly expressed my deep concern about the carbon intensity (footprint) of the commercial exploitation of Kangaroos. If the Victorian Government cares about climate change it needs to deal with this matter”.  Peter Hylands

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With all the terrible things being done to animals in Victoria, the Victoria Government is planning to introduce an Animal Care and Protection Bill, currently in draft form. The public consultation has recently closed. Issues of sentience and animal life are described.

The more Australian the species, the less sentient it appears to be.

“Explicitly recognising animal sentience makes it clear why the laws exist. It’s an approach now adopted by many other jurisdictions such as the European Union and the United Kingdom”. Victorian Government

“The care requirements would not apply to animals living in the wild or not in someone’s care, even where they interact with people (such as pest animals, or wildlife being hunted or fished)”. Victorian Government

“Explicitly stating that animals are sentient in legislation does not give animals legal rights, nor prevent animals from being owned or used for lawful purposes”. Victorian Government

It rarely happens and it is never humane:

“Blunt force trauma is only humane if delivered with one blow”. Victorian Government

Enabled by all the spin, emboldened and entitled, this is the result:

“The night-time massacre occurred in a remote location south of Colbinabbin in Central Victoria and is now the subject of an investigation by the state's Conservation Regulator. Many shot roos were left to die in paddocks, while others were found dead or dying by the roadside after being deliberately run over”. Ian Royall, Herald Sun 30 June 2024