KANGAROOS

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (15:09): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Environment and Conservation questions about kangaroo culling in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I am reliably informed that in New South Wales 70 per cent of the kangaroos being shot are female. The consequence of this is that, every time an adult female kangaroo is killed, the young in the pouch is also killed and the young at foot are left to die of starvation, dehydration or predation. According to Dr David Croft of Griffith University, 100 per cent of the young at foot die. My questions are:

1. What percentage of the kangaroos being killed in South Australia are females?

2. Is it the case in South Australia, as in New South Wales, that the young at foot are left to die of starvation, dehydration or predation?

3. Is the minister confident that, under the South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Act, humane methods are being used to kill kangaroos, as is a condition of commercial shooting?

4. Will the minister place an immediate ban on the killing of females with young and, if not, why not?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:10): Indeed, kangaroo culling is a vexed issue. I do not think there would be one person in this chamber who likes to see any animal, including one of Australia's icons, a native species, killed. It is something that we do with a great deal of care and consideration. The culling of kangaroos occurs as a means of humanity really. It occurs, as members know—and, in particular, I know that the Hon. Sandra Kanck is well aware—because the balance of our environment has very much changed over the years and, as land management practices have changed, so too has that influenced populations of our native animals.

Drought conditions at present, in particular, have put huge pressures on some of our native species—in this instance, kangaroos—in some areas. These animals are often left to survive in extremely poor condition, starving and sick and, as I said, in very inhumane conditions. We have a policy and practice of culling. We do a great deal to try to ensure that culling occurs only where and when required, and we monitor very carefully commercial culling as well. The DEH manages commercial harvests. That program is backed by very extensive scientific information and uses a conservative approach to quota setting to ensure that the harvest is sustainable and that healthy kangaroo populations remain as part of South Australia's landscape.

When they are culled, all kangaroos are killed humanely in accordance with the code of practice for the humane shooting of kangaroos. This national animal welfare standard is endorsed by the NRM Ministerial Council and kangaroo field processors (or shooters) are required to pass firearms accuracy training specific to kangaroos prior to harvesting. In particular, kangaroo commercial harvests allow for landholders to manage kangaroos as part of their grazing pressures and management of their properties. As I said, we proceed with these culls within a framework that is monitored and regulated very carefully in terms of humane practices. I am aware that, in relation to joeys in the pouch, if their mother is destroyed, then the joey is destroyed as well because it cannot survive without its mother and it would be inhumane to leave it.

In terms of young kangaroos at foot, I am not sure of the details of that policy but I am happy to find out that detail and bring it back to the council. In terms of the sex of the animals, again I will check the details (if they are available). My understanding is that population numbers are calculated or assessed in a number of ways. In some places it is through aerial shots and in other areas it is through local knowledge and counts on the ground. To the best of my knowledge, I understand that the numbers are adjusted according to the population numbers at hand. Humane culling is very carefully regulated and monitored. For those aspects of the question for which I do not have details, I am happy to bring back a response.