Help needed to manage kangaroos
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Help needed to manage kangaroos

Out of control kangaroo numbers are being blamed by the Australian Landscape Trust for the economic and animal welfare catastrophe presently emerging on the iconic Strathfieldsaye Estate property at Perry Bridge that the Trust manages as a demonstration farm practising low-input, sustainable grazing management.
 
At the request of the Trust, Nationals Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull, has asked the Environment Minister to assist with an effective plan to help manage the kangaroo population on the Strathfieldsaye Estate.
 
“Having visited Strathfieldsaye yesterday, I can say I have not seen anything like these numbers; there are massive mobs of many hundreds of kangaroos. The situation is they are contained by kangaroo fencing that has been erected over recent years, are multiplying rapidly and there is no food source,” Mr Bull said.
 
“The 5,000 acre property has been de-stocked of cattle and without any action it is simply going to get out of control. The property had no income last financial year and there is little likelihood that this year will be any better.
 
“According to the Australian Landscape Trust there are now between 2,000 to 3,000 kangaroos on Strathfieldsaye Estate.
 
“This excessive and unsustainable kangaroo population has made it impossible for the property to achieve its conservation, research and agricultural production objectives.
 
“Strathfieldsaye Estate also has 800 ha in conservation covenants with Trust for Nature to protect species at risk, but most of these have been lost entirely.
 
“The Strathfieldsaye Estate’s kangaroo management plan shows that the property can sustain a healthy population of 570 animals, not 3,000.
 
“I have asked the Minister to review her Department’s currently inadequate kangaroo management measures, because without a more realistic approach to controlling their numbers, Strathfieldsaye Estate’s agricultural research and conservation programmes will have to be abandoned,” Mr Bull said.
 
Caption: Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, and Australian Landscape Trust Ecologist Madeline Watts at the Strathfieldsaye Estate property where kangaroo numbers are threatening the survival of the Estate’s agricultural research and conservation programs.
 
Wednesday, August 1, 2018