Despite the kangaroo symbol on Australia’s coat of arms and national airline tail, the country allows poachers to kill millions of kangaroos every year. According to news reports, as per the quota allowed this year, about 5 million kangaroos will be killed in different parts of the country this year.
The country’s government and wildlife experts say some species of kangaroo have become so numerous that they need to be regularly culled to protect farmland, other native species and animals from starvation during droughts.
Earlier in 2020, Australia killed about 10,000 wild camels. Because at that time there was so much drought in some parts of the country that wild camels started coming to the locality in need of drinking water. As a result, the country has adopted a plan to kill 10,000 camels.
Social activists have expressed outrage over the killing of the country’s national symbol, the kangaroo, saying the act is cruel and driven by commercial interests.
According to the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, under this government-run kangaroo killing program, licensed hunters receive a fee per kilogram of kangaroo. In addition, kangaroo meat, skin and leather products are exported to 70 countries around the world. A $133 million industry has developed around this kangaroo killing.
However, the world’s big-name sports goods manufacturers such as Nike and Puma are gradually phasing out kangaroo leather or K-leather.
Counting kangaroos is difficult because of the country’s vast territory, but every year government officials conduct surveys using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. And after this survey, in which region of the country, which species of kangaroo will be killed in what amount is determined.
According to the latest government figures, the killing of 5 million kangaroos has been authorized in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
(Written by News Desk using information from different news sources available on internet and Twitter.)
