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Share this page 2021 AWPC President’s Report to membership I WOULD LIKE to start by thanking the dedicated AWPC committee and members for their contribution in what has been a very difficult two years since my presidency commenced and for all Australian species, in seas and oceans, in the sky and on the land. In the two years I have been privileged to be President of the AWPC in Australia, three billion native animals are estimated to have died in catastrophic fires, ten million Kangaroos and their young have been killed in the most cruel and disgraceful circumstances and authorities to kill wildlife have been issued by state and territory governments in vast numbers and for a staggering array of species. Hardly a success story, but I take comfort from a knowledgeable colleague in Canberra who says “the very worst thing would be to stop trying”. And tried we have, each and every one. The AWPC committee and AWPC members have engaged in the following activities in support of Australian wildlife: education and advocacy including submissions to politicians, particularly in Victoria and in the ACT and federally in regard to the escalating killing of kangaroos, biodiversity loss and policy, the plight of Australian birdlife, particularly duck shooting; highlighting the plight of wildlife carers; campaigns from NSW focusing on the use of native wildlife as petfood and co-existing with wildlife; supporting state-based wildlife groups whether on behalf of kangaroo species including support with content for Kangaroos Alive on World Kangaroo Day; providing information to community wildlife groups; and liaison and support for international wildlife campaigns and organisations such as the Centre for Humane Economy in the United States. We also thank our numerous partner organisations and are particularly proud of our part in the development of the International Kangaroo Protection Alliance, a grouping of international experts connecting Europe, the Middle East, the United States and the Asia Pacific to inform governments about the consequences of the exploitation, cruelty and loss of Australian wildlife, in this case the growing number of species of Kangaroo and Wallaby now exploited for commercial gain. Over the last two years I have done numerous media interviews, a majority on radio and many overseas. Solutions to the serious nature of extreme biodiversity loss in Australia There is no sugar-coating of what is occurring in Australia and things have become continually worst, regardless of our efforts to slow the destruction of biodiversity. Conduct in relation to climate change is an exact parallel. The best things we can do are: to inform the public of what is occurring and what the consequences of the loss of biodiversity are, including directly to the people who live in this country; to properly inform Indigenous people in Australia — who are subject to black-washing in Australia by governments and industry who are exploiting biodiversity in Australia — about the scope and scale of the destruction to their lands and species; to motivate young people to take biodiversity loss as seriously as they now take climate change, the two are one in terms of their impacts on human futures; to encourage those individuals with large land holdings in Australia, particularly farmers, to use modern methods of farming which include biodiversity in the landscape; to finally put an end to the disgraceful and commercial exploitation of land-based Australian wildlife; to think carefully about land clearing practices in Australia, which remain at scale and are intensely damaging to biodiversity and do little for economic development; to look closely at increasingly silly fire mitigation practices in Australia which include burning-off at vast scale, leaving fires to burn which eventually become fire storms, to stop burning tropical wet forests (driven by financial gain and silly carbon mitigation practices) that destroy the wet tropics and create environments that are now at extreme risk of catastrophic fires; to engage and inform the general public to respect those things that are Australian and have evolved here, it is beginning to happen for the plant kingdom so it can happen for fauna as well; to protect the integrity of research at Australian Universities to ensure it is independent and free from influence (sadly the most important courses in major Australian Universities are being closed, this is no accident); to make governments accountable for their actions; and to internationalise the fight to protect Australia’s precious species. If we don’t do these things, and fast, there will be nothing. In the end it can only be up to us, and that is everyone, and everywhere. The AWPC and government submissions The AWPC has had an intensive period of advocating for wildlife including submission, meetings and sometimes appearances at government inquiries, work taking hundreds of hours of research and authorship as well as sharing of knowledge to politicians and their staff and moral support of witnesses. This work remains an important part of AWPC’s contribution to wildlife conservation and survival in Australia. We have contributed to the following inquiries during my time as President: Inquiry into the health and wellbeing of kangaroos and other macropods in New South Wales. Victoria’s Wildlife Act Review. Victoria’s biodiversity loss inquiry. Victorian Auditor’s Ramsar inquiry. Inquiry into the operation of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (joint submission). AgriFutures: National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes (the way the AWPC and its committee and members were treated by this organisation can only be described as disgraceful). The role of Governments in Australia in enabling and promoting the mass killing of Australian native species for commercial gain, sport and recreation and ‘mitigation’. Australian mammal and bird species are in the front line of government-enabled killing activities. Australian fauna has few friends in government, all major parties are engaged in enabling its destruction. Typically governments apply the same tactics as each other to enable the mass killing of wildlife involving misleading and inaccurate information. This is a general rule, with a few exceptions, the individuals defending and caring for Australia’s wildlife

Share this page Animal welfare charity Viva! scores another victory in long-standing kangaroo campaign as budget supermarket chain Lidl finally caves to public pressure and ends trade in kangaroo meat. With frozen food giants Iceland dropping sales earlier this year, Lidl had remained the only UK supermarket carrying the meat on occasion as part of their weekly promotional deals. Marketing the ‘deluxe kangaroo steaks’ as nutritious and inexpensive Lidl consumers were unwittingly buying into the largest slaughter of land based wildlife in history. Hunted at night in the vast outback, with powerful four-track vehicles and mesmerising search lights, the startled animals are shot, supposedly in the head but many are in fact mis-shot and die a slow, agonising death. Although no statistics are currently available on the number of wounded animals the Australian RSPCA estimates that 100,000 adults are inhumanely killed with some temporarily surviving with horrific wounds, such as shot off jaws [1]. Latest ‘harvest figures’ from the Department of the Environment and Energy have 6.9 million kangaroos earmarked for slaughter in 2018 [2] but this does not include the millions of baby kangaroos (joeys) that are simply thrown away. The Australian Government’s own guidelines [3] insist on clubbing or decapitating joeys, as they cannot survive without their mothers. Many will and do escape but later die from predation. It is a common misconception that kangaroos are farmed. They are completely wild, which means populations fluctuate massively – and can be especially impacted by factors difficult to predict, such as drought and disease. Since kangaroos are a slow-breeding marsupial with low reproductive rates wildlife experts are concerned that turning them into just another commodity is not only cruel but also unsustainable. In addition to the barbaric nature of kangaroo hunts are the human health implications. Independent testing has found dangerously high levels of salmonella and E.coli [4], as contamination of the meat is logistically unavoidable due to the setting in which the animals are slaughtered and transported. Contamination is that much of a threat that the industry is advising its shooters to spray kangaroo carcasses with acetic acid in the field. However, Food Standards Australia New Zealand are not monitoring the extent of its use and have not prescribed a maximum limit [5]. Animal welfare organisation Viva! have campaigned against the sale of kangaroo meat since its inception in the early 90s and achieved numerous successes in removing sales from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Iceland and now Lidl. “Having campaigned on the issue of kangaroo meat for the best part of two and a half decades I couldn’t be happier to finally say – we did it! The novelty value of so-called ‘exotic meat’ has been masking the true horror of a brutal business for too many years. As always, Viva! remain committed to supporting Australian wildlife groups to end the bloody trade and celebrate the kangaroo for its unique and iconic status in Australia.” – Viva! founder and director, Juliet Gellatley [1] http://www.environment.gov.au/node/16662 [2] http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/d3f58a89-4fdf-43ca-8763-bbfd6048c303/files/kangaroo-statistics-2018.pdf [3] https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/wildlife-trade/publications/national-code-practice-humane-shooting-kangaroos-and-wallabies-commercial [4] https://www.smh.com.au/environment/hygiene-threatens-kangaroo-meat-industry-20091117-ikf6.html [5] http://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/Committees/clac_ctte/estimates/bud_1516/Health/Answers/SQ15-000406.pdf Notes to editor Lidl quote obtained from Amali Bunter on behalf of Lidl UK CEO Christian Härtnagel: “Following recent customer feedback, we have taken the decision to no longer sell kangaroo meat at Lidl UK. This commitment will come into effect from June 2018.” Viva!’s kangaroo campaign website: savethekangaroo.com Viva!’s previous campaigns against this industry have achieved wide media coverage including: The Sunday Mirror, The Metro, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Grocer andThe Sun. For details of the human health implications of eating kangaroo meat please see Viva!’s updated fact sheet: https://www.savethekangaroo.com/factsheet (it includes details of a brand new kangaroo butchering facility closed down because of health concerns) Image of joeys: Ray Drew / Image of dead kangaroos: Viva! *This article was written by Viva!