The impending death threat to 3,200 Australian kangaroos has been put aside, at least for a while now. Australian Defense Department was mulling the plan to shoot down these kangaroos on the outskirts of Canberra. Defense Department was sighting the reason that these kangaroos may pose the risk of starvation due to over grazing.
The concerned department applied to get the mandatory approval by the local government to begin the killing. However, the government has turned down this proposal by saying that such move is likely to pose risk to the residents of this vicinity as well.
Government official Russell Watkinson said:
The Australian Federal Police have raised safety concerns. The Defense Department, the local government and police need to work together to address those safety concerns before the cull proceeds.
The proposal has also received criticism from the animal lovers as they felt that defense department is exaggerating the over grazing issue.
Animal Liberation’s Canberra spokesman Bernard Brennar said:
We’ll take that as good news for the moment. The ruling is likely to encourage the Defense Department to consider non-lethal options for managing the kangaroos.
Behind the naming of kangaroo lies an interesting tale. When European explorers first spotted these strange hopping animals they asked aborigine what they were called. Aborigine said kangaroo which means, I don’t understand your question. The explorers thought that this is the name of this animal and since then these magnificent animals are called as kangaroos.
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Source: Signonsandiego