MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has strengthened its stand against the commercial harvesting of kangaroos on the peninsula.
At the 8 August council meeting councillors agreed to write to the state government to demand the banning of commercial kangaroo harvesting on the peninsula “by using the background information supplied to alert our community of the issues and to further inform the state government of the urgent need to protect the viability of kangaroos on the peninsula”.
Cr David Gill said there was an “urgent need to protect the viability of kangaroos on the peninsula”.
Gill’s motion followed a council decision on 30 May suggested by Cr Sarah Race to write to Environment Minister Lili D’Ambrosio urging her to make the peninsula a non-harvest zone, and that kangaroo counts and regular shooting “competency” tests be carried out to ensure “extinction of kangaroos does not occur”.
International animal protection group Animals Australia has praised the council for taking a stand on the mass killing of kangaroo.
The organisation’s director of development and global grants, Louise Bonomi, said that although local governments cannot change state-based wildlife policy and regulation, they can influence it by doing what the shire’s councillors have done – “taking a strong stand against activities that harm and kill wildlife in their shire, like the commercial kangaroo industry”.
