Australia plans kangaroo cull

Australia’s environment minister has defended plans to slaughter 400 kangaroos in the national capital as protesters planned to prevent the cull.

Defence Department plans to cull 400 kangaroos at a disused naval communications station in suburban Canberra have triggered international protests.

Authorities argue that the kangaroos have overpopulated rare native grasslands, a habitat they share with threatened species.

Environment minister Peter Garrett dismissed calls today for the federal government to use its powers to stop the cull.

Mr Garrett, a leading figure in the international campaign against Japanese whaling in the Antarctic Ocean, rejected comparisons between slaughtering whales and Australia’s iconic fauna.

“Australians care a great deal about their environment and about their wildlife,” Mr Garrett said. “But when there are significant imbalances and the possibilities that you’ll have conditions which don’t benefit the environment and wildlife in the long-term, then programmes like this – humanely and properly administered – are sometimes necessary.”

Authorities argue kangaroo overpopulation has caused overgrazing of rare native grasslands that also threatens species such as the grassland earless dragon, striped legless lizard, and golden sun moth.