Ridge Runner Chronicles – April 5, 2023
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But What Do the Australians Think?
By Bill Hoagland
I was surprised to see a headline this week that legislation has been introduced in the state of Oregon, banning the sale of Kangaroo body parts. I did not know that there are kangaroos bouncing around in Oregon so it piqued my interest. Upon looking into it further, I discovered that Arizona, California and New Hampshire also have existing or pending legislation banning the sale of kangaroo body parts and now there is similar legislation pending in Congress. Apparently, there is a group of influential people throughout the US who feel motivated to protect the kangaroo even though the only kangaroos we routinely see here are behind cages at the zoo.
I know nothing about kangaroos. I like them from afar, but who wouldn’t like an animal that keeps its baby in a pouch for as long as nine months as it bounces around the countryside? That sounds like pretty cute stuff. But before we universally ban the use of kangaroo body parts because we think the kangaroo is “cute” and should not be “harvested”, shouldn’t we find out a little bit more about the kangaroo and what the people think who actually have them in their backyards, whether they want them there or not? And by the way, the specific body part apparently at issue here is the kangaroo hide that is used in the US to manufacture soccer shoes.
The kangaroo is a marsupial. They are herbivores and generally are nocturnal animals that are most active after dark. They have powerful hind legs that assist them in hopping rather than running on all four legs, but they are still capable of moving (hopping?) more than 40 miles per hour if necessary. In Australia, the male is often referred to as a “jake,” the female as a “jill” and the offspring as “joeys.” A group of kangaroos is referred to as a “mob.” Within a mob of kangaroos, there is a complex social structure and yes, they do in fact “box” with each other to resolve conflicts but generally, they are regarded as shy animals.
It is estimated that currently there are over 40 million kangaroos living in the wild in Australia. In case you are wondering, there are only 26 million humans in Australia and most of them live in the urban areas in the eastern part of the country. This kangaroo population trend seems to go up and down in accordance with the extreme weather conditions found in parts of Australia. In drought years, the population has dipped to 20 million but today it is again on its way upwards. This recent population increase is due in large part to the partial elimination of the chief kangaroo predator, the dingo, and increased legislation against poaching, including national restrictions on the number of kangaroos that can be harvested each year. From what I can determine, many Australians regard the kangaroo as a nuisance (just like many people here regard the whitetail deer as a nuisance) and they do not share the opinion that apparently spawned the legislation in the US that sales of kangaroo body parts should be banned so as to impact the harvesting of kangaroos in Australia.
Kangaroos have traditionally been harvested for their hides but there is now a movement in Australia to encourage humans to consume kangaroo meat instead of other forms of livestock. Kangaroo meat is said to be a much healthier choice for human consumption because it is leaner and has less cholesterol content. In addition, Australian environmentalists are encouraging the development of kangaroos as a food source because that animal emits much less methane gas than cows or sheep, thereby making for a safer environment. If that is a legitimate concern, I can think of some human food choices that ought to be banned.
The long and short of this brief discussion is that there are often two legitimate sides to most controversies; in this case, if it is true that Australians generally regard the kangaroo as a nuisance, do we here in the US need to be legislating with the intent of impacting what is being done with the potential Kangaroo overpopulation problem in Australia?
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■ Bill Hoagland has practiced law in Alton for more than 50 years, but he has spent more than 70 years hunting, fishing and generally being in the great outdoors. His wife, Annie, shares his love of the outdoor life. Much of their spare time is spent on their farm in Calhoun County. Bill can be reached at [email protected].
