Where is the Outrage!! A Response to Suzanne Orr: The Truth Behind the Kangaroo Cull in the ACT
This post is written in direct response to the letter I received this morning from Suzanne Orr regarding the ACT Government’s kangaroo management policy. While her reply was polished and full of official language, it failed to address the deeper ethical, ecological, and emotional concerns surrounding the annual killing of thousands of kangaroos in Canberra’s nature reserves.
What follows is a critical examination of the claims made in her response, and a call to rethink a policy that is not conservation—it is cruelty.
Counting Kangaroos: Science or Speculation?
Orr claims kangaroo populations are estimated using the “walked line transect method,” a technique widely used in wildlife studies. But this method is notoriously unreliable in dense vegetation and fragmented landscapes—exactly the conditions found in Canberra’s reserves. Without independent verification or transparent data, these population estimates remain speculative. Worse, they’re used to justify lethal action.
Grazing Myths and Grassland Realities
The government insists kangaroos overgraze and threaten endangered species like the Grassland Earless Dragon. But kangaroos are selective grazers, nibbling only the tips of grasses, which actually stimulates growth. Unlike cattle, they don’t uproot plants or compact soil. The real damage to grasslands comes from historical livestock grazing, invasive species, and urban development—not kangaroos.
And speaking of livestock: cattle have been fenced into national parks in the past, trampling sensitive ecosystems. If conservation is the goal, why allow cattle but kill kangaroos?
Kangaroos: Victims of Fragmentation, Not Villains
Orr blames kangaroo overpopulation on the loss of predators and habitat fragmentation. But these are human-caused problems. Kangaroos are not invaders—they are native species trying to survive in landscapes we’ve altered. Killing them for thriving in the only spaces left to them is ecological scapegoating.
GonaCon: A Token Gesture?
The ACT Government touts its use of the contraceptive vaccine GonaCon as a humane alternative. But if this method is effective, why are thousands still being culled each year? The answer: GonaCon is underfunded and underutilized. It’s a fig leaf for a policy still rooted in killing.
The Reality of the Cull: Not Humane, Just Horrific
The ACT Government insists that kangaroo culling is conducted “humanely,” citing compliance with the national code of practice. But as we have so heartbreakingly documented, the reality on the ground is anything but humane.
These are not clean, clinical operations. They are carried out at night, in nature reserves where kangaroos are shot—often in front of their mob, their young, and sometimes not killed instantly. The code allows for joeys to be bludgeoned to death or decapitated if their mothers are shot. This is not conservation. It is state-sanctioned cruelty.
Witnesses have described scenes of chaos and terror: kangaroos fleeing in panic, joeys left orphaned and vulnerable, and animals suffering prolonged deaths from misfired shots. These are sentient beings—social, intelligent, and deeply bonded to their kin. To kill them in this way is not just unethical—it is a moral failure.
Read our BLOG HERE
Conservation or Cost-Cutting?
The ACT Government has spent over $1.1 million on private contractors to carry out culls. Meanwhile, non-lethal alternatives like fertility control and habitat restoration receive a fraction of the funding. This isn’t conservation—it’s convenience.
Killing the Coat of Arms
Let’s not forget: kangaroos are emblems of Australia, featured on our national coat of arms. They are revered in Indigenous cultures and have roamed this land since creation. To kill them en masse in the name of conservation is not just unethical—it’s un-Australian.
Time for Transparency, Time for Change
The ACT Government claims transparency and scientific rigor. But the public deserves more than polished reports and vague assurances. We need:
Independent ecological reviews
Public access to raw data
Investment in non-lethal alternatives
Respect for Indigenous perspectives
A moratorium on culling until ethical and ecological concerns are addressed
Conservation Shouldn’t Be a Death Sentence
Kangaroos are not pests. They are part of the land’s story, its spirit, and its survival. It’s time to stop the killing and start the healing.
To Everyone Fighting for the Kangaroos of the ACT
From the bottom of our hearts—thank you.
Thank you for raising your voices when silence would have been easier.
Thank you for standing in the cold, writing letters, sharing stories, and refusing to look away.
Thank you for speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Your compassion, courage, and persistence are a light in the darkness.
You remind us that true conservation is rooted in empathy, not extermination.
That our national icons deserve protection, not persecution.
Every petition signed, every joey rescued, every truth spoken—it matters.
You are not alone. You are part of a growing movement that believes in coexistence, not cruelty.
Together, we will keep fighting.
Together, we will protect what is sacred.
Together, we will stop the killing.
With deepest gratitude and unwavering solidarity,
Thank you.
“Inspiring hope and healing for Australia’s wildlife, one rescue at a time.”