Koala Cull

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AuthorTopic: Koala Cull
Shaper
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From AIM News with CNN:

quote:
Call to Shoot 20,000 Australian Koalas

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A koala population explosion on an Australian island has prompted calls for 20,000 of the furry, native marsupials to be shot to stop them destroying their island habitat and end a koala famine.

Some 30,000 koalas on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of the state of South Australia, are stripping the island of its native gum trees, destroying the ecosystem and causing a koala famine, say environmentalists and national parks officials.


"We are talking thousands of starving koalas," said Sandra Kanck from the Australian Democrats, Australia's third major political party.

"While they may be cute and cuddly we need to get beyond emotion to reality...my suggestion is professional shooters do it quickly and cleanly," Kanck told Reuters on Friday of the proposed cull.

The South Australian state government has rejected calls for a cull, preferring sterilization and relocation.

The Australian Koala Foundation also opposes a cull of the koalas, which on the Australian mainland are struggling to survive as urban development destroys their habitat.

Kangaroo Island tourist operators say a koala cull would severely damage the island's tourist industry.

"The koalas are so hungry they are eating pine needles," said Kanck. "What will tourists think of a habitat of denuded trees with desperate, starving koalas roaming the damaged landscape?"
Discuss.

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quote:
Kangaroo Island tourist operators say a koala cull would severely damage the island's tourist industry.
They should give the tourists guns and let them pay to shoot the koalas.

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Agent
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Giving the tourists that kind of power would be foolish. Imagine the 'accidental' injuries that could ensue, and don't forget that tourists won't keep track of how many koalas or other animals that they conveniently shot.

But I think that these measures are somewhat necessary. They can't let the population grow too much since it will hurt many others. Sterilization and relocation has been tried with some strange fish or eels in the area where I live, but they still keep coming back every year. I really do wonder how the koala population grew that much, though.

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It is sad that an animal could actually eat itself to extinction, but I do strongly agree that measures must be taken before an ecological catastrophe takes place.

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The only real purpose I see in having guns is controlling J-curves.

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As an extreme pro-(if this word exist)animalist (with the exeption of spiders)
That sounds terrible! And all extreme pro-(if this word exist)animalist (with the exeption of spiders) should think that!

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Knee-jerk sentiment is always fun. Would you prefer that 20,000 of them die at random and relatively painlessly, or that nearly all 30,000 starve to death over the course of several weeks? :rolleyes:

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Did humans build where the trees that they ate from grew, or did they just gain in numbers so fast they need to be culled?

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The koala population grew that much because there are no predators. Koalas aren't native to the island either; they were originally put there as part of a breeding experiment which has now turned out a little too successful. They have to be gotten rid of somehow because they're completely deforesting the island. Plenty of other animals that depend on the trees will die if something isn't done, and obviously in the long term the koalas can't survive there either.

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Law Bringer
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I don't like the idea of culls, but other solutions never seem to solve the problem and always seem to be phenomenally expensive. In the absence of better alternatives, I guess handing out the guns is the only way to do it.

?Alorael, who means handing out the guns to qualified people. A sniper rifle in the wrong hands would be disastrous, not to mention a terrible waste.
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StD is a complete moron. Intro environmental science helps here.

(As does a swift, steel-toed kick to the groin. Or many kicks, if you so choose.)

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HAY GUYS! LETS ALL GET BIGASS GLOCKS AND RUN OVER TO SOME PLACE WITH TO MANY PEOPLE LIKE CALCUTTA AND THEN SHOOT UP THE SLUMS CUZ U KNOW THERE GONNA DIE ANYWAY OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

A very simple parallel, yet quite poignant, in my opinion. People are horrendously irrational creatures.

That said, I don't know exactly what should be done to solve this problem. I don't feel, though, that the cost of a project such as sterilization/ relocation should even be considered when the alternative is death for thousands of animals. All other reasonable plans of action really ought to be considered before something as drastic as a cold-blooded massacre is decided on.

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But how did it come to this? Forest wardens over here report disbalances in animal population regularly and shoot some when things threaten to get out of hand. Why did the government wait so long before action was considered?

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I'm an animal-lover as well, but not mind-cloudingly so. If culling is the only reasonable alternative, then get on it and stop wasting time. I see what you mean, Stuggie, but here's the thing: koalas aren't human. If you could choose between shooting a hungry koala and shooting a hungry human being, which would you choose? I really hope your answer is not the latter.

As Keep said, sterilization never works as well as it should. Let's stick with reasonable alternatives that will actually work.

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heh heh heh, imagine all the new games at the amusement parks near there. Ooo ooo, no wait, "Koala Cage Wrestling," only the strong survive. Seriously, culling is a very serious issue and should be stopped. Especially when there are much more entertaining solutions to the problem. :evil smiley:

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quote:
Originally written by iDavid:

I see what you mean, Stuggie, but here's the thing: koalas aren't human. If you could choose between shooting a hungry koala and shooting a hungry human being, which would you choose? I really hope your answer is not the latter.
One of the most important principles on which the animal rights movement is based is the idea that it is wrong to value the life of one animal less than that of another simply because they are of different species. I understand your point of view, SD; it's one that is held by the majority of humans. Eliminating the deeply ingrained biases regarding such issues is a very difficult thing to do. I've managed to succeed in that regard, though, so I'd doubt anyone else would have any real trouble if he set his mind to it.

EDIT: And, to answer your question: I'd refuse to shoot, and be firm in my resolve. If whoever was attempting to force me to make such a choice decided to kill me as a result of my refusal, that would be unfortunate, but even as a condemned man I would have no regrets.

[ Friday, April 30, 2004 18:22: Message edited by: Slammin' Stugie ]

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Stughalf

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The problem with relocation is that I don't think there's any good habitat for them anywhere else that wouldn't have just as bad an overcrowding problem if 20,000 koalas were dumped on it. Sterilisation might have worked if somebody had bothered to do something about the problem years ago, but at this point it's necessary to decrease the population immediately and drastically.

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Stughalf: The difference between koalas and Calcuttans is that the Calcuttans recognize that there is a problem, are consciously attempting to reduce it, and will eventually succeed. Koalas are incapable of any of that.

Animal rights are fine and good, but there is a point to sapience that people need to recognize. You can't give an elephant a shovel and expect it to dig itself a latrine.

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I personally really don't mind being, um, specie-ist?

It's an animal, I'm not Hindu.

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I really like Khoth's suggestion.

Or we could introduce Koala-eating bugs.

EDIT: I can just imagine two greenies hitting each other on the head with picket signs. One says "Save the Koalas!", the other says "Save the Trees!"

[ Friday, April 30, 2004 20:26: Message edited by: The Creator ]

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SIR david: I'd shoot them botrh.

First the human, then the bear. it's all the same thing. badly retarded bundles of flesh, burn them all

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quote:
Originally written by The Creator:

I really like Khoth's suggestion.

Or we could introduce Koala-eating bugs.


I saw a bug just the other day that could definitely eat a whole koala by itself. Were I a smaller person, I would have been afraid of that bug myself. Shall I gather a few and send them over?
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Is it possible to make clothes out of koala fur?

On a little tangent, would the Save the Trees sign be made out of wood?

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Too many koalas? I thought those little goobers were endangered or something. I keep seeing the weepy TV specials about them getting hit by cars and dying and stuff.

Well, anyway, if you're going to kill 'em off, you may as well stick to the traditional pattern and use cars. WHAM!

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Part of the problem is probably that a lot of people are morally opposed to killing cute animals.

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This is the house that the malt that the rat that the cat that the dog that the cow that the maiden that the man that the priest that the cock that the farmer kept waked married kissed milked tossed worried killed ate lay in.

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