A Queanbeyan wildlife rescue group has won the right to take orphaned joeys across the NSW border, sparing them from death at the hands of ACT authorities.
After a legal stoush spanning three years Wildcare Queanbeyan has secured a three-year licence to transport eastern grey joeys from the ACT to their sanctuary in the border town.
The group and the ACT Conservator of Flora and Fauna agreed on licence terms in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Friday after the tribunal ruled in favour of Wildcare last month.
The decision by general president Linda Crebbin and senior member Allan Anforth means Wildcare can drive up to 35 orphaned kangaroos over the border for three years.
The ACT's policy is to humanely kill orphaned joeys.
In 2008 the conservator refused to grant Wildcare a new licence to take joeys to NSW, raise them and release them back into the wild.
Tribunal senior member Brian Hatch backed up the Government's decision in September 2009, but was ultimately overruled on appeal by his colleagues.
A spokesman for the group and president of Wildlife Advocates, Guy Wilmington, said Wildcare were always confident the decision would go their way.
''It's definitely welcome to have this over and done with and to have our arguments vindicated by ACAT,'' he said.
Lawyers for the Government raised concerns released kangaroos might return to the territory and, because of their contact with human carers, become traffic hazards or potentially violent towards humans.
They also argued the Wildcare's policy might cause the joeys undue suffering in the last days of their lives.
When Wildcare previously had a licence on a trial basis at least 14 of the 32 joeys taken into their care died or were euthanased.
In their written reasons for the decision, Ms Crebbin and Mr Anforth described the question as difficult.
''Is it better for 35 joeys per year to die quickly, than for about half to survive and prosper and half to experience non-specific suffering and deterioration leading to death,'' the tribunal members wrote.
But they found no evidence to support arguments about the animals posing a threat to humans, or concerns about the suffering of relocated joeys.The licence will be granted with strict conditions covering transport, records and reporting.
A spokesman for the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate said the Government would not appeal the tribunal's decision.
.gif)
