ANYONE who has hit a kangaroo with their vehicle in the ACT would no doubt suggest it was a traumatic experience for both the driver and the animal. There is also nothing more upsetting than hearing those not-irregular radio traffic reports about kangaroos bounding in distress through peak-hour traffic or, worse, obviously in extreme pain lying by the side of the road after being hit.
Territory and Municipal Services says in some years there are more than 1000 call-outs to attend to dead or injured kangaroos in the ACT.
The fact that crashes with kangaroos cost at least $2.5 million a year in insurance claims in the ACT is one that can't be ignored in the debate over control of the kangaroo population in the national capital.
Most of the ACT Government's arguments about roo culls have been about ending the suffering of starving kangaroos and protecting grasslands.
But it's clear the Government is bolstering its case for culls by also using the kangaroo-vehicle collision statistics. Its telephone survey about kangaroo culls asked almost as many questions about car accidents as grasslands. Its draft ACT kangaroo management also canvasses the kangaroo-vehicle collision issue.
But the draft plan shows little faith in some of the preventative measures used in other countries to reduce animal-vehicle collisions. Fencing and underpasses ''are not suitable in all locations and are expensive to construct and maintain''. Wildlife warning reflectors and ultrasonic devices ''have been proven to be ineffective''.
RSPCA ACT chief executive officer Michael Linke supports kangaroo culls to end animal suffering or avoid ecological damage but he is against a cull if it's just about reducing vehicle accidents. In other words, he believes ''an inconvenience to humans'' is not reason enough to kill an animal.
If the Government is serious about controlling kangaroo populations, it needs to be upfront about its reasons for a cull. If it is also about reducing vehicle accidents, say it. The broader community of Canberra probably agrees but it still needs to be told the full story.
THE cockatoos get us every time. The Anzac Day dawn service at the Australian War Memorial is one of the nation's truly great gatherings. The cockatoos screeching on cue in the darkness make it even more special. An estimated 30,000 people attended last year's dawn service, testimony to the power of its simplicity. At least that number is expected to assemble again on Saturday. In the stillness of that morning, everything seems to be put into perspective. Concerns about forgoing that plasma TV or cutting back on the takeaway food in light of tighter economic times suddenly seem very petty in the face of the sacrifice made by the more than 102,000 Australians who have died in warfare. And remember if you are going to the dawn service, leave your mobile phone at home or make sure it's turned off.
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