THE two Grant district mayoral contenders have backed calls for an inquiry into kangaroo numbers amid concerns the native animals are causing road accidents and damage to the environment.
Incumbent Richard Sage renewed his push for a survey of the eastern grey kangaroo population during a council meeting this week.
Mayoral contender and current councillor Alan Hill also weighed in on the issue yesterday, arguing he fully supported council’s stance on the matter.
While the rural council has been calling for a cull or the introduction of a commercial harvest, the eastern grey kangaroo continues to be labelled as an endangered species in the region.
Council and the state environment department continue to be at a stalemate despite statistics showing a number of serious road incidents in the Grant district have been linked to kangaroo collisions.
“It is not about going out and killing them all, but getting them to a sustainable level,” Mr Sage said.
“We need to look at the damage being done to the environment, farmland and vehicles in our region.”
Insurance companies have also labelled Mount Gambier as one of two hotspots for animal road collisions and an inquiry is under way into the state’s abundant species.
Cr Hill said figures released by the department had suggested there was only one kangaroo per every square mile in the district.
But he said he had seen large mobs of kangaroos in the district, including 200 in a paddock at Glenburnie.
“Something needs to be done. I support council’s effort to reduce the district’s kangaroo population,” Cr Hill said.
Council chief executive officer David Singe told the meeting it appeared council’s campaign on the issue was yet to make any inroads with government authorities.
“We did not get much encouragement from the last attempt because we got a letter back from the minister they are putting up lots of signs alerting people not to run into the animals,” Mr Singe said.
Mr Sage said the environment department had engaged spotters in summer to gauge the kangaroo population, which had been ineffective.
The civic leader warned the kangaroos were not only causing road accidents, but also damage to farm fences.
“One of the problems we have here is the kangaroos are identified as an endangered species, but they are actually not in our area,” Mr Sage explained.
He said the permits given to farmers to shoot kangaroos were ineffective because “if you fire one shot they are all gone”.
“We need a coordinated approach,” Mr Sage said.
