Why kangaroos hated so much? Why do people accept blindly, even city people, that these delightful animals are a "pest"? They are our iconic animals, emblems of Australia? How un-Australian it is to hate them! Scientists have shown that their impact on the land is minimal compared to sheep and cattle. They eat native grasses and their impact on the soil is actually positive with their soft pads, tails, claws and urine. Have we eradicated and changed our natural environment so much that there is no place for wildlife now? Could it be that we humans are becoming more distant from our land, and its spirit that includes these ancient animals? Please don't let this "cull" (slaughter) go ahead!

The people of Mudgee who can't accept and hate kangaroos should accept that people from other areas and other states live in Australia too, and kangaroos are a NATIONAL emblem, and NATIVE Australian animals! Maybe they are hungry due to the devestation we humans have caused. Maybe they need to come to town areas to feed, due to too much agriculture, clearing and developments. The red-necks need to realise that there are other opinions out there, and we share our environment with wildlife. Flora and fauna all function together to maintain a healthy ecosystem. We can't sterilise all the land for profits!

and soon the 7% of protected land within the NSW commercial killing grounds will be no longer. What a joke that the numbers will never get so low....what is low? they are at the lowest they have EVER been! Wake up Nicole Payne, you are a joke and need to open your eyes and get away from your hip pocket!

It would be nice to believe that the decision hadn't yet been made.... Wallaroo

These are dark days indeed for the dwindling kangaroo populations in the remaining 7% of NSW, not already covered by the commercial kangaroo killing zone. Remaining kangaroo populations desperately need protection NOT persecution. Australia is experiencing a prolonged drought. Is it any wonder kangaroos and wallabies have to resort to any grassed areas close to towns as shown in the photograph? The other reasons for 'visibility' of kangaroos and wallabies are human caused- loss of habitat. Since colonisation people have been taking over what was once kangaroo and wallaby grazing areas. In the current instance, continued habitat loss is occurring as the result of rapacious housing and commercial developments and agricultural practices which do not provide for retention of viable tracts of native animal habitat and 'safe' passage from one patch of remnant bush or native grasslands to the next- ie, space for these wonderful native animals to exist (though truly minimal are these patches in reality, along with any 'good will' from government, developers and most framers to leave part of 'their' property for nature.) There is a limit to exploitation of the natural world- Australia is not boundless in area. The gaps between human settlements are retracting with development and as this news article demonstrates, people are still not accepting responsibility for the creation of the very problems for which kangaroos are blamed. People are 'surprised' to see them grazing so close to their homes and immediately perceive the kangaroos and wallabies as 'transgressors', instead of considering what role they and others in the region have played in creating situations such as these. Personally, I would love to have kangaroos grazing so close to my home and would be approaching other neighbours, landowners and councils, trying to organise the establishment of safe areas of grassland and remnant bush corridors to help them safely pass through the townships without persecution by people and being hit on the roads. Shame on all parties in Mudgee who are pushing for this further commercial onslaught on these gentle, unique native animals. I truly am ashamed to be an Australian- as Australia persecutes its wildlife and is responsible for the largest land based wildlife massacre in the world- that of our delightful, sensitive, intelligent kangaroos and wallabies. I hope potential overseas tourists turn away in droves from coming to Australia because of Australians' treatment of our kangaroos and wallabies. Shame Mudgee, Shame.

New important information has been released showing that kangaroos are being killed in NSW in areas where they are quasi extinct (i.e. less than 5 kangaroos per sq. km). If the killing in Mudgee and outlying areas goes ahead NPWS and RLPB et al will be responsible for contributing to the extinction of kangaroos in the near future. Please sign the petition for an immediate moratorium on all kangaroo killing until a full enquiry has been made into these facts. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/kangaroo-extinction.html

It's appalling that we treat our national icon like a pest when there is not a single study proving they compete with sheep or cows or even visit wheat fields. Their diet is wild grasses. The fact is that sheep and cows compete with kangaroos! Forests are continuously being felled for more and more grazing land destroying countless species of wildlife including habitat for our kangaroos. Australia is turning into a dustbowl because of our addiction to flesh and mammary fluids from cows. The solution is not kangaroo farming but adopting a plant-based diet. This proposed kill in Mudgee and outlying areas is just to appease the kangaroo industry and has nothing to do with controlling pests. Read www.stopkangarookilling.org