The Japanese are now calling Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on his government’s hypocrisy surrounding its policies on culling kangaroo populations:
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has shrugged off claims the federal government is being hypocritical by planning a kangaroo cull in Canberra while criticising Japanese whaling.
About 70 people are blockading a former defence site in Canberra’s north where the government plans to kill more than 400 eastern grey kangaroos.
Japanese television and radio have focused on the protest against the kangaroo slaughter and linked it to Australia’s stance on whaling.
Japanese network TV reporter Hiroki Iijima told News Ltd that Japanese people viewed the kangaroo cull as hypocritical.
Mr Rudd on Sunday defended Australia’s position on whaling but refused to go into the specifics of the kangaroo cull. [AAP]
Look at how kangaroo populations are culled:
Australian animal protection groups questioned on Monday a new government guide for the humane killing of kangaroos which recommends "forcefully swinging" the heads of young animals against a vehicle tow bar.
A proposed code of conduct for shooting young kangaroos, called joeys, and smaller wallabies released by the Department of Environment also recommended a single close-range shotgun blast.
"These changes are basically saying the federal government believes it’s okay to blast a defenseless joey to bits with a shotgun," Pat O’Brien, President of the Wildlife Protection Association, told local newspapers. [Reuters]
Remember this the next time you hear how inhumane Japanese whalers are.
As I have expressed on this blog I am a big fan of kangaroo meat, in fact I plan on grilling some up tonight, however the Japanese media is jumping all over this hypocrisy with the kangaroo cull because it precisely shows the differences in perception of whales and kangaroos. Many Japanese look as whales as a food source just like any other animal while many in Australia find them to be smart and cute and cannot imagine anyone wanting to eat them. Many Japanese on the other hand find kangaroos to be cute and cuddly and couldn’t imagine killing and eating one of them either.
Neither animal is endangered so why can’t someone eat either of them?
