University of Technology, Sydney

 

Indigenous perspectives

Aboriginal people have a diversity of views about kangaroo killing.1 Kangaroos are of cultural, social and spiritual significance to Aboriginal people. However, Aboriginal people have very little involvement in government decisions about kangaroo management.2 It is important for Aboriginal people to be included in decisions about kangaroo management for two key reasons.

Firstly, respect for culture and social justice form an essential part of sustainability.3 The exclusion of Aboriginal people from decisions concerning Australia's wildlife including kangaroos runs counter to this respect.

Secondly, Aboriginal people hold traditional knowledge about kangaroos, other native animals and the Australian landscape which could contribute to assessing and improving sustainability.4

Aboriginal people have little involvement in the commercial industry.5 For example, there has only been one Aboriginal person with a permit for commercial kangaroo harvesting in South Australia in recent years.6 Although Aboriginal people kill and eat kangaroos as part of their traditional diet, there are strict cultural protocols about how these practices are carried out. Traditional practices conflict with those used in the commercial industry.7

Aboriginal people are given responsibility for the welfare and conservation of particular native animals through their totems. A totem is a plant, animal or other object that is believed to be ancestrally related to a person. Responsibility for a totem generally includes a restriction on the killing or consuming of the totem animal.8 Some Aboriginal people have a particular kangaroo species as their totem and are responsible for the wellbeing of those animals.

Culling is a particular concern for Aboriginal people.9 The Australian Alliance for Native Animal Survival (AAFNAS) was formed in 2010 out of concern over the culling of kangaroos in the ACT. The AAFNAS has a number of aims, including the re-establishment of safe tracts of land for native animals along dreaming tracks.10

Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison, Expert Advisor to THINKK, has raised a number of concerns about the killing of kangaroos for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Uncle Max has expressed concern that the mass killing of kangaroos is damaging dreaming tracks across Australia. He has also highlighted a number of practices used by Aboriginal people to ensure the sustainability of kangaroo use.11

References

1. D A Thomsen, K Muir and J Davies (2006) 28 Aboriginal perspectives on kangaroo management in South Australia 127, 134.

2. D Thomsen and J Davies (2007) 'People and the harvest in the South Australian rangelands'(A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, RIRDC Publication No 07/039); J Altman and M Cochrane (2003) Innovative institutional design for sustainable wildlife management in the Indigenous-owned savanna (CAEPR Discussion Paper 247/2003, CAEPR, ANU, Canberra); J Davies, K Higginbottom, D Noack, H Ross, and E Young (1999) ‘Sustaining eden: indigenous community based wildlife management in Australia’ (International Institute for Environment and Development, London).

3. S Pepperdine, (2000) ‘Social indicators of rural community sustainability: an example from the Woady Yaloak catchment’ (Paper presented to the First National Conference on the Future of Australia's Country Towns, Bendigo, June 2000); G Webb (1997) 10 ‘Sustainable use of wildlife’ Australian Biologist 3.

4. D Thomsen and J Davies (2007) 'People and the harvest in the South Australian rangelands' (A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, RIRDC Publication No 07/039), xiv.

5. D Thomsen and J Davies (2007) 'People and the harvest in the South Australian rangelands' (A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, RIRDC Publication No 07/039), 7.

6. D Thomsen and J Davies (2007) 'People and the harvest in the South Australian rangelands' (A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, RIRDC Publication No 07/039), 7.

7. D Thomsen and J Davies (2007) 'People and the harvest in the South Australian rangelands' (A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, RIRDC Publication No 07/039), xiii.

8. D Thomsen and J Davies (2007) 'People and the harvest in the South Australian rangelands' (A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, RIRDC Publication No 07/039), 9.

9. D Thomsen and J Davies (2007) 'People and the harvest in the South Australian rangelands' (A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, RIRDC Publication No 07/039), 8.

10. Native Animal Survival (AAFNAS) Media Release: Eric Craigie, Formation of the Australian Alliance for Native Animal Survival (5 May 2010) <http://www.isx.org.au/forums/read.php?18,7746> accessed 18 November 2010.

11. Abolitionist-Online, The Aboriginal Animal Rights/Land Rights Pact: Uncle Max Interviewed <http://www.abolitionist-online.com/interview-issue04_aboriginal.animal.land.rights-uncle.max.shtml> accessed 18 November 2010.