The killing of young kangaroos
The Code of Practice permits the killing of both male and female kangaroos. When a female is killed she may have a joey in the pouch or a young at foot. IKPA has concerns for the fate of joeys after their mothers have been killed. This is because dependent young are reliant on their mothers for up to two years for protection and to learn vital survival skills.
Shooters are instructed to kill young kangaroos via decapitation, a forceful concussive blow to the head or a single shot to the brain or heart. Yet Government studies investigating the welfare of joeys after their mothers were killed concluded that the majority of joeys were not being killed by shooters.
Instead, most dependent at-foot joeys are left to suffer starvation, dehydration or predation in the field after their mothers are shot. This report concluded that maternal separation causes a negative welfare impact for young kangaroos.