PROTESTERS have vowed to become human shields to stop the slaughter of hundreds of kangaroos at an Australian military base.
The animal activists, who include Aboriginal people, say they will scale fences and put themselves between shooters and the animals if the massive cull goes ahead on Wednesday.
The kangaroos, which have overrun the base, will be herded into a spec
ial pen, shot with tranquilliser darts to bring them down and then dispatched as they lie on the ground. Over the weekend more than 60 men, women and children gathered at the site of the proposed cull to listen to heartfelt speeches from the indigenous community of the Australian capital, Canberra.
"If they could kill me to save those 500 kangaroos, I'd do it," protester Robert Cragie said. "They're innocent, they don't know what's going on. I do, so come on, jab me with a needle, kill me instead."
Four-hundred eastern grey kangaroos will be killed with a lethal injection on the old naval site in Belconnen after the Australian Capital Territory Government cancelled the Department of Defence's original plan to move them.
Wildlife protection groups argue the kangaroos should be relocated rather than slaughtered, but the ACT Government has refused an export permit, claiming relocating kangaroos is inhumane.
The RSPCA, which will witness the cull, does not support moving the kangaroos.
The decision to cull has drawn national and international attention, with some Japanese media contrasting it to Australia's criticism of Japanese whaling. Wildlife Protection Association of Australia president Pat O'Brien backed Japan, saying the international media focus on the cull would embarrass the Federal Government.
"Nobody would seriously think that Australia has any right to criticise Japan for its whaling while we are killing three and a half million kangaroos every year for dog food," he said.
The cull was also criticised by animal activists including the British group Viva, which has the support of stars such as Sir Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde.
The full article contains 333 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
