I
was a professional kangaroo shooter 38 years ago. Now I spend
an inordinate amount of time in the defence of animals that
are doing poorly at the hands of humans.
You
may ask as to what has led me to do a complete turnabout in
my thinking, and expect some profound answer explaining that
at such and such a moment in time the sky opened up and all
of a sudden I saw the light. Sorry to disappoint, but it did
not happen this way.
If
there is any profundity in my "conversion", it is
that I have come to the realization that we are all led down
differing paths in life by our genetic make-up and the circumstance
that we find ourselves in.
In
my case, 38 years ago, the whole social, political and animal
concern scene was vastly different to today's. There was a predominate
attitude of human matters being at the fore of thought and a
mish-mash of ideas when dealing with the other animals on the
planet. On the one hand, personal pets were gaining in the welfare
stakes, as were wild creatures that had "fluffy" appeal.
On the other, domestic stock conditions were degrading rapidly
into the factory farm situation that is still rampant to now.
This
some decades of time saw European cities and other population
centres around the Western World explode into greater awareness
of the suffering of our "food". Unfortunately, socio/economic
pressures, had rural climes, to a large extent, excluded from
this expansion of a new way in thinking about the rest of nature.
In
this distant past, the kangaroo was erroneously thought of as
a pest that was diminishing the financial returns of those who
depended on their income in outback areas.
This
excuse was reasoning enough for kangaroos to be killed without
compassion, for they were the enemy. Even so, I, and I would
suggest, many other kangaroo shooters, were and are, very uneasy
with the practice of having to kill Joey's on a never ending
basis. It was not understood then, that the Joey-at-foot would
also die in a state of terror by psychological deprivation,
predation or starvation. Many kangaroo shooters now convince
themselves that this joey escapes and lives happily ever after.
Delusions of this sort are not uncommon in the industry and
in governments and their acting agents.
Self-delusion
played a big part in my experience as a kangaroo shooter but
let me state here in the most unequivocal manner that is possible,
to be able to self deceive is part and parcel of being human.
There will be those that read this in a most judgmental way,
comforting themselves with the thought that they could never
had done such a thing as kangaroo shooting. Be very careful
of that kind of thinking because it does not accord with the
facts about the capacity of humanity to be inhumane to people
and animals, given the right set of circumstance. Be very careful
that you are not self-deluding yourself on this point, for if
you are, you are just the person who could be a kangaroo shooter
if the situation dictated it so.
I
do come across this kind of condemnation but it so insignificant
when compared to the mental anguish I put myself through on
a daily basis as to be non-existent. This will be carried till
the day I die.
Thoughts
of the terrible woundings and as stated, the slaughter of the
innocents and now with greater knowledge, thoughts of the at-foot-Joey's
left to fend for themselves in their thousands. Thoughts of
taking the lives of countless numbers of kangaroos for convenient
reasons. Thoughts of being a part of the juggernaut that was
and is altering the genetic make up of a marvellous animal.
Thoughts of my part in vilifying the kangaroo with the end result
of it not having the awed respect, as it should, of the Australian
people. Every time there is a wanton act of cruelty to kangaroos,
I must bear some of the blame.
I
stopped being a kangaroo shooter for many reason, with the cruelty
only one of the many.
The
kangaroo is not a pest and it is only the greedy and the foolhardy
who believe it is a resource to be used at whim.
Australia
must re-define its stubbornly inadequate definition of what
is compassion and in doing so reap the rewards of not only doing
the right thing, but the very tangible benefits of the eco-tourist
dollar.
No
doubt, other kangaroo shooters will read this, so it seems appropriate
to leave a message for them.
If
you can see past the self-delusion of what you are doing to
other sentient and suffering capable creatures, for the sake
of your future mind, do not wait for kangaroo shooting to be
discarded as a remnant of our brutish past, as it will, but
choose to get out now. The rest of your life will thank you
for this very wise action.
This
I guarantee.
David
Nicholls
