Summary
The Territory and Municipal Services Directorate of the Australian Capital Territory Government commissioned Kurahaupo Consulting to review (a) the current methods used to derive the target densities set for eastern grey kangaroos in the conservation culling program in Canberra Nature Park. The program is run in accordance with government policy set out in the ACT Kangaroo Management Plan, and (b) the methods used to count eastern grey kangaroos in the Nature Reserves of Canberra Nature Park. Both the counting and estimation of target densities are conducted by the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate (ESDD), a separate arm of the ACT Government. Therefore, we obtained relevant documentation from ESDD and interviewed staff from this Directorate on their methods and rationale for current practices for managing the kangaroos.
Objectives
- To review the rationale for determining the target population sizes or densities of eastern grey kangaroos desired in the ACT to achieve a grazing regime that conserves native animals that rely on the conditions of the ground-layer vegetation in habitats used by kangaroos.
- To review the methodology used to estimate the numbers or densities of eastern grey kangaroos in the ACT to validate the culling regime applied to achieve the desired target population sizes.
For more information view the full Review of eastern kangaroo counts and derivation of sustainable density estimates in the ACT (PDF 831KB) Word version (Word 620KB). The ACT Government is currently preparing its response to the recommendations outlined in this report.