Do not allow the mass shooting of goats in Mallee

  • by: Angela Barnes
  • recipient: Parks Victoria and Project Manager Brendan Rodgers

Parks Victoria has decided to allow feral goats living in Murray Sunset National Park to be shot down from helicopters starting next month.
"Judas" goats will have tracking collars placed around their necks in order to lead the shooters to large groups of goats, which will then be shot. Seeing this written so candidly in a news paper article this week rang alarm bells for me.

The idea is to control the population of feral goats, as Parks Victoria claims they are damaging native plants and the habitats of native species.
The goats are simply being goats, living their lives, not trying to damage anything.
If we shot down anything causing damage to the environment, humans would be practically extinct, as we - some more than others - are the main offenders.

There are several, more humane, options which have been proven to successfully control populations of feral animals, such as administering birth control pills or spaying/neutering some of the adults. Other options could be separating males from females, or finding an alternative home for some or all of the goats.
In regard to controlling wild rabbit populations, the RSPCA suggests focusing on reducing their impact rather than just killing them; they mentioned ideas such as "excluding rabbits from potential food sources" and making the area less desirable to rabbits.
Could certain areas of the park not be fenced off from the goats, for example, so they are less likely to want to live there? Or, if they are temporarily moved, to prevent them from wishing to return?

Shooting down goats is a barbaric solution, I cannot imagine being shot would be a painless death. This would be called genocide if the goats were humans.
Please urge Parks Victoria and Project manager Brendan Rodgers not to go ahead with this hideous proposal.

Dear Brendan Rodgers and Parks Victoria,


On Monday I read the article in The Age about your proposal to create "Judas" goats and mass shoot the goat population in Mallee. Seeing this written so candidly rang alarm bells for me.


You claim the goats are damaging native plants and the habitats of native species. The goats are simply being goats, living their lives, not trying to damage anything. If we shot down anything causing damage to the environment, humans would be practically extinct, as we - some more than others - are the main offenders.


There are several, more humane, options which have been proven to successfully control populations of feral animals, such as administering birth control pills or spaying/neutering some of the adults. Other options could be separating males from females, or finding an alternative home for some or all of the goats. In regard to controlling wild rabbit populations, the RSPCA suggests focusing on reducing their impact rather than just killing them; they mentioned ideas such as "excluding rabbits from potential food sources" and making the area less desirable to rabbits. Could certain areas of the park not be fenced off from the goats, for example, so they are less likely to want to live there? Or, if they are temporarily moved, to prevent them from wishing to return?


Shooting down goats is a barbaric solution, I cannot imagine being shot would be a painless death. This would be called genocide if the goats were humans. We, the undersigned, urge you not go ahead with this brutal proposal.

Update #38 years ago
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much to all those who signed this petition.
Unfortunately, Parks Victoria decided to go ahead with the goat cull, as explained in an email the Project Coordinator sent me yesterday.
The petition is now closed,
Thank you all again,
Angela


Update #28 years ago
Hello everyone,

Thank you again to everybody who has signed.
I have emailed Parks Victoria again - there has still been no response and the culling is scheduled for next Monday or Tuesday.
I will let you know if I hear anything,

Angela


Update #18 years ago
Hello everyone,

Thank you very much for signing. I just spoke to someone at Parks Victoria, and he mentioned that the set date for this round of culling is June the ninth, so I have brought the deadline forward.
He suggested sending the organisers an email, so I will forward him the petition so far, and he will pass it on.

Thank you all again,
Angela
Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.