[oxinsnepe]

This may shock you but...

Koalas are a pest on Kangaroo Island (KwahMengLee should know this, being a Perth boy) and there is a HUGE uproar everytime they want to cull them. Thing is - many moons ago, before white man invaded Australia, perhaps before man in general invaded Australia, Kangaroo Island was flush with koalas, then, before settlement, they all died out. Why? Because they bred like rabbits and ate all the vegetation until there was nothing left to feed on and starved to death. So what did we do in our infinite wisdom? Well, you can't have an Australian Island tourist attraction without koalas... that's right, they reintroduced them into the environment and consequently, Kangaroo Island is screwed.

I'm not exactly one for culling or wholesale slaughter but really, I wanna see this movie (and Koalas Do Kendo, you think AKR would fund that?)

We have the same problem here on the US East Coast with deer - most people's only connection with deer is via Disney's vintage animation "Bambie."

Culling in [sub-]urban areas causes an uproar. Fish & Game rules in most states during hunting season are rather draconian. Collisions with deer on the road can be dangerous (even fatal), and are costly (deer have a bad habit of "freeezing" in car & truck headlights). In the suburbs, they are a plague to flower and vegetable gardens as well as ornamental trees and schrubs - I know about this first hand.

Our problem is that we have eliminated the carnivores who were the top of the "food chain" and kept the deer population in check. The net result is an unchecked deer population free to breed at will. Unfortunately roadkill is not enought to keep the population in check - the local response has been an upswing in the turkey vulture population.

I find it irresponsible that we have upset the natural balance, and yet refuse to manage the new situation. There are many complaints about the overpopulation of deer but most also abhor the most efficient method of control (trapping or drugging deer, and relocating them is extremely expensive [don't raise my taxes] requiring much manual labor).

At least those few communities who have decided to cull use professional hunters and the venison is donated to organization who serve the needy.