Choosing the right ammunition for culling 'roos
Posted on: 5 April 2017
For farmers and rural property owners, kangaroos can reach feral proportions and often need to be culled in the summer months to prevent animals eating root stock and creating land erosion. This can be a great chance for recreation shooters to shoot live targets in an environmentally sensitive manner. Here are some tips to help you choose the right ammunition.
Humane shot
One of the guiding principles of humane culls means that the animal must be killed as quickly and painlessly as possible. This means they should be shot when stationary and when there is a clear head shot available. The majority of culling is of group 1 animals (red kangaroos, grey kangraoos and larger wallabies) and requires a gun of at least .222 calibre with ammunition that has an expanding projectile (soft or hollow point) of not less than 324 mg (50 grains) and provide a minimum muzzle energy of 1542 Joules.
If the animal is not in in group one (i.e. is any other type of macropod) it can be shot with a rifle or shotgun. Calculations for these types of firearms/ammunition can be more complex depending on the calibre of the shot gun or rifle with the aim of minimum muzzle energy of 975 Joules. If you are not confident in determining which ammunition you need to meet this requirement you should speak to an ammunition expert for more advice.
Killing young or injured animals
Some animals may move while the shot is in motion and this will often leave them injured but not dead. It is important to follow up the initial shot with a closer brain shot or a heart shot if not possible to ensure that they die quickly and with minimal pain. If a shot is not practical (may cause injury to other people or animals) or possible (jammed gun), they can be killed with a sharp blow to the back of the head with a heavy object such as a shovel. If a kangaroo with young has been shot, effort should be made to find the joey quickly and also shoot or decapitate the joey to avoid suffering.
If you are looking to head out for a kangaroo cull it is important to take the right sort of ammunition and firearms to comply with the Kangaroo Shooting Code and to ensure that any animals that you cull are quickly and humanely killed.
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