Wild Animals
Many native animals are now being exploited to make money. Kangaroos are a national symbol of Australia, yet over 4 million are shot each year for meat and skins. Around 15% of the animals shot by professional shooters are not killed painlessly. Joeys in the pouch are either killed or left to starve. Other native animals killed in the wild are possums and muttonbirds in Tasmania.
Other native animals such as emus and crocodiles are confined on farms. Emus are particularly difficult to transport to slaughterhouses, and there are no humane ways to slaughter these large birds.
It is still illegal to export native birds such as cockatoos and galahs. Unfortunately it isn't illegal to take young birds from nests for the pet trade within Australia. It is very cruel to keep birds in cages where they can never fly, and they have no companions and nothing to do.
Wild or feral animals are killed by a variety of cruel methods, including poisons, diseases, steel-jaw traps, helicopter shooting, and long-distance transport to slaughterhouses. Fertility control is a more humane way to control animal populations. Animals include rabbits, foxes, dingoes, horses and mice.
Whales are still being killed, mainly by Japan and Norway. They are shot by harpoons tipped with exploding grenades. It is impossible to kill animals as large as whales humanely. They can take a long time to die and suffer terribly during this time.
Many dolphins die because of human actions. They drown in drift nets and die from swallowing discarded plastic rubbish. Dolphins are also captured and imprisoned in small pools for human entertainment.
Fur Coats and trimmings are made from the skins of animals killed either in cruel traps or on fur farms. Leg-hold traps don't kill animals - they snap shut on legs and cause excruciating pain. Even traps designed to kill are not humane. On so-called fur farms, active wild animals like foxes and mink are kept in small wire cages until they are ready to be gassed or electrocuted and skinned. Fur definitely isn't glamorous!