Parks Victoria has postponed plans to cull about 150 kangaroos in an enclosure protecting an endangered bandicoot at Woodlands Historic Park.
Shooting at the Oaklands Junction reserve was scheduled to begin on Wednesday evening, but was called off in the wake of a social media campaign urging wildlife activists to make their presence felt.
The park is one of just three sites across Victoria where authorities are trying to maintain a breeding population of eastern barred bandicoots, which are otherwise extinct.
Australian Society for Kangaroos vice-president Fiona Corke said she did not believe authorities had not explored all other options before deciding to launch a cull.
‘‘There’s a win-win option here,’’ she said.
‘‘Darting and relocating the kangaroos over the fence with a mixture of fertility control would totally meet their objectives.
‘‘Why are they not going for that? Why are they resorting to an archaic, unnecessary and lazy form of control?’’
Parks Victoria executive director Chris Hardman said Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) had explored other options, including contraceptive implants, herding and relocation, since 1998 without success.
‘‘Unfortunately those measures have not been effective in limiting the growth of the kangaroo population within the securely fenced area and therefore the risk to the critically endangered eastern barred bandicoot population has increased,’’ he said.
Mr Hardman said the decision to postpone was made due to concerns about public safety and the bandicoot population.
He said control actions were needed to ensure the bandicoots’ survival.
‘‘The kangaroo population competes with the bandicoots for vegetation and as the population grows, bandicoots can be left without food or shelter,’’ he said.
‘‘This animal has undergone a widespread and catastrophic decline in Victoria and is now considered extinct in the wild.
‘‘Preventing further loss … at Woodlands is crucial for their future survival.’’
Mr Hardman said protests had previously caused damage to predator-proof fencing.
‘‘Should invasive predators like foxes or feral cats gain entry to the fenced area, Victoria could lose an entire breeding population of a critically endangered animal within a month.’’
