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Filed under: Animal Welfare, Kangaroos, Peta, Police, Rspca

57 comments

You may have seen this photo this morning taken by a photographer from local Melbourne newspaper the Preston Leader.

Photo by Adam Elwood

The common Grey Kangaroo (let’s call him Joey McCutie to personalise the plight of the species) had just been hit by and was laying seriously injured on the tram tracks in Bundoora. Here are the Leader and Herald-Sun stories.

The police officer’s decision to shoot Joey McCutie twice in the head was apparently a pretty sensible decision in light of its injuries, but it has prompted some pretty odd criticism from the RSPCA.

According the RSPCA’s Dr Hugh Wirth the shooting would have been alright if it had killed the Joey McCutie with one shot, but the fact that it required a second shot made the killing inhumane:

“Two shots can’t be humane,” Dr Wirth said.

“One shot yes. One shot has to be put into the base of the brain so that it knocks out all the vital centres in one go.

“If you don’t know where the vital centres are in the base of the brain of the kangaroo, you don’t shoot it.”

Right so if the first shot fails do we then decide Joey McCutie deserves a chance?

Or is Dr Wirth suggesting that we get better at shooting Kangaroos with more practice?

Debates around cruelty to animals have increasingly lurched to the realm of the bizarre.

The internet’s love of widdle animal pictures and whacky animal rights groups like PETA, who protested about Barack Obama swatting a fly, seem to have turned animals into cute aesthetic concepts rather than creatures who live and unfortunately have to die, sometimes at our hands.

The RSPCA is thankfully not in the same unhinged solar system that PETA exists in, it being a respected organisation that does a lot of important work to protect animals from genuine cruelty and neglect. It would be shame if it decided to become a rent a crazy quote on all things animal.

Still I don’t know how PETA are going to better the RSPCA on this one, perhaps they should start asking whether there was a second shooter?

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431Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself

390There's no one Thomson won't burn to save his skin

336Animal experiments won't cure me from cancer

313Thomson didn't answer the question everyone is asking

266Who murdered the Arts degree?

246A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing...

231South Australia. It's the middle bottom bit.

231Craig Thomson speaks. Meanwhile, in Australia...

57 comments

Show oldest | newest first

- Ben Gray says:
  
  03:34pm | 27/01/10
  
  Yeh, the poor cop probably wasn’t too happy about having to shoot the kangaroo in the first place, and then Johnny Knowsbetter jumps on him for trying to do the right thing. No good deed goes unpunished they say.
  
  Reply
Leonid says:

10:11am | 29/01/10

Yes, of course it would, and it would also create employment for a whole new bunch of people that even the state governments would otherwise find hard to describe as workers.
- H of SA says:
  
  03:35pm | 27/01/10
  
  Gotta feel sympathy for the cop. Poor bloke having to shoot the animal the day after Australia day and all that…..hope he has a nice chiiled out night at home tonight.
  
  Reply
- Goose says:
  
  03:54pm | 27/01/10
  
  Perhaps we should have invited the japanese to harpoon the animal for research. Seems the RSPCA don’t get too excited over that sort of “humane” killing???
  
  Reply
- VEE says:
  
  03:56pm | 27/01/10
  
  It’s the IMAGE. It’s quite confronting. Save the whales!
  
  Reply
- Maude Flanders says:
  
  04:25pm | 27/01/10
  
  Won’t somebody think of the children?
  
  Reply
A country member says:

07:08pm | 27/01/10

Bless you Maude.We needed someone with your courage and common decency to speak for all of us.
I can now have closure.
- Elizabeth says:
  
  04:34pm | 27/01/10
  
  I would have thought it would be more confronting to be on the tram running over the kangaroo?
  
  Reply
- island view says:
  
  04:41pm | 27/01/10
  
  The copper wouldn’t have needed a second shot if it had been an ex-psych patient wielding a letter opener
  
  Reply
Barry says:

08:31am | 28/01/10

sadly true island view
- fat bustard says:
  
  04:57pm | 27/01/10
  
  that copper looks like hes been in a good paddock recently..
  
  Reply
- Jack Thomas says:
  
  04:58pm | 27/01/10
  
  What am I missing here?
  
  My take on this is:
  Fat cop stops eating his 10th donut for the morning to put his rubber gloves on, claims he couldn’t raise anyone on the phone (ie. RSPCA, wildlife volunteers, local vet, even the Zoo), decides it’s a good idea to shoot Skippy because by lying injured on the tracks he might kill a pensioner, waits for the cameraman to arrive, poses, then needs two shots from a metre away to hit Skip in the scone?
  
  And you reckon the RSPCA are the wacky ones?
  
  This would be funny if not so scarey.
  
  So many angles too.
  
  A Melbourne cop pulls a gun in the street to shoot an animal lying on the ground, and misses with his first shot.
  
  Decides to shoot rather than maybe throw a blanket on the roo to secure him.
  
  Good thing it was just a roo not a mentally ill person, he’d have got the whole magazine.
  
  Again, am I missing something here?
  
  Reply
Sam of Sydney says:

08:45pm | 27/01/10

Yeah ... you are.
It was on Tram Tracks, with a Tram coming, sure it would have been much more humane to put a blanket on it, while it squashed.
Steve of Cornubia says:

09:35am | 28/01/10

Yes, you are missing something - a dose of reality and a newsflash: YOU WEREN’T THERE.
Terry says:

10:58am | 28/01/10

@Jack Thomas. What a ridiculous collection of assumptions, stereotypes and hyperbole…... As for whether you may be “missing something here”, its a pretty safe bet!
Jack Thomas says:

03:12pm | 28/01/10

Not sure about a dog whistle, but my post has sure rustled up the “ill at ease” and other assorted nutbars.

Ok, then peanut gallery, on the basis that none of you were there either, why are you posting your views?

The photo clearly shows a fat cop taking aim at a relaxed looking marsuipial and missing from a metre away. No assumptions, or hyperbole. He’s clearly fat and clearly pointing a gun. We are told he was unable to hit the intended target with his first shot.

Is the cop fat? Yes. Is his gun less only about a metre away? Yes. Did he miss the first shot and fail to kill the roo? Yes.

Since when does a tram timetable on a public holiday mean it is ok for some fat cop to make a very poor decision?

This is in suburbia, where we have options, phones, people and education. Animals are pets, usually deserving of our sympathy.

We don’t need to shoot things to keep to a tram timetable, or because our paid public servants are too fat and lazy to bend over and pick up a furry animal.
BillionGates says:

03:32pm | 28/01/10

Good thing it was just a roo not a mentally ill person, he’d have got the whole magazine

GOLD
Lethal Weapon says:

06:14pm | 28/01/10

BillionGates,

Your comments demonstrate why lethal use of force is both necessary and appropriate in certain circumstances.
peanut gallery says:

03:21pm | 29/01/10

yeah, you’re missing the bloody obvious. Kangaroo with broken legs. What do you expect? Life saving transplant surgery? If they shoot horses with broken legs, what chance does a roo have? Why do you think it was lying down? Was it tired perhaps? No. Couldnt stand. Not overly complicated.
- formersnag says:
  
  05:01pm | 27/01/10
  
  Why anybody, ever gives any airtime to left wing nuts from PETA is beyond me? These neanderthal, numbskull’s are clearly unhinged.
  
  Reply
- Steve Smith says:
  
  05:05pm | 27/01/10
  
  I’d like to know why it was necessary to pose for the cameraman
  
  Reply
- Ann Curgenven says:
  
  05:29pm | 27/01/10
  
  Give the poor guy a break. Was he supposed to leave it there with its serious injuries to die nice and slowly in the PC way? At least the poor animal is out of its misery. Great to see all the clean-handed do-gooders having a go at the people that have the guts to do what is needed.
  
  Reply
- Kym Afford says:
  
  05:52pm | 27/01/10
  
  I had my gun taken off me by Howard and had to use a stick - on a country road where some careless hoon drove off and left the animal with a broken femur and in a terrible state.
  I did not like it, not for a moment, and don’t think the cop did!
  
  Reply
monkeytypist says:

01:51pm | 28/01/10

Right, so what injured immobile animals were you shooting that needed a semi-automatic?
- Robert says:
  
  06:04pm | 27/01/10
  
  This was a non-event. Should we stop the nation every time an animal is injured? In all honesty, I would rather see the funding put towards caring for animals towards helping disadvantaged and homeless humans.
  
  Reply
Pete says:

10:50pm | 27/01/10

Well you can help us humans overpopulate the world. For my money I’d rather help the animals when they need it. There’s enough room for both. Having said that, from what I read, the copper did the right thing in this situation.
- iansand says:
  
  06:25pm | 27/01/10
  
  Cop wants to make sure the ‘roo dies, and shoots twice. Quite frankly, if I had to be killed that way I would want the whole clip emptied into my head as quickly as possible to be sure to be sure.
  
  Reply
- Bewildered says:
  
  06:45pm | 27/01/10
  
  I’m with you Jack. Go post on the Sun Herald. It’s full of thugs and it could use some sanity.
  
  Reply
- T.Chong says:
  
  06:49pm | 27/01/10
  
  Well youse are all obviosly a bunch of RedBull sipping inner city Righties!!
  Fortunately, Greys are as common as muck any where over the other side of the GDR,but most you Right Punchers never go off road in yur Pajeros, or out of your upper (of course) middle class suburbs.
  Wake Up, all yous , the real oz is outside yur cities.
  Love It or Leave It
  
  Reply
- A country member says:
  
  07:13pm | 27/01/10
  
  Leo,
  Thanks for the article.
  I was nearly beside myself with all the rubbish I heard on the radio this afternoon.Thank god for Maudes comment.
  But then again maybe an international meeting of world leaders,a few wacky NGO’s etc may calm the situation.Wont Kevin say something - anything?
  
  Reply
- TB says:
  
  07:54pm | 27/01/10
  
  “Right so if the first shot fails do we leave then decide Joey McCutie deserves a chance?
  
  Or is Dr Wirth suggesting that we get better at shooting Kangaroos with more practice?”
  
  My sarcasm detection unit seems to be operating today, but in case it isn’t, surely you’ve heard such adages as “Measure twice, cut once,” or “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”
  
  Dr Wirth could have chosen his words a bit more wisely, but my interpretation is that he’s (rightfully) bagging the cop for sloppy marksmanship. Granted, one should not expect law enforcement officers to know how to humanely blow Skippy’s brains out (which goes back to the issue Jack Thomas raised - why the hell wasn’t somebody more qualified called in?), at the end of the day I’m left wondering why such a stink has been made over something that is, at best, a 6pm Melbourne news story.
  
  On a side note, all this discussion of Victorian police officers and firearm usage reminds me of a (somewhat crude) joke my old boss once told me:
  
  “Knock, knock”
  “Who’s there?”
  *BANG!* “Victoria Police”
  “...”
  
  Reply
- Zing says:
  
  08:20pm | 27/01/10
  
  Yes Jack Thomas you are missing something here…
  
  Intelligence.
  
  Reply
- Vicki PS says:
  
  09:17pm | 27/01/10
  
  You’ve been watching too much TV, Jack Thomas. Throw a blanket on the roo to secure him? Yeah, right. Donuts? Pure NYPD Blue.
  I’ve been a wildlife volunteer who’s tried to get help to euthanise an animal. If you can get someone to come out right then with just a couple of phone calls, bloody good luck to you. And by the way, it’s only on TV that the cops get it right with the first shot every time.
  
  Reply
- Lisa says:
  
  09:57pm | 27/01/10
  
  I wish the RSPCA would stop pursuing the soft targets, and go for the real cruelty cases: farmers. Farmers who are happy to have their dairy cows labour with calf until both mother and calf diel; farmers that attempt to get a calf out with a tractor, rather than calling the local vet; farmers that refuse to get their herd swabbed annually to ensure the mammary antibiotics they are using are effectivel; farmers that have their dairy cows suffer from severe mammary infection and malnutrition, to the point where they must be killed, rather than attended to correctly. All of these practices should be stamped out.
  Local vets, with a wealth of information for good farming practice, are ignored and pressured for over-the-counter antibiotics. Farmer cost-saving has not only killed the rural veterinary industry, it is hurting the animals as well. Dairy cows should not have to labour until they die, nor should they be expected to have their calves hauled out with a tractor. It is just plain wrong.
  
  Reply
- brett says:
  
  10:19pm | 27/01/10
  
  Yeah they must have run out of 15 year old boys to shoot.
  
  Reply
- fluffy says:
  
  01:13am | 28/01/10
  
  Amazing scenes here in Toronto a few weeks back. The local SPCA raided the Toronto Humane Society and arrested the mangement on charges of cruelty to animals. Turns out the “Humane” Society prefers to see animals starve to death rather than putting them down.
  
  Reply
- Max says:
  
  02:39am | 28/01/10
  
  I wonder if there was a human injured instead of the Kangaroo.
  
  We decide what is right and what is wrong. The kangaroo did not.
  
  And the number of humans is rising towards 7,000,000,000 (that`s 7 billions)
  
  Reply
- JJJ says:
  
  06:41am | 28/01/10
  
  Great article, Leo. Thanks! Finally, someone with some sense!
  
  It amuses me that humans make judgements of a situation they were not in, without all the details. Although the photo is a little strange. The roo doesn’t look too hurt to me, nor like it’s ‘thrashing around’ & if the cop posed for the pic & it wasn’t just ‘snapped by a passer-by’, then it all seems a little staged.
  
  But hey, I wasn’t there and I am sure the cop did the best job of what he thought was right. It’s sad, but that’s life.
  
  Reply
- John Adams says:
  
  07:47am | 28/01/10
  
  I just think it’s funny he’s wearing gloves. If he’s not up to something sinister, why doesn’t he want to leave his prints? Maybe the roo was going to blow the whistle on police corruption and needed silencing?
  
  Reply
- Bill says:
  
  07:56am | 28/01/10
  
  I think it’s funnier that people’s imagination runs away with themselves. It’s his gun, he takes it everywhere, it’s issued to him, has a traceable serial number and can be forensically proven to have both fired a projectile and as coming from his weapon.
  
  Do you think he might be wearing gloves because after he shoots it he has to pick the animal up and move it or did you just think he was going to leave it in the middle of the tram tracks and leave? Lice, blood, internal matter, who wants to rub their bare hands in that?
  
  Reply
- fox says:
  
  08:22am | 28/01/10
  
  I think the cop did exactly the right thing - he tried to get animal control and no one was available so he did the humane thing and put it out of its misery.
  
  I have 2 beloved pet dogs. If they were in the same situation as this roo then i would expect the cop to do the same thing.
  
  Reply
- Sper D says:
  
  09:39am | 28/01/10
  
  Where’s a ute with 20 spotlights and half a dozen shotgun toting drunkards when you need it?
  
  Reply
- Dani says:
  
  10:19am | 28/01/10
  
  Why is the word humane always used when we’re talking about animals?
  
  Reply
- cats says:
  
  11:11am | 28/01/10
  
  What i find funny about this whole thing is that everyone seems to think its ok to put an animal out of its misery (me included) yet most people are against putting humans out of their misery when they want to be put out of their misery. How is that humane?
  
  As long as the roo was mortally injured, then i’m ok with the cop shooting it. However in the picture, i gotta say that the roo does not look too bad. I wasn’t there so i don’t know. But i can’t even see any blood on that roo.
  
  Reply
Steve of Cornubia says:

01:37pm | 28/01/10

Most wild animals do a pretty good job of hiding sickness or injury - it’s a survival instinct designed to avoid the attentions of predators and carrion-feeders. The very fact that this roo was not trying to escape is itself strong evidence of severe injury.
- westie says:
  
  11:15am | 28/01/10
  
  The roo had been hit by a vehicle, had a shattered leg and severe internal injuries and would have died in agony within an hour.
  
  So just what did the cop do wrong? Nothing, he did the only thing possible, and would not have enjoyed it any more than some of the prissy commentators who weren’t there.
  
  Reply
- IMHO says:
  
  03:17pm | 28/01/10
  
  Reminds me of that scene in Me, Myself and Irene, when Jim Carrey’s character, a police officer, shoots (repeatedly and unsuccessfully) at a dying cow by the side of the road! Nearly wet me pants….
  
  Sorry, it’s a serious topic I know, I know….
  
  Reply
- Thank you! says:
  
  05:11pm | 28/01/10
  
  These are the funniest posts I have ever read - Leo thank you for bringing up a topic that obviously rattled everyones jocks… This has made the last hour fly by brilliantly!
  
  Firstly, for anyone that knows anything about the media, photographers, especially in a country town, are generally around ALL THE TIME or are at least close by… this was obviously taken in a town, where the photographer was most probably on another story and happened to take this photo OR it could have been a general passer by taking the photo and sending it in to the newspaper (both very plausable and more likable situations).
  
  Secondly, the cop was a bit stuck. He either grabbed his mobile phone, waited 30 seconds for it to ring, finally get through to the person on the other end, explain the situation, listen to what to and then BAM, the train gets there and the kangaroo is dead anyway. And then all you people would have been sitting here saying “why didn’t the cop do something, or shoot the Kangaroo to put him out of his misery?”. Or the cop could have jumped in last minute, saved the Kangaroo and risked his own life - I wonder which of you whinging sobs would have put up your hand to tell his family that their beloved husband, father and son died trying to save a kangaroo’s life when he had a broken foot?
  The fact he shot the kangaroo twice, who really gives a sh**! Frankly, he shot it once, it either died, or it didnt - but it already had a bullet in its head and was suffering so he should shoot it twice. I dont know how many of you have actually held a gun, but they aren’t easy to shoot with and cops are not trained to kill but rather trained to stop.
  
  Anyway, I want to thank you all for this entertaining event. I love animals as much as the next person, but I think those of you crying over this, need to open your fury little eyes and simply shut up… go put your effort to a better cause like the creatures who are really suffering in Haiti.
  
  Reply
Rod says:

10:01pm | 28/01/10

It would surprise many, how many wildlife/vehicle collisions occur. Early Boxing day 09 I had to ring for the police to put down badly injured juvenile roo.The poor little bugger just didn’t realise its leg was broken and kept hopping about with a hideous bone protruding.The cops were very prompt and put the roadinjured out of its misery. Seeing the shot , it gave me a new respect for police - non one in their right mind should ever give the cops any reason to hit you in the thickest part of your body with a .38 Special ,or whatever they use. Its better than using a tyre lever as once happened often in the bush. I say, watch out for wildlife.
I suggest the Australian Transport Safety Bureau should look into making infra-red monitors in cars more affordable. In the same way Navmans are catching on. This would not only prevent millions of dollars of vehicle repairs; but also help avoid pedestrians being struck at night by vehicles.
Coxy says:

07:28am | 29/01/10

Rod. That would have to have been in Victoria. Victorian cops love their guns. Shoot first ask questions later. Funny how they were prompt to show up and take an opportunity to get the gun out, but when someone rings up because their next door neighbour’s house is getting knocked off it takes them half a day. I do agree with them shooting the injured roo though, just love bagging Victorian cops.
- Bill says:
  
  05:26am | 29/01/10
  
  Why aren’t our Police trained in performing life saving emergency surgery especially of the veterinary kind? They could have set up a theatre right there and performed the operation. They need more skills and the massive expenditure would surely be worth it in the end!
  
  Reply
- Anne Graham says:
  
  10:14am | 29/01/10
  
  How many shots does it take at point blank range? Do your job properly.
  
  Reply
- Terry says:
  
  10:27am | 29/01/10
  
  They knocked back your application, hey Coxy.
  
  Reply
- Bill says:
  
  10:30am | 29/01/10
  
  How many pistols have you fired Anne Graham?
  
  Reply
- Badger says:
  
  11:40am | 29/01/10
  
  I would have shot it with a 22 Rife in the head if I was allowed to carry it in my car as we were once, but not now since Johny Howard made us all Criminals for owning a gun a few years ago.
  I grew up on a farm in the Depression, & used a gun from the age of 6yrs old to shot Rabbits and Kangaroos to rid our property of the them. I pity the Policeman for not knowing where to shoot the animal for the best result and no cruelty involved.
  
  Reply
- Simba says:
  
  12:17pm | 01/02/10
  
  probably a bit late now, but those nimrods complaining about the two shots. you are actually trained to fire twice; it is called a double tap. Additionally, that Smith and Wesson revolver that the officer is using is useless. Renowned for total inaccuracy even at point blank range. Why on earth are these officers saddled with 200 year old gun design when far more accurate pistols are available?
  The wowsers need to get a grip. This animal was ‘dead animal sitting’. The officer did the correct thing.
  
  Reply
- Kay says:
  
  02:14pm | 23/02/10
  
  Has anyone of you considered the death of joey when the roo is shot? One shot, two lives!! If the cop could remove the injured kangaroo to a safer place and waited for a Wildlife ranger, we would have more chance to save one of the lives at least. It’s just a small, lovely live! What has it done wrong to be killed before it was born? It was such an innocent child which could have been comfortably living in the punch and freely growing up like any of the babies in ur family.
  
  Reply

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57 comments

Ben Gray says:

Leonid says:

H of SA says:

Goose says:

VEE says:

Maude Flanders says:

A country member says:

Elizabeth says:

island view says:

Barry says:

fat bustard says:

Jack Thomas says:

Sam of Sydney says:

Steve of Cornubia says:

Terry says:

Jack Thomas says:

BillionGates says:

Lethal Weapon says:

peanut gallery says:

formersnag says:

Steve Smith says:

Ann Curgenven says:

Kym Afford says:

monkeytypist says:

Robert says:

Pete says:

iansand says:

Bewildered says:

T.Chong says:

A country member says:

TB says:

Zing says:

Vicki PS says:

Lisa says:

brett says:

fluffy says:

Max says:

JJJ says:

John Adams says:

Bill says:

fox says:

Sper D says:

Dani says:

cats says:

Steve of Cornubia says:

westie says:

IMHO says:

Thank you! says:

Rod says:

Coxy says:

Bill says:

Anne Graham says:

Terry says:

Bill says:

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