alextoo

I have watched several programmes on Australia recently, the last being Holiday on BBC1 on thursday. There seem to be lots of people and groups who rescue animals who have been injured and marsupial babies whose mothers have been killed on the roads. The lady with the baby possum on Holiday said that she and others regularly picked up babies that they had found in their dead mothers pouches. This seems to be a big problem and it gives the impression that Australian drivers don't seem to care about any animals that they hit and simply leave them to die.
Any thoughts please

Alex

sally1968

Don't think that Oz drivers don't care just think that it is a part of Oz life. How many drivers here would stop for a hedgehog? They may be smaller but it really is the same thing.

Sally

Terry

On my drive into london some mornings it is like a slaughter house, and no one stops to help. I guess it is just one of those things, I tend to avoid most animals as I keep a lookout for the deer but they they also get hit quite often. But people tend to stop afterwards.

Terry

cresta57

There was a time when local authorities cleared away some the masses of "road kill" apparently they no longer do and the stench from rotting carcasses along some stretches of highway is bloody awful. We were in Queensland for 6 weeks and until the last week the only roo's we saw were the bloated rotting ones littering the verges of the Bruce highway.
They seem to be treated much the same as rats are in the U.K, sorry to burst your bubble but they're plague proportions in a lot of places. The situation was made worse by the recent prolonged drought as the grazing land became more scarce.

bored_bean

There's a product called shooroo. It's basically a set of speakers that go on the front of your car and scare them off the road before they get caught in your headlights. It looks interesting.

Don

Saw loads of roadkill in QLD. Got a couple myself without even trying! Actually, killing quite big mammals shocked me a bit, there's not much you can do (in my case it was about 3 seconds: boing, boing, splat) and I started driving behind those big lorries when I was in the wilder parts. Let the roadtrain get them instead.

Saw loads in NZ too, whch was good at least for feeding the falcons.

Cheers - Don

pommie bastard

To be a true Aussie get a bull bar that would kill a charging bull , these car protectors do a good job killing humans as well .
One of my mates drove back from the North of WA and he got Roo fever which means instead of driving away from the Roos , ended up knocking them down because his eyes were drawn to them.
Then you get the big white hunters who kill for sport half a carton and anything is fair game.

BritboyNZ

You wont find any of that "aww cute little possum" mentality in NZ. The bloody things are pests and should all be exterminated. It's been estimated that the 70 million of the manky things eat 22,000 TONNES of native vegetation every night

Nothing like a nice possum down jummie to keep u warm in winter:
www.fromnz.co.nz/possum_article.htm


For those who still think they're cute & cuddly:
www.arc.govt.nz/arc/library/e16348_2.pdf

booboo1

:scared:

I know this may upset you but I know a few peeps in Aus who enjoy running the wildlife over. It seems to be a bit of a past time for some.

BooBoo

Megalania

I prefer them plain BBQed or Thai style baked.

What are they like Hungi style?

Any favorite recipes?

Florida_03

Nothing quite as satisfying as the POP of Toad under Radial on the drive home after a brisk night shower...

BritboyNZ

Have heard that Cajun Possum Chilli is rather good:

http://bertc.com/possum.htm


Got to go, just heard the very reassuring *SNAP* of the Timms Trap down the bottom of the garden. or was that another one of next doors cats?

Megalania

Never did understand the ingratitude of the Kiwis. Let them have a pair of our best eating possums and they turn around and hiss at us about pests and such.

Imagine the cost (and inconvenience) of living in a cold country like NZ without a nightly feed of possum conveniently self delivered to your back door.

And possums are just the right size too, try eating a whole sheep at one sitting, or a cow.

alextoo

Hi Britboynz, Megalania, Florida03 and all other "animal lovers"

Let me guess - 25-35, very short or nonexistant hair, several tatoo's and plenty of V signs,waving of fists and screaming obsenities at other road users if they dare to get too near to you?

As far as I'm concerned the real pests are the idiots like you who have no thought for anything outside of their own sad little world.
You're no better than the Badger baiters and fox hunters.

Here's an idea - put you all on your own private island and let you knock each other down. Who would care?

Alex

cresta57

I suppose you being an "animal lover" are more than happy to co-exist with the rodent problem in the U.K and elsewhere and are quite happy with rats running around your feet. I for one am not! Wiels disease [leptospirosis] is a terrible thing my boss was lucky enough to recover another acquaintance was not. They also carry tuberculosis, salmonella and gastro- enteritis, but hey as an "animal lover" you probably think those diseases and Sars virus have just as much right to live on the planet as we humans do.
GET REAL girl some animals have reached plague proportion they are classed as pests/they need to be controlled!. If the sight of a few dead animals at the side of the road abhors you then maybe you're a little to "soft" for Australia.
Before I get the spiel about them only reaching the current population due to the amount food waste dropped by litter louts well they're plague proportions as well and could do with a little selective thinning out.
Sean
Did I have a bad day? Damn right I did!!!!!!!!!!!!1