More than 4000 kangaroos shot in Canberra cull

The cull saw 4035 roos shot dead, the government announced on Friday.

The largest amount of the roos, 1157, were shot in the Mount Ainslie and Mount Majura nature reserves.

The Mulanggari Grasslands in Gungahlin saw 90 roos culled, the lowest amount.

ACT Parks acting director Justin Foley said the culls were a matter of balancing the ecosystem for all native species, including native grasses and reptiles threatened by over grazing.

Mr Foley said Mount Ainslie and Mount Majura reserves had seen the highest number of roos shot because those reserves had faced the highest grazing pressure.

"If you look around here today, you can see we've got grass that's been eaten down to nothing," Mr Foley said.

THE CULL, BY THE NUMBERS

He said the numbers represented a "significant proportion" of the kangaroo population inside the reserve.

"There will be ongoing monitoring. We will be monitoring both the kangaroo populations and their recovery, but also the ecosystems."

The cull started on May 7 with a target of 4076 roos, which Mr Foley said was based on science.

This averaged about 50 roos shot per day between May 7 and July 26, the official end of the cull.

"I'd just like to stress that kangaroos are a really important part of our ecosystems. They're a valued species," Mr Foley said.

But environments in Canberra were conducive to eastern grey kangaroos, where they bred quickly and became unsustainable in an ecosystem where they had no natural predators, he said.

Mr Foley said further culls would be necessary over the years, especially considering the drought conditions gripping the capital.

"The drought certainly puts pressure on the kangaroo populations to sustain high numbers," Mr Foley said.

He said kangaroo populations increased very quickly after seasons which saw plenty of rainfall, but Canberra had seen three dry seasons in a row.

"There is generally a lag between boom and bust for kangaroo populations," Mr Foley said.

"The available food for the populations has diminished."

Mr Foley said research was continuing for an infertility treatment for roos.

"We'd like to think in years to come it could play a bigger part in the management of kangaroo numbers," Mr Foley said.

Shooting teams were joined by a government vet who ensured the kangaroos had been culled humanely, Mr Foley said.

He said parks staff respected "alternative views" against the cull but said parks had a responsibility to manage the ecosystem.

"It's really important to remember that it's a conservation cull and that's the driver for this," Mr Foley said.

"We also have to balance the other critical environmental objectives."

Mr Foley said parks had been conducting the cull for 11 years. He would not comment on where the bodies were disposed.