animal welfare assessment of kangaroo culling - australian

Animalwelfareassessmentofkangarooculling:ACT2017

AnimalWelfareAssessmentofKangarooCulling:

AustralianCapitalTerritory,2017

November2017

JordanHamptonEcotoneWildlifeVeterinaryServices

BrendanCowledAusvetPtyLtd

ausvet


EcotoneWildlifeVeterinaryServices&AusvetPtyLtd

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ContactDetailsName: JordanHamptonCompany: EcotoneExtensionPtyLtd,tradingasEcotoneWildlifeVeterinaryServicesABN: 63608284582E–mail: [email protected]: BrendanCowledCompany: AusvetPtyLtdABN: 64613142939E–mail: brendan@ausvet.com.auDisclaimerTheinformationcontainedinthisreporthasbeenprovidedonthebasisthattherecipientassumesthesoleresponsibilityfortheinterpretationandapplicationofit.EcotoneWildlifeVeterinaryServicesgivesnowarranty,expressor implied,orassumesany legal liabilityorresponsibilityfortheaccuracy,completenessoruseoftheconceptsandcommentscontainedinthisreportbytherecipientoranythirdparty.



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EXECUTIVESUMMARYThisreportdescribedanindependentanimalwelfareassessmentofthe2017AustralianCapitalTerritorykangaroomanagementprogram.Thereportisintwoparts;Part1:descriptiveanalysisandauditingofcompliancewithproceduraldocuments(JordanHampton:EcotoneWildlifeVeterinaryServices)andPart2:dataanalysisofexplanatoryvariablesinfluencinganimalwelfareoutcomes(BrendanCowled:AusvetPtLtd).Part1ofthereportdescribesfieldobservationsperformedbytwoindependentveterinariansof338kangaroosthatwereshotatoversixnightsinMay−June2017.Importantanimalwelfareparameterswerequantifiedincludingthefrequencyofshotsmissingkangaroos,ofanimalsescaping,andofinaccurateshots.Generally,animalwelfareoutcomeswerecomparabletootherprofessionalshootingprograms.Theguidingproceduraldocument,theNationalcodeofpracticeforthehumaneshootingofkangaroosandwallabiesfornon-commercialpurposes(theCOP)wascompliedwithinallaspects.Aminorityofkangaroosweremissed(4%),killedbutnotrenderedimmediatelyinsensiblebyinitialshooting(4%),ornon-fatallywounded(1%).Theseoutcomeswereconsideredtoconstitute‘adverseanimalwelfareevents’anddataanalysiswasperformedtodeterminewhichvariablesbestexplainedtheiroccurrence.Part2ofthereportdescribesdataanalysisperformedtoelucidatetheroleofseveralexplanatoryvariablesininfluencingtheoccurrenceofadverseanimalwelfareevents.Variablesexaminedincludedanimalvariables(age,sex),shootingvariables(calibre,opticsetc.),andoperationalvariables(consecutivenightsofshooting,minimumtemperatureetc.)Modellingrevealedthatshooteridentity,inferredasshooterskill,wasmostlikelytoaffecttheprobabilityofanadverseoutcome.Inaddition,thesexofanimalswasakeyfactorforadverseoutcomes,withmalekangarooslesslikelytoberenderedimmediatelyinsensiblethanfemales.However,therewereun-recordedvariables(shootingdistanceetc.)thatwereresponsibleforinfluencingthelikelihoodofadverseanimalwelfareoutcomes.Threerecommendationsweremade:1. ForcontinuingcompliancewiththeCOP,currentlyusedshootingprotocolsshouldbemaintained.2. Themanagingagencyshouldexamineshooterselectionandtrainingastheidentityoftheshooteristhemostimportantvariableindeterminingwelfareoutcomes.3. Shootersshouldexerciseadditionalcautionwhentargetingmalekangaroosastheyaremorelikelytoexperienceadverseanimalwelfareoutcomes.



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CONTENTS

PART1:OBSERVATIONSANDPROCEDURALCOMPLIANCE……………………………………….…….51.1. Introduction..........................................................................................................51.2. Methods...............................................................................................................51.2.1. Studyarea.............................................................................................................61.2.2. Shootingconfigurationobservations....................................................................61.2.3. Ante-mortemobservations..................................................................................71.2.4. Post-mortemobservations...................................................................................7

1.3. Results..................................................................................................................81.3.1. Shootingconfiguration.........................................................................................81.3.2. Ante-mortemdata................................................................................................81.3.3. Post-mortemexamination..................................................................................10

1.4. Discussion...........................................................................................................111.4.1. CompliancewiththeCodeofPractice................................................................111.4.2. Animalwelfareoutcomes...................................................................................12

1.5. Conclusions.........................................................................................................121.6. Recommendations..............................................................................................12PART2:ANALYSISOFEXPLANATORYVARIABLES……………………………………………..….…...132.1 Background.........................................................................................................142.2 Methods.............................................................................................................142.3 Results................................................................................................................162.3.1 Analysis1:‘Alldata’............................................................................................162.3.2 Analysis2:‘Killeddata’.......................................................................................22

2.4 Conclusions.........................................................................................................272.5 Recommendations………………………………………….……………….………………………………..262.6 References..........................................................................................................28



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PART1:OBSERVATIONSANDPROCEDURALCOMPLIANCEJordanHampton

EcotoneWildlifeVeterinaryServices

IntroductionPopulationsofkangaroos(Macropusspp.)reachhighdensitiesonconservationestateinmanypartsofAustralia(Howlandetal.2014)andareoftensubjectedtoongoingreduction,or‘culling’programs(Mawsonetal.2016).Peri-urbanpopulationsofeasterngreykangaroos(M.giganteus)intheAustralianCapitalTerritory(ACT)havebeensubjectedtoongoingreductionprogramsforthisreason(ACTGovernment2010).Todate,reductionofkangaroopopulationsdeemedoverabundanthasbeenlargelyachievedbynon-commercialor“damage-mitigation”professionalshooting(describedinHamptonandForsyth2016).TheeasterngreykangaroointheACTisdeclaredacontrollednativespeciesundertheNatureConservationAct2014.Theuseofground-basednightshooting(shooting)asamanagementtoolforthereductionofkangaroopopulationdensitiesintheACTisdescribedintheEasternGreyKangaroo:ControlledNativeSpeciesManagementPlan(ACTGovernment2017).TheACTKangarooManagementPlan(ACTGovernment2010)remainsthesourcedocumentforthebackgroundandjustificationofkangaroomanagementintheACT,andisthesoleACTpolicydocumentforkangaroomanagementatGoogongForeshores,NewSouthWales(NSW). UndertheControlledNativeSpeciesManagementPlanandACTKangarooManagementPlan,allkangarooshootingprogramsarerequiredtobeconductedinaccordancewiththeNationalcodeofpracticeforthehumaneshootingofkangaroosandwallabiesfornon-commercialpurposes(hereafter‘theCOP’;CommonwealthofAustralia2008).TheCOPsetsaminimumstandardofhumaneconductforpersonsundertakingthenon-commercialcullingofkangaroos.The2017ACTkangaroomanagementprogramtargetedkangaroosinseveralperi-urbansitesintheACTaswellasonelargersiteinanadjacentareaofNSW(GoogongForeshores).TheprogramwasconductedwiththeintentofstrictadherencetothestandardsoutlinedintheCOP.TofacilitatecompliancewiththeCOPandtoallowtransparentdemonstrationofanimalwelfareoutcomes,anindependentanimalwelfareauditwasconducted.Twoveterinarians,independentoftheshootingprogram(i.e.notamemberoftheshootingteamoranemployeeofthemanagingagency)collectedante-mortem(beforedeath)andpost-mortem(afterdeath)datafromarepresentativesampleofshotanimals.Theindependenceoftheobserversfromtheshootingteamandthemanagingagencywasconsideredimportanttoprovideanunbiasedassessmentoftheprogramtostakeholdersandthegeneralpublic.Theimportanceofindependentobserversforthetransparentquantificationofanimalwelfareparametershasbeenrecognisedformanycontentiouswildlifemanagementprograms(e.g.HamptonandForsyth2016).



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MethodsMethodologyforthe2017independentanimalwelfareauditwasidenticaltothatusedtoassessthesamemanagementprogramin2015(Hampton2016).Themethodologyusedwasinitiallyderivedfrompeer-reviewedstudiesofanimalwelfareoutcomesinterrestrialwildlifeshootingprograms(Lewisetal.1997;Hamptonetal.2015;HamptonandForsyth2016).Methodswerealsoadaptedfromnon-peer-reviewedreportsthathavestudiedkangarooshooting(ACTParksandConservationService2013;McLeodandSharp2014)butwereadaptedtoensurethatselectionbiasresultingfromshooterselectionofanimalstobeassessedwasminimised(seeHamptonetal.2015).Resource-basedmeasureswereusedtoassessprotocolcompliance,andanimal-basedmeasureswereusedtoassessanimalwelfareoutcomes(Hamptonetal.2016).Oneindependentobserverwaspresentforeachassessedshootingevent,withoneobserverpresentforfournightsofshootingandtheotherobserverpresentforthreenightsofshooting.Bothobserverswerepresentforonenightofshootingtoensurethatmethodologyandinterpretationofdatawasconsistent.

StudyareaShootingeventswereobservedoversixnightsinMay−June2017.ShootingeventswereobservedatonesiteintheACT(CallumBraeNatureReserve)andonesiteinaneighbouringareaofNSW(GoogongForeshores;Table1).

ShootingconfigurationobservationsTheCOPspecifiesthatshootersshouldonlytake‘headshots’;toaimtohitadultkangaroosinthebrain,andthatjuvenile‘young-at-foot’animalsshouldbeshotsoastobehitinthebrainorheart.TheCOPspecifiesthatarifleofminimum.204Ruger®centrefirecalibreshouldbeused.TheCOPspecifiesthatimmediatelyaftershootingofadultkangaroos,pouchesofshotfemalesshouldbecheckedforthepresenceoflivepouchyoung,andifdetected,theyshouldbeeuthanasedwithbluntcranialtraumaordecapitation.Theindependentobserversrecordedthespecificationsofallequipmentusedanddocumentedproceduresfollowedbytheshootingteams.Theindependentobserversassessedshootingteamsfromthreeseparateagencies;twoagencieswereprivatecontractorsandthethirdagencywastheACTParksandConservationService.Eachshootingteamconsistedofashooterandadriver.Insomeinstances,ashooterfromaprivateagencyoperatedwithadriverfromtheACTParksandConservationService.Intotal,sevenshooterswereobservedduringtheassessment(Table1).Customisedfour-wheeldrivebuggyvehicles(withoutwindscreens)weredrivenslowly(5−10km/h),withashooteranddriversittingintheseatsandanobserverseatedbehindthem.ThevehiclewasstoppedwhenastationarykangaroowassightedandestimatedtobewithinthemaximumshootingdistancespecifiedbytheCOP(i.e.<200metres).Shootingwasnottobeundertakenfromamovingvehicle,nortargetingmovingornon-standinganimals.FollowingtheCOP,theshootershotatthecranium(brain)asthesoletargetanatomicalzoneforadultkangaroosandthebrainorthoraxastargetanatomicalzonesforsub-adults(young-at-foot).Twobolt-actionriflecalibreswereused:1).223Remington®



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rifleswereusedtofire55grainpolymer-tiphollow-pointammunition,and2).204Ruger®rifleswereusedtofire40grainpolymer-tiphollow-pointammunition.Toallowvisualisationofkangaroosfornight-timeshooting,twoilluminationapproacheswereused:1)animalswereshotatwiththeuseofwhite-lightspotlights(aspertheCOP),and2)infra-redtechnology(thermalandnight-vision)wasusedtopermitshootingwithoutspotlights(seeHamptonandForsyth2016).Furtherspecificationsoftheconfigurationofilluminationequipmenthavenotbeenpublishedtoprotecttheintellectualpropertyandanonymityoftheshootingteams.Forbothilluminationapproaches,rifleswerefittedwithtelescopicscopesaspertheCOP.Allriflesusednoisesuppressorstominimisedisturbancetonearbyhousing.Theobserversrecordedante-mortemandpost-mortemdataforallshootingeventsduringtheassessment.

Ante-mortemobservationsFromeachshootingevent,theobserverrecordedthefollowingdataasperHamptonetal.(2015)andHamptonandForsyth(2016):thenumberofshotsfiredateachanimal,whethershotshitanimals,theapparenttimetoinsensibilityforshotanimals(‘timetodeath’;TTD),whethershotanimalsdiedorescapedwounded,andwhetherkilledanimalswerefound.Assoonaspossibleaftershootingoneormorekangaroos,theanimalswereapproachedtoconfirmdeath,checkforthepresenceofpouchyoungandassessballisticpathology(bulletwoundinjuries).Animalsweresearchedforaftershootingusinginfra-redtechnologiesandlimitedwhitelightillumination.Whenadultfemalekangarooswereshot,anypouchyoungpresentwererequiredtobeeuthanasedimmediately,aspertheCOP.EuthanasiaprocedureswereperformedwiththeintentofcomplyingwiththeconditionsspecifiedbytheCOP.Toassessthiscomponentoftheoperation,observationmethodologywaslargelyderivedfromastudyofanimalwelfareoutcomesincommercialkangarooshooting(McLeodandSharp2014).Theauthorsofthisstudyarguedthatunfurredpouchyoungdonotmeetthescientificcriteriaforsentience,orthecapacitytosuffer,priortotheageoffurdevelopmentandeyeopening,duetolimitedbraindevelopment.Foradiscussionofneurologicaldevelopmentandtheonsetofsentienceinmarsupials,seeMcLeodandSharp(2014).Theprotocolusedbyallstaffinvolvedfurredandunfurredpouchyoungbeingeuthanasedviablunttrauma,whileverysmallunfurredpouchyoungwereeuthanasedusingthe‘thumbandforefinger’decapitationmethoddescribedbyMcLeodandSharp(2014).Somestaffusedasolidwoodenboardunderneaththepouchyoungwhiledeliveringblunttraumawhileothersdidnot.Foreachpouchyoungeuthanased,theobserverrecordedthefollowingdataasperMcLeodandSharp(2014)andHamptonandForsyth(2016):thenumberofpouchyoungpresent,theageclassofpouchyoung(furredorunfurred),andtheeuthanasiamethodapplied(bunttraumaand/ordecapitation).



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Table1.Logisticaldataforthecollectionofanimalwelfaredatafromthenon-commercialshootingofeasterngreykangaroos(Macropusgiganteus)inperi-urbanconservationestateintheACTandNSW,May−June2017.Observers,shootersandagenciesaredesignatedbynumbersratherthanbyname.Nightofobservations

Observer Shooteragency

Driveragency

Shootersobserved

Fieldsite Animalsshotat(n)

1 1 1 1 1,2,3 CallumBraeNatureReserve 51

2 1 2 2 4 GoogongForeshores 70

3 1 1 1 1,3 CallumBraeNatureReserve 27

4 1,2 2 2 5 GoogongForeshores 69



Total 338

Post-mortemobservationsAdultkangaroosweresubjectedtopost-mortemexaminationassoonasthevehiclecontainingtheshooter/driverandobserverapproachedtheirbody.Theobserverrecordedtheageofeachanimal(adultorsub-adult),thesexoftheanimal,andthelocationandnumberofbulletwoundtracts.LocationsofbulletwoundswererecordedfollowingthemethodologyofHamptonetal.(2015).Thepouchesofadultfemalekangarooswereinspected.

ResultsObservationsweremadeforatotalof338kangaroosthatwereshotatoversixnights,betweenthe29thofMayandthe24thofJune2017.Onlyoneshootingteamwasassessedoneachnightofobservations.ThenumberofkangarooshootingeventsobservedoneachnightoftheassessmentareshowninTable1,asarethefieldsite,observerandshootingteamforthatnight.



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Table2.Summaryofante-mortemdata(asperHamptonandForsyth2016)collectedfromthenon-commercialshootingofeasterngreykangaroos(Macropusgiganteus)inperi-urbanconservationestateintheACTandNSW,May−June2017.

Category Samplesize(n)

Numberofanimalstargeted 338

Numberofanimalsshot 324

Numberofanimalsrecovered 322

Numberofanimalsrenderedimmediatelyinsensible 309

Numberofanimalsescapingunwounded 14

Numberofanimalsnotrenderedimmediatelyinsensibleandkilledbyblunttrauma 6

Numberofanimalsmissedandthenshot 4

Numberofanimalsnotrenderedimmediatelyinsensibleandshotmultipletimes 3

Numberofanimalsescapingwounded 2

Numberofanimalsassumedtobekilledbutnotrecoveredduringobservations 0

ShootingconfigurationThefirearmsandammunitionusedbytheshootersaredescribedin2.2(above),andcompliedwiththeCOP.Onallshootingnightsobserved,thefirearmusedwasconfirmedtobezeroedpriortouse(andoftenduringnight)aspertheCOP.

Ante-mortemdataOversixnights,atotalof338kangaroosweretargeted(shotat).TheshootingoutcomesareshowninTable2,asperHamptonetal.(2015)andHamptonandForsyth(2016).Allkangarooswerestationaryandstandingpriortoshooting.Atotalof348shotswerefired,with21shotsobservedtomissanimalsentirely,hence94%ofshotsstruckkangaroos(n=327).Onfouroccasionswhereaninitialshotmissed,thetargetedkangaroowaskilledwithasubsequentshot.Allotherkangaroosthatweremissedwereobservedtoescapeuninjured(n=14).Threeanimalswereshotasecondtime,afterinitialshootingdidnotrenderthemimmediatelyinsensible(wounding).Anothersixkangarooswerenotrenderedinsensiblefromthefirstshot,butwererecumbentandimmobile,werekilledviablunttraumaratherthanrepeatshooting(aspertheCOP).Twokangarooswereshotatandappearedtobehit(wounding)butsubsequentshotsfailedtokillthem.Thesetwoanimalswerepresumedto



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havebeennon-fatallyinjured(Table2).Mediantimetodeath(TTD;thedurationfrominitialshootingtoinsensibility;Hamptonetal.2015)foranimalsthatwerekilledbutnotrenderedimmediatelyinsensible(n=9)was60seconds(range5−300seconds).Allothershotanimals(n=309)wererenderedimmediatelyinsensiblefromthefirstshot,basedonobservation.Instantaneousdeathrate(IDR;theproportionofkilledanimalsrenderedimmediatelyinsensible;Hamptonetal.2015),excludingthefouranimalsthatwerefirstmissedbutthenrenderedimmediatelyinsensible,washence96%.Twokangarooswereobservedtobenon-fatallywoundedandescaped,hence‘woundingrate’(Hamptonetal.2015)was0.6%.Thenumberofkangaroosshotandkilledbeforeshootingteamscollectedthemandperformedpost-morteminspectionsrangedfrom1−7animals(Table3).Onasingleoccasion,ashotandkilledkangaroocouldnotimmediatelybefoundbytheshootingteam.Thisanimalwaslocatedapproximatelytwohoursaftershooting.Shootingteamsconfirmedthesexandspeciesofallshotkangaroos,andinspectedthepouchesofallshotfemalekangaroosforpouchyoung.

Post-mortemexamination

ShotanimalsOfthe322kangaroosthatwereshotandkilled,allwerefoundbytheshootingteams.Hence,322animalswereavailableforpost-mortemexamination.Thesexratiooftheshotanimalswasfemale-biased(70:30).Sub-adultanimals(undevelopedtesticlesinmalesandundevelopedmammaryglandsinfemales)represented29%ofshotkangaroos(n=93)with71%(n=229)ofshotkangaroosclassifiedasadults.Allbutthreeexaminedanimals(99%;n=319)hadasinglebulletwoundtract,whilethreeanimalsdisplayedtwobulletwoundtracts.Oneofthekangaroosthatwasshottwicewasinitiallyshotinthelowerjaw(mandible)andwassubsequentlyshotinthecranium.Theotherkangaroosthatwereshottwicewereinitiallyshotinthelowerjaw(mandible)andwassubsequentlyshotinthethorax(aspertheCOP).Ofthe324bulletwoundtractsexamined,93%(n=320)affectedthebrainwhile7%(n=24)didnot.Bulletwoundtractsoutsidethebrainaffectedtheanteriorventralneck,theanteriorcentralneck(firstandsecondcervicalvertebrae),theorbit(eyesocket),thepinna(externalears)andthethorax.PouchyoungAtotalof165adultfemalekangarooswereinspectedforthepresenceofpouchyoung.Oftheseadultfemaleanimals,161(98%)hadonepouchyoungpresent,whilefour(2%)adultfemaleshadnopouchyoungpresent.Nofemaleswereobservedwithmorethanonepouchyoung.Ofpouchyoungdetected,76%(n=122)wereunfurredand24%(n=39)werefurred.Thevastmajorityofpouchyoung(99%)wereeuthanasedviablunttrauma,andtwoverysmallpouchyoungweredecapitatedusingthe‘thumbandforefinger’decapitationmethoddescribedbyMcLeodandSharp(2014).Whenblunttraumawasused,asolidboardwasplacedunder75%(n=121)ofpouchyoung.However,aboardwasnotusedfortheother



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25%(n=40)ofpouchyoung,constitutingallofthepouchyoungprocessedbyoneshooterononenightofobservations.Table3.Summaryoflogisticsforpost-mortemcollectionofeasterngreykangaroos(Macropusgiganteus)culledvianon-commercialshootinginperi-urbanconservationestateintheACTandNSW,May−June2017.

Numberofkangarooskilledbeforecollection Frequency(n)

1 61

2 96

3 48

4 60

5 30

6 12

7 14

Notrecoveredimmediately* 1

*Thiskangaroowasrecoveredbytheshootingteamapproximatelytwohoursaftershooting.

Theshootingteamswereobservedtocheckalleuthanasedpouchyoungtoconfirmdeathimmediatelyaftereuthanasiaprocedureshadbeenperformed.Nopreviouslyundetectedpouchyoungwerefoundbytheindependentobserversandnopouchyoungwerefoundtobealiveaftereuthanasiaprocedureshadbeenperformed.

Discussion CompliancewiththeCodeofPractice

ThekangaroocullingoperationwasobservedtobecompliantwithallaspectsoftheCOPforthenon-commercialshootingofkangaroos.Thefirearms,ammunitionandshootingproceduresusedtotargetkangaroosmettherequirementsoftheCOP.Themajority(94%)ofshotsfiredstruckkangaroos.Ofkangaroosthatwerekilled,97%wererenderedimmediatelyinsensiblefromthefirstshotfiredatthem.Themajority(93%)ofbulletwoundtractsinkilledkangarooscausedgrossballisticpathologytothebrain.Forkangaroosnotrenderedimmediatelyinsensible,eitherrepeat



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shootingorblunttraumawereusedasfollow-upkillingmethods.BothapproachesareallowedundertheCOP,whichstates“Incircumstanceswhere,fordispatchofaninjuredkangarooorwallaby,ashottoeitherthebrainorheartisimpracticalorunsafe(suchaswhentheanimalismovingbutnotabletostand),aheavyblowtothebaseoftheskullwithsufficientforcetodestroythebrain(seeSchedule2)ispermissible.”(CommonwealthofAustralia2008:pg.12).TheapproachestakentoinjuredkangarooswereconsistentwiththeCOP,whichstates“Whereanindividualkangarooorwallabyisinjured,nofurtheranimalscanbeshotuntilallreasonableeffortshavebeenmadetolocateandkilltheinjuredanimal”(CommonwealthofAustralia2008:pg.8).Onekangaroowasshotandassumedkilledbutwasnotrecovered(found)forapproximatelytwohoursbytheshootingteamduringobservations.Thiskangaroowasanadultmale,andhencedidnothavepouchyoung,buttheanimal’ssexwasnotknownuntilthebodywasfound.TheCOPstatesthat“shotfemalekangaroosmustbeexaminedforpouchyoungimmediatelyaftershooting”(CommonwealthofAustralia2008:pg.8).Otherstudieshaveobservedalowfrequencyofshotkangaroosnotbeingrecoveredbyshootingteams,includingthoseofMcLeodandSharp(2014)andHamptonandForsyth(2016).Themajority(98%)ofadultfemalekangaroosshothadpouchyoung,butmostpouchyoung(76%)wereunfurred,andhencewerenotconsideredsentient.Forpouchyoungeuthanasia,theuseofblunttraumaanddecapitationwerecompliantwiththeCOP.

AnimalwelfareoutcomesThepercentageofkangaroosrenderedimmediatelyinsensible(IDR;96%)washigherthanformostpublishedstudiesofwildlifeshooting(e.g.93%,Lewisetal.1997;60%,Hamptonetal.2015),andwassimilartothatobservedforthesamemanagementprogramin2015(IDR98%;n=139;Hampton2016).Thenon-fatalwoundingandescapeofanimalsoccurswithnearlyallexaminedshootingmethods(Hamptonetal.2015),includingkangarooshooting(McLeodandSharp2014)and0.6%ofkangarooswereobservedtobenon-fatallywoundedinthisstudy.Forcomparison,McLeodandSharp(2014)reportedanincidenceof0.3%fornon-fatalwoundingofkangaroosduringcommercialshooting.Itshouldbenotedthatitcanbedifficulttodistinguishminornon-fatalwoundingfrommissedshotsinfieldstudies(Pierceetal.2015),particularlywithnight-timeshootingmethods.Thisinherentdifficultycanleadtouncertaintyregardingwhetheranimalshavesufferedminornon-fatalwoundsorhavebeenmissed(DEFRA2014).

ConclusionsIndependentassessmentofthisshootingprogramindicatedthatanimalwelfareoutcomeswerecomparabletootherprofessionalshootingprograms.Whenkangarooswereshotat,theCOPfornon-commercialkangarooshootingwascompliedwithinallaspects.Aminorityofanimalsweremissed,non-fatallywounded,andshotinanatomicallocationsotherthanthecranium,asoccurswithnearlyallshootingmethods.Theshootingtechniqueandequipmentusedwerenotuniformforalloperators,asdifferentfirearmcalibresandprojectiles,illuminationapproaches,andpouchyoungeuthanasia



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methodswereemployed.Consequently,variablesassociatedwiththeoccurrenceofadverseanimalwelfareevents(e.g.kangaroosnotbeingrenderedimmediatelyinsensible)werenotobviousfromthesedescriptiveanalysesalone,butstatisticallysignificantassociationscouldbeelucidatedthroughmultivariablemodellingapproaches.Modellinghasallowedidentificationofimportantmanipulablevariables(e.g.identityofshooters)foraerialshootingprograms(Hamptonetal.2017),facilitatingrefinementofprocedures.ThisapproachwasusedinPart2ofthisreport.

RecommendationsFromfieldobservationsanddescriptiveanalyses,thefollowingrecommendationismade:1. ForcontinuingcompliancewiththeCOP,currentlyusedshootingprotocolsshouldbemaintained.



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PART2:ANALYSISOFEXPLANATORYVARIABLES

BrendanCowledAusvetPtyLtd

BackgroundThissectionpresentstheresultsofanalysesofanimalwelfaredataderivedfromtheAustralianCapitalTerritorykangaroomanagementprograminin2017.Theobjectiveoftheanalyseswastodetermineifexplanatoryvariableswereassociatedwithadverseanimalwelfareoutcomes.Thisallowedinferencesonthecauses(ifany)ofadverseoutcomes.

MethodsShootingoutcomesfromfieldobservations(Part1ofthisreport)weredichotomisedintothosethatproducedadverseanimalwelfareeventsandthosethatdidnot.CompliancewiththeCOP(Part1)wasnotconsidered.Shootingoutcomesweredichotomisedtwoways:

1. Alldata:Kangaroosexperiencingimmediateinsensibilityornotandincludesallmissedshots(n=338).

2. Killeddata:Kangaroosexperiencingimmediateinsensibilityornotbutnotincludingkangaroosthatescaped(n=322).

Severalexplanatoryvariableswerecollected.Theseexplanatoryvariableswereconsideredpotentiallyimportanttotheoccurrenceofadverseoutcomesormighthavebeenconfoundersanyobservedstatisticalrelationship.Theseincluded:

1. Individualshooter(categoricaldata:7shooters)

2. Individualdriver(categoricaldata:5drivers)

3. Agencyofshooter(categoricaldata:3agencies)

4. Agencyofdriver(categoricaldata:2agencies)

5. Site(categoricaldata:2sites)

6. Cumulative#animalstargetedthatnightbyshooter(continuous)

7. Cumulative#animalstargetedsinceafoodbreak(continuous)

8. Timeofnightwhenshootingoccurred(categoricaldata:4'sessions')

9. Illumination(categoricaldata:2technologies)

10. Optics(categoricaldata:2technologies)11. Firearmcalibre(categoricaldata:2technologies)

12. #animalsshotbeforecollection(continuous)*

13. Sex(categoricaldata:2sexes)*14. Age(categoricaldata:2ageclasses)*15. Nightoftheoperation(continuous)16. Consecutivenightsofshooting(1st,2ndnightetc.)

*Incompletedataforthen=338database.

ausvet



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Uni-variabledescriptionandbi-variableanalyseswereconductedtodescribebothvariablesandtheoutcomeofinterestandtolookatcrudemeasuresofassociationbetweenexplanatoryvariablesandtheoutcomeimmediateinsensibility.Thecrude(uncontrolled)associationbetweenbivariableexplanatoryvariablesandtheoutcome(immediateinsensibility)wasexaminedbycreatingsimplelogisticregressionmodelsofimmediateinsensibilityagainsttheexplanatoryvariableinquestion,andexponentiatingtheestimatedco-efficienttoestimatetheoddsratio.Inthecaseofvariableswithmultiplecategories,asimplecontingencytableandfisherexacttestwasconducted.Multivariablemodelswereimplementedtotestforassociationsbetweenexplanatoryvariablesandtheoutcomeofimmediateinsensibilitywhilstcontrollingforpotentiallyconfoundingvariables.Multivariablemodelswereimplementedasgeneralisedlinearmodelswithalogoddslinkfunction.Severalmodelswereimplemented,witheachmodelrepresentingaplausibleapriorihypothesis.Themodelswereassessedusinginformationtheoreticapproachestodeterminewhichmodels(hypotheses)weremostsupportedbythedata(BurnhamandAnderson2002;Burnhametal.2011).Thefitofthemostsupportedmodelwasexaminedusingstandardstatisticalapproaches.Twodatasetswereanalysedseparately.Inthefirstanalyses,‘Alldata’wasusedtoimplementHypotheses1−6,althoughhypothesis6(multivariablemodel)didnotincludesexorage.Inthesecondanalyses,‘Killeddata’,wasusedtoimplementhypotheses1−7.Thefollowingapriorihypotheseswereimplementedasappropriatemultivariablelogisticregressionmodels:Hypothesis1:ShooterskillTheskillofanindividualshooterinfluencesthelikelihoodofimmediateinsensibility,butisaffectedbythecalibreoftherifle,theilluminationandtheopticsused:

log$%

&'%= )* + )&,ℎ../01 + )23456710 + )8955:;6<4/6.< + )=>?/6@A

whereP=probabilityofoutcome

Hypothesis2:RhythmShootersaremostlikelytomakebadshotsbeforethey‘gettheireyein’.Thiswillbeinfluencedbythenumberofanimalsshotthatnight,thenumbershotsinceabreakandthenumberofshootingsessionsthatnight(mostlikelytomisswhenstartingeachnightandeachsession):

log$%

&'%= )* + )&B4<C41..AAℎ./ + )2B4<C41..AA6<@07104E + )8,0AA6.<A

Hypothesis3:FatigueTheoppositeofrhythm.Shootersaremostlikelytomakebadshotsasthenumberofanimalsshotthatnightincrease,inlatersessionsandasthenumberofanimalsshotsinceabreakincrease.Thismaybeconfoundedbytemperature:

log$%

&'%= )* + )&B4<C41..AAℎ./ + )2B4<C41..AA6<@07104E + )8,0AA6.<A +

)=F0;?014/:10



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Hypothesis4:TechnologyTheequipmentusedisthemostimportanteffectonimmediateinsensibility.Affectedbycalibre,illuminationandoptics:

log$%

&'%= )* + )&3456710 + )2955:;6<4/6.< + )8>?/6@A

Hypothesis5:AnimalnaivetyAnimalsgetwaryofshootersandarehardertoshootastheyareexposedforlonger.Influencedbythenightoftheoperationandthenumberofconsecutivenightsofshooting:

log$%

&'%= )* + )&3:;;:54/6G0H6Cℎ/ + )23.<A0@:/6G0<6Cℎ/A

Hypothesis6:MultivariableAllvariableshaveaninfluenceonoutcomesandhenceallvariablesareincludedintoasinglemodel:

log$%

&'%= )* + )&3::;:54/6G0H6Cℎ/ + )23.<A0@:/6G0<6Cℎ/A+)8,0I + )=JC0 +

)K3456710 + )L955:;6<4/6.< + )M>?/6@A +)NF0;?014/:10 + )OB4<C41..AAℎ./ +)&*B4<C41..AA6<@07104E + )&&,0AA6.<A + )&2,ℎ../01

Note,thatforalldata,nosexandagevariablewasincludeinthemultivariablemodelasthisdatawasincompleteassomekangarooswerenotkilledandcouldnotbeexamined.Hypothesis7:AnimalfactorsSexandagemayinfluenceoutcomes(e.g.largeadultmaleslesslikelytobekilled).Thishypothesisisonlyapplicabletooutcome2,Kangaroosexperiencingimmediateinsensibilityornotbutnotincludingmissedshots(n=322):log$

%&'%

= )* + )&,0I + )2JC0

Results2.3.1 Analysis1:‘Alldata’Note:Thisdoesnotincludesexandagedata,butrecordsallkangaroosthatwereshotorescaped.DescriptiveanalysisThefollowingdescriptiveanalysisispresentedtounderstandthedistributionofeachvariableandtoallowerrorchecking.Table4describesthecontinuousvariables.Table5describesthecategoricalvariables.



17

Table4:Descriptivestatisticsforeachexplanatoryvariableinthemodels.Variable Minimum Quartile1 Median Mean Quartile3 Maximum

Adverseevent Prevalence=0.0858(95%CI:0.056−0.116)

Minimumtemperature(°C)

-5.100 -4.500 -4.250 -3.442 -2.900 -0.700

Cumulativenightofshooting

6 7 9 10.850 16 18

Consecutivenightsofshooting

1 1 2 2.213 3 5

Cumulativekangaroosshotinnight

1 10 23 27.990 44 72

Cumulativekangaroosshotsincebreak

1 5 10 10.87 15 33

Bi-variableanalysisThebi-variableanalysisexplorestherelationshipbetweentheoutcome(adverseevents)andeachexplanatoryvariable(Table6).Anoddsratioof1impliesthereisnorelationshipbetweentheexplanatoryvariableandtheoutcome,butshouldbeinterpretedforstatisticalsignificancebyexaminingthe95%confidenceintervals.95%Confidenceintervalsthatcontain1indicateanon-significantrelationshipbetweentheoutcomeandexplanatoryvariable.Itisimportanttonotethattheseareuncontrolledvariables.Therelationshipidentifiedmaybeconfoundedbyothervariables.Thisisgenerallydealtwithinthemultivariablemodellingsectionbelow.



18

Table5:Distributionsofcategoricalexplanatoryvariables.

ShooterID:ShooterID

Numberofnights

1 332 233 224 705 696 727 49

Sex:Sex NumberF NAM NAMissingdata(escaped)

NA

Age:Age NumberAdult NASub-adult NAMissingdata(escaped)

NA

Calibre:Calibre Number1 2172 121

Illumination:Illuminationtype

Number

Infra-red 208Whitelight 130

Optics:Opticstype NumberC 9S 329



19

Table6:Uncontrolledrelationshipbetweenadverseeventsandexplanatoryvariableasquantifiedbyoddsratio(note:sexandagearemissingasthesewerenotrecordedforallanimalsassomeescaped).Variable Oddsratio(95%CI)orFisherexacttest

Minimumtemperature(°C) 1.1231(0.8862−1.4080)

Cumulativenightofshooting 0.8777(0.7800−0.9679)

Consecutivenightsofshooting 0.8146(0.5786−1.0929)

Cumulativekangaroosshotinnight 0.9963(0.9769−1.0150)

Cumulativekangaroosshotsincebreak 1.0384(0.9855−1.0920)

ShooterID χ2=30.22,df=6,p<0.001ShooterID:Adverseevent:1234567032152260647046118010523

Calibre 0.3466(0.1143-0.8639)Calibre:Adverseevent:1201931161245

Illumination 1.1426(0.5156-2.4601)Lighttype:Adverseevent:IRW019111811712

Optics 0.1716(0.0426-0.8494)Optics:Adverseevent:CS063031326

MultivariablemodellingThemultivariablemodellingissummarisedinatablewhereallmodelsrepresentingthevarioushypothesesarerankedfrommostsupportedtoleastsupported(Table7).TheAkaikeweight(probability)andAICcdifferences(∆)allowconsiderationofwhicharethemostsupportedmodels.Ingeneralterms,adeltaoflessthan4−7indicatesthatthemodelhassomesupport(Burnhametal.2011).



20

Table7:Akaikeinformationcriterion(AIC)valuesandothermodelcomparisonparametersformodelselectionusinginformationtheoreticapproaches(BurnhamandAnderson2002;Burnhametal.2011).Theprobabilityofthemulti-variableandsinglevariableshooterskillmodelsarehighandclearlythedatasupporteitherofthesemodels.ThereisasmallamountofsupportfortheMVmultivariablemodel(modelcontainingallparameters)althoughthissupportismostlyduetotheinclusionofexplanatoryvariablesforshooter.ModelsarelistedinAICrankedorderforeachhypothesis.Model Parameter

s(K)BiascorrectedAIC

(AICc)AICc

differences(∆)Probability(Akaike

weight)

MV*Shooterskill 5 186.8 0 0.499

SV**Shooterskill 2 187.2 0.39 0.411

MVMultivariable 11 191.3 4.49 0.053

MVAnimalNaivety 3 193.6 6.85 0.016

SVcumulativenightofshooting 2 194.8 7.98 0.009

SVCalibre 2 196.6 9.84 0.004

MVTechnology 4 197.1 10.28 0.003

SVOptics 2 197.4 10.58 0.003

SVCumulativekangaroosshotsincebreak 2 199.9 13.1 0.001

SVConsecutivenightsofshooting 2 200.1 13.33 0.001

SVminimumtemperature 2 201 14.17 0

SVCumulativekangaroosshotinnight 2 201.8 14.99 0

SVillumination 2 201.8 15.02 0

MVRhythm 4 204.6 17.84 0

MVFatigue 5 206.2 19.43 0

*Multivariablemodel**SinglevariablemodelWhereseveralmodelshavesomesupport,itisusefultomodelaveragetoassistinferencesandprediction(Grueberetal.2011).Inmoredetail,thevalueoftheco-efficientsfromeachoftheexplanatoryvariablescanestimatedwithweightingfromseveralmodelsbasedontheirlevelofsupport.Conditionalestimatesareusefulforprediction.Aconditionalestimateisproducedwhensettingallotherparameterstotheirmean.Table8presentsmodelaveragedpredictions.


EcotoneWildlifeVeterinaryServices&AusvetPtyLtd 21

Table8:Conditionalaveragesofmodelcoefficientsacrossallmodels.

Coefficient Estimate(eB) Std.Error AdjustedSE zvalue Pr(>|z|)

(Intercept) 0.2840 1062.8933 1066.8782 0.0010 0.9991

Shooter(2cf.1) 20.3989 1.3815 1.3851 2.1770 0.0295

Shooter(3cf.1) 0.0000 1429.6335 1434.8999 0.0100 0.9918

Shooter(4cf.1) 9.7404 1.2873 1.2911 1.7630 0.0779

Shooter(5cf.1) 5.2403 1.4356 1.4397 1.1510 0.2499

Shooter(6cf.1) 0.9143 1.2432 1.2478 0.0720 0.9427

Shooter(7cf.1) 2.0870 1.1774 1.1818 0.6230 0.5336

Calibre(2cf.1) 1.6x1025 7865.4639 7894.9549 0.0080 0.9937

Illumination(Wcf.IR) 2.0157 697.8126 700.4288 0.0010 0.9992

Optics(Scf.C) 0.0000 2152.5513 2160.6221 0.0090 0.9929

Cumulativenightofshooting 0.0072 701.6368 704.2675 0.0070 0.9944

Consecutivenightsofshooting 33.9796 437.4148 439.0549 0.0080 0.9936

Cumulativeroosshotthatnight 1.1401 0.0646 0.0648 2.0240 0.0430

Cumulativeroosshotsincebreak 0.9000 0.0621 0.0623 1.6920 0.0907

Session(2cf.1) 0.0211 1.6046 1.6105 2.3970 0.0165

Session(3cf.1) 0.0016 3.1237 3.1353 2.0610 0.0393

Session(4cf.1) 0.0002 3.6815 3.6952 2.2690 0.0233

Minimumtemperature(°C) 0.0119 500.1930 502.0684 0.0090 0.9930

ModelfitThemostsupportedmodel,multivariable(MV)ShooterSkillmodel,wasexaminedfor

modelfit.AlikelihoodratiotestoftheMVShooterSkillmodelverseanintercept-only

modelrevealedthattheMVShooterSkillmodelfittedbetterthantheintercept-onlymodel

(H0=Reducedmodelistrue;HA=Currentmodelistrue;χ2=27.5326,df=7,p=0.0003).

TheR2was0.16.Thismeansthatapproximately16%ofthevariabilityinthedatais

explainedbythedata.Theseindicatethatthemodelfitsthedatamoderatelywell,butthat

therearevariablesthatexplainmuchofthedatathatarenotincludedinthedata.

SeveralcoefficientsaresignificantincludingShooter2cf.Shooter1(andmarginallyShooter

4cf.Shooter1).ThisindicatesthatShooter2hadmoreadverseoutcomesthanshooter1,

whereas3,5,6and7wereallnotstatisticallysignificantlydifferenttoShooter1.Shooter4

wastrendingtowardsapooreroutcomethanshooter1.Shooter2hadanoddsratioof



20.3989,indicating20.3989timestheoddsofanadverseoutcomethanshooter1(or

practically,shooter3−7).

Inaddition,asthenumberofkangaroosshotincreaseseachnight,thelikelihoodofan

adverseoutcomeincreasesmarginally.Thatis,theoddsratiois1.14indicatingthatthereis

a0.14increaseintheoddsofanadverseoutcomeinroosshotinlatersessions

Incontrast,cf.session1,sessions2−4wereallsignificantlylesslikelytohaveroosshotwith

adverseoutcomes.

2.3.2 Analysis2:‘Killeddata’Note:Thisdoesincludesexandagedata,andrecordsallkangaroosthatwereshot(n=322),butnotthosethatescaped.

DescriptiveAnalysisThefollowingdescriptiveanalysisispresentedtounderstandthedistributionofeach

variableandtoallowerrorchecking.Table9describesthecontinuousvariablesandTable10showsthedistributionofcategoricalvariables.Bi-variableAnalysesAsdescribedabove(2.3.1),thebi-variableanalysisexplorestherelationshipbetweentheoutcome(adverseevents)andeachexplanatoryvariable.Oddsratiosenumeratethis

relationship(Table11).Theseareuncontrolledvariables.Therelationshipidentifiedmaybe

confoundedbyothervariables.Thisisgenerallydealtwithinthemultivariablesection.

MultivariableModellingThemultivariable(MV)modellingpresentsatablewhereallmodelsrepresentingthe

varioushypothesesarerankedfrommostsupportedtoleastsupported(Table12).TheAkaikeweight(probability)andAICcdifferences(∆)allowconsiderationofwhicharethemostsupportedmodels.Ingeneralterms,adeltaoflessthan4−7indicatesthatthemodel

hassomesupport(Burnhametal.2011).

Whereseveralmodelshavesomesupport,itisusefultomodelaveragetoassistinferences

andprediction(Grueberetal.2011).Inmoredetail,thevalueoftheco-efficientsfromeach

oftheexplanatoryvariablescanestimatedwithweightingfromseveralmodelsbasedon

theirlevelofsupport.Conditionalestimatesareusefulforprediction.Aconditionalestimate

isproducedwhensettingallotherparameterstotheirmean.Table13presentsmodel

averagedpredictions.



Table9:Descriptivestatisticsforeachexplanatoryvariableinthemodels.

Variable Minimum Quartile1 Median Mean Quartile3 Maximum

Adverseevent Prevalence=0.0404(95%CI:0.0189-0.0619)

Minimumtemperature

(°C)

-5.100 -4.500 -4.200 -3.446 -2.900 -0.700

Cumulativenightof

shooting

6 7 9 11.0100 16 18

Consecutivenightsof

shooting

1 1 2 2.252 3 5

Cumulativekangaroos

shotinnight

1 10 24 28.2300 44 72

Cumulativekangaroos

shotsincebreak

1 5 10 20.7800 15 33

Table10:Distributionsofcategoricalexplanatoryvariables

ShooterID:

ShooterID

Numberofnights

1 33

2 17

3 22

4 65

5 65

6 71

7 49

Sex:

Sex NumberF 225

M 97

Age:

Age NumberAdult 239

Sub-adult 83

Calibre:

Calibre Number1 202

2 120

Illumination:

Illuminationtype

Number

Infra-red 199

Whitelight 123

Optics:

Opticstype NumberC 7

S 315



Table11:Uncontrolledrelationshipbetweenadverseeventsandexplanatoryvariableasquantifiedbyoddsratio.

Variable Oddsratio(95%CI)orFisherexacttest

Minimumtemperature(°C) 1.2281(0.8737−1.7044)

Cumulativenightofshooting 0.9569(0.8316−1.0806)

Consecutivenightsofshooting 1.1118(0.7419−1.5990)

Cumulativekangaroosshotinnight 1.0067(0.9794−1.0336)

Cumulativekangaroosshotsincebreak 1.0363(0.9594−1.1128)

ShooterID χ2=8.737,df=6,p=0.1889

ShooterID:

Adverseevent:1234567

032152260647046

11205113

Calibre 0.7394(0.1968-2.3259)

Calibre:

Adverseevent:12

0193116

194

Illumination 1.0117(0.2997-3.1049)

Lighttype:

Adverseevent:IRW

0191118

185

Optics 0.2376(0.0364-4.6717)

Optics:

Adverseevent:CS

06303

1112

Sex 1.9551 (1.2845-13.3952)(Malecf.female)

Sex:

Adverseevent:FM

022089

158

Age 1.8510(0.5456-5.7153)

Age:

Adverseevent:ASA

023178

185



Table12:Akaikeinformationcriterion(AIC)valuesandothermodelcomparisonparametersformodelselectionusinginformationtheoreticapproaches(BurnhamandAnderson2002;Burnhametal.2011).Theprobabilityofthesinglevariablesex,animalnaivetyandmultivariableanimalfactorsmodelsarehighest.However,thereareseveralothermodelswithsomelevelofsupportanditisdifficulttostatethedataclearlysupportthesehypothesesoverothers.Forexample,thefirst13modelsallhaveadelta(∆)oflessthan7.ModelsarelistedinAICrankedorderforeachhypothesis.

Model Degreesoffreedom

BiascorrectedAIC(AICc)

AICcdifferences(∆)

Probability(Akaikeweight)

SV*Sex 2 107.2 0 0.357

MV**AnimalNaivety 3 108.6 1.4 0.177

MVAnimalfactors 3 108.8 1.52 0.167

SVminimumtemperature 2 111.5 4.26 0.042

SVOptics 2 111.7 4.5 0.038

SVAge 2 111.9 4.67 0.035

SVCumulativekangaroosshot

sincebreak 2 112.1 4.85 0.032

SVcumulativenightofshooting 2 112.5 5.24 0.026

SVConsecutivenightsofshooting 2 112.7 5.42 0.024

SVCalibre 2 112.7 5.47 0.023

SVCumulativekangaroosshotin

night 2 112.7 5.47 0.023

SVillumination 2 113 5.72 0.021

MVMultivariable 16 114.2 6.93 0.011

SV**Shooterskill 7 114.3 7.07 0.01

MVTechnology 4 115.7 8.47 0.005

MV*Shooterskill 8 116 8.77 0.004

MVRhythm 6 117.1 9.83 0.003

MVFatigue 7 119.1 11.89 0.001

*Singlevariablemodel

*Multivariablemodel

ModelfitThemostsupportedmodel,singlevariable(SV)Sexmodel,wasexaminedformodelfit.A

likelihoodratiotestoftheSVSexmodelverseaninterceptonlymodelrevealedthattheSex

modelfittedbetterthantheinterceptonlymodel(H0=Reducedmodelistrue;HA=

Currentmodelistrue;χ2=5.7173,df=1,p=0.0168).TheR

2was0.061,whichisrelatively

lowandmeansmuchofthevarianceinthedataremainsunexplainedbythemodel.



Table13:Conditionalaveragesofmodelcoefficientsacrossallmodels.Coefficient Estimate(eB) Std.Error AdjustedSE zvalue Pr(>|z|)

(Intercept) 0.0695 755.1000 758.1000 0.0040 0.9970

Shooter(2cf.1) 23623.5648 1042.0000 1046.0000 0.0100 0.9920

Shooter(3cf.1) 0.0000 2206.0000 2214.0000 0.0060 0.9960

Shooter(4cf.1) 3.2805 1.2780 1.2830 0.9270 0.3540

Shooter(5cf.1) 0.6374 1.6170 1.6230 0.2780 0.7810

Shooter(6cf.1) 0.4571 1.4300 1.4360 0.5450 0.5860

Shooter(7cf.1) 2.0869 1.1770 1.1820 0.6220 0.5340

Calibre(2cf.1) 563681537.4071 6676.0000 6703.0000 0.0030 0.9980

Illumination(Wcf.IR) 196.5663 1772.0000 1779.0000 0.0030 0.9980

Optics(Scf.C) 0.0002 1711.0000 1718.0000 0.0050 0.9960

Cumulativenightofshooting 0.5070 293.7000 294.8000 0.0020 0.9980

Consecutivenightsofshooting 3.3602 173.7000 174.4000 0.0070 0.9940

Cumulativeroosshotthatnight 1.0560 0.0840 0.0842 0.6470 0.5170

Cumulativeroosshotsincebreak 0.9984 0.0796 0.0797 0.0200 0.9840

Session(2cf.1) 0.0000 1387.0000 1392.0000 0.0120 0.9910

Session(3cf.1) 0.0030 4.3910 4.4030 1.3190 0.1870

Session(4cf.1) 0.0008 5.0960 5.1120 1.3830 0.1670

Minimumtemperature(C) 0.4408 342.8000 344.2000 0.0020 0.9980

Sex(Male) 3.9079 0.5887 0.5910 2.3070 0.0210

Age(SA) 1.5861 0.6038 0.6061 0.7610 0.4470

MultivariableanimalnaivetyThesecondmostsupportedmodel,multivariable(MV)AnimalNaivetymodelwasexamined

formodelfit.AlikelihoodratiotestoftheMVAnimalNaivetymodelverseanintercept-only

modelrevealedthattheAnimalNaivetymodelfittedbetterthantheintercept-onlymodel

(H0=Reducedmodelistrue;HA=Currentmodelistrue;χ2=6.35,df=2,p=0.0417).

TheR2was0.068,whichisrelativelylowandmeansmuchofthevarianceinthedata

remainsunexplainedbythemodel.

Itisclearthattheonlysignificantcoefficientissex,withmalesmorelikelytohaveadverse

outcomesthanfemales.However,othersignificantparameterswerenotevident(Table13).Thismaybeduetothesmallnumberofadverseoutcomesrecordedleadingtolowpowerin

theanalysis.



Conclusions

Thedatasetthatincludedadverseoutcomesasescapedkangaroosandwoundedkangaroos

wasthemostamenabletoanalysesandproducedmodelsthatexplainedamoderate

amountofthedatavariability.

Analysesofthisdatasetrevealedthathypothesesassociatedwithshooteridentity(skill)

weremostsupportedbythedata.Ingreaterdetail,itappearedthatsomeshooterswere

morelikelytohaveadverseoutcomesthanothershooterswhilstcontrollingforpotentially

confoundingvariablessuchascalibreofrifle.

Theseconddatasetthatincludedonlykilledkangarooswaslessamenabletoanalyses.In

theseanalyses,itwasdifficulttodistinguishbetweenthevarioushypothesesasmanyhad

somesupportfromthedata.Inaddition,thesemodelsonlyexplainedasmallamountofthe

datavariability,withrelativelylowR2values.Despitethis,themodelsthatrepresentedthe

sex,multivariableandanimalnaivetyhypotheseshadthemostsupport.Theonlysignificant

variableonconditionalmodelaveragingwasthesexvariable,withmaleslikelytohave

adverseoutcomescomparedwithfemales.Thisresultlikelyreflectsthatmalesaremore

difficulttorenderimmediatelyinsensiblebecauseoftheirlargersize(e.g.thickerbone

structuremayprovidegreaterresistancetobulletpenetration;Hamptonetal.2017).Similarresultsformaleanimalshavebeenobservedforotherphysicalkillingmethods(e.g.

captiveboltuseforslaughteroflivestock;Gregoryetal.2007).

Insummary,shooterskillwasmostlikelytoaffecttheprobabilityofanadverseoutcome

(predominantlyescapes).Inaddition,sexwasakeyfactorforadverseoutcomes

(wounding).Therewasnoevidencethatothervariablessuchasillumination(whitelightvs.

infra-red)affectedoutcomes.Therearelikelyun-recordedvariablesthatareresponsiblefor

muchofprobabilityofadverseoutcomes.Furtherresearchisindicatedtodeterminewhat

thesevariablesareastheymaybeamenabletomanipulation,therebyreducingadverse

outcomes.Shootingdistance(Hamptonetal.2015),windspeedandthepresenceoffogmayallinfluenceshootingoutcomesandshouldbeexaminedinfuturestudies.

Despitethis,itisimportanttonotethatadverseoutcomes(especiallywounding)werevery

unlikelytooccurinthisdata.Afrequencyofadverseoutcomesof4%wasrecordedforall

killedkangaroos.

Recommendations

Forrefinementofanimalwelfareoutcomes,thefollowingrecommendationsaremade:

1. Themanagingagencyshouldexamineshooterselectionandtraining.

2. Shootersshouldexerciseadditionalcautionwhenshootingatmalekangaroos.



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