Australian Kangaroos Poisoned By Factory Emissions

Australian publication The Age recently reported that dozens of starving and sick kangaroos have had to be put to death because of debilitating deformities caused by toxic emissions from nearby factories.

As many as 49 kangaroos living around Portland, Victoria have been culled in a single day because of painful tooth and bone deformities that were a direct result of breathing and ingesting fluoride emissions from nearby aluminum smelting operations.

Deborah Gough wrote that, “the affected kangaroos are living near the Alcoa aluminium smelter in Portland, in the state’s south-west, and the Austral Bricks factory at Craigieburn.”

After a particularly large culling one day last year, autopsies performed by experts at Melbourne University revealed that all but one of the ill kangaroos were suffering from flurosis, a condition which can lead to excessive bone growths, or lesions, on joints in the paws, ankles and calves.

Although environmentalists constantly warn that industrial pollution dirties the air, and contaminates vegetation and water supplies, it can be hard to convince people of a direct affect on human and animal health.

This recent examination of the kangaroo population in Portland shows, however, that sometime the ones that are suffering the most are without the ability to ask for help.

“EPA director of environmental services Bruce Dawson denied the authority had been slow to reduce maximum emission levels.

He said that while the levels were safe for humans, it was now clear they were too high for some animals and a new level was likely.

However it could take years before research indicated what that level should be.

‘We are taking this seriously. Clearly the impact on the local kangaroos and vegetation is not acceptable and action is required,’ Mr Dawson said.”

Australia’s Environment Protection Authority was first warned of the effect of fluoride dust and fumes on kangaroos living near the Alcoa smelter in 2005, although lameness was detected in some animals grazing there as early as 2001.

Read more: animal welfare, australia, kangaroos, pollution, protection