Old Man Emu
Emus were once very prevalent in my part of the world although now their numbers have been much diminished by farming and agricultural practices.
Much land has been cleared in these parts for wheat and grain farming.
As a consequence much of the habitat needed by emus has also gone and I would love to see emus return to this 'boodja' (land).
Yesterday an official from the Department of Agriculture visited me to see if there were any feral pigs in the reserve adjacent to my farm.
He asked why my property was not fenced off from the reserve to which I replied that, "I did not want to impede the movements of the kangaroos that visit and traverse my patch".
As an afterthought I added that it would be nice to see some emus return to the reserve.
For thousand of years Australia's Indigenous population judiciously hunted wild animals. There were, and still are cultural protocols and practices regarding the hunting and killing of wild animals. Indigenous people hunted wild animals in a way that did not endanger them.
The Emu is very important in Aboriginal Medicine.
There are some Indigenous people who still hunt Kangaroo and Emu in these parts. I prefer to eat the 'wild' meat of kangaroo instead of the flesh of animals that have been captured and fed on 'doctored foods' full of synthetic hormones and other chemicals.
I commented to my visitor that I had seen a few emus up near a nearby property but that they were in a 'sanctuary. According to him a family of local farmers had registered a sanctuary so that, as they put it Aboriginal people could not hunt or shoot them for food. How ironic that these people who systematically destroy the preferred habitat of the emus felt that they now had to protect them from local Aboriginals.
Hmmmm - interesting I thought.
Ironic too being that the Emu population had been severely decimated by the practices of these people who now had 'captured' these Emus who they have left to roam around on ground depleted of much of the food an Emu thrives on. These poor emus are living in conditions that would not be optimal for their happiness, health or inclinations to breed. Indeed such a practice could potentially introduce disease.
Perhaps I should suggest to the farmer that corridors of remnant bush be encouraged so that the emus may roam once more whilst being happier, healthier and becoming more abundant. Perhaps under such circumstances their numbers may not be too greatly impacted by an Indigenous person seeking and hunting a little bit of 'bush tucker'.
Keep posted.
Published by Jaahda Jinnah
Jaahda Jinnah is a wise old crone who knows much about all sorts of things. Try me ! View profile
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10 Comments
Post a CommentEmus make me smile.
I agree with Angie, sustainable hunting can lead to a more thriving and diverse population than penning wild animals up in an effort to "protect" them. In the Flathead Valley of Montana where I live, too many out of state developers have cornered the land market. Their idea of "preserving" seems to be covering once open farm and forest lands with concrete buildings and pavement. Routes the wild elk and other game once used have been blocked and there is a lot more road kill--mostly larger game animals like deer or elk. We do have an emu population here, too, but again they are raised on emu farms for their profitable emu oil and meat, much like domestic cattle ranches.
Such an important article and so true of many of the world's species. The concept of "preservation" has so many different meanings depending on your perspective. Sustainable hunting has been practiced for millennia and can lead to a more thriving and diverse population than penning wild animals up in an effort to "protect" them.
There are emus "living" here, too. Of course, they do not roam free. They are raised as farm animals. An animal, making it on its own, seems to radiate a different kind of presence than does one held in captivity. And humans, too, are animals, virtually self aware, though they may be. But they, too, are elevated, or diminished by this same dynamic.
i love emu's :) i want one!
Hi Jaahda, Thank you for the information on brother Emu. Such beautiful creatures indeed.
I wish I lived like you do, free from the city and all of it's downfalls sigh :-)
Emu oil is a big seller in the USA. It is massaged into the skin to kill the pain of arthritis. The meat is also sold on the internet. The man-made world especially fences and roads are indeed disturbing the natural migrations of species. The amount of road kill testifies to that! Very interesting write!
Near the end of your article, you touch on a very important issue - that animals need space to move among groups (for individual survival and genetic diversity). That is quite an issue in the US, where small pockets of black bears are isolated because their natural "highways" have been blocked by development.
you will never see emu on your patch or even kangaroo's for that fact they have moved on, i have seen echkidna, possum and of course rats, mice and ferqal cats