Bush fires are natural in Australia. Far from being a curse, they benefit the environment and wildlife generally. Of course this has to be qualified by houses being destroyed and injuries to people. Aboriginals have been intentionally lighting fires for thousands of years.
Actually, it has a positive impact on kangaroo evolution. A fire promotes an increase in kangaroo numbers. To get the greatest benefit the best time for a burn-off can be identified. Human subsistence is crucial in managing this. It compliments the ecosystem.
Modern farming is detrimental to the way wildlife functions. The system is thrown off-balance. Stopping the burn-off and mono cropping changes everything. Australia needs more burning, not less. Authorities are following the wrong policy. Leaving native trees to grow tall can only lead to eventual disaster as a massive fire results as time passes.
Managed fires provide more food for animals as new shoots appear. Animals can also hide from predators in patches of older growth in the flatter landscape. It is only in farming areas that kangaroos increase to pest proportions. There is a natural peak in regions still controlled in the traditional way by Aboriginals.
Anthropology by Ty Buchanan
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