Kangaroo harvesting
Further information can be found Commercial harvesting of protected animals
The kangaroo, a great Australian icon and international tourism drawcard, is also a valuable source of skins and meat. Several species of kangaroos are the basis of a significant commercial industry in Australia. The kangaroo industry is a great example of conservation in action.
Unlike some native animals such as the now endangered bridled nailtail wallaby, kangaroos thrived when rural settlement spread to inland Australia. When kangaroo numbers multiplied and threatened the pastoral and agricultural industries, harvesting was seen as a solution. Kangaroo products were a bonus.
Today, commercial harvesting of kangaroos is strictly controlled to protect these native animals. Only species present in sufficiently large numbers can be shot, and the kangaroo industry is closely monitored. The kangaroo harvest is ecologically sustainable.
Australian Government information on kangaroo harvesting, biology and harvest statistics can be obtained from the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
In Queensland, the detail of commercial kangaroo harvesting is set under the Nature Conservation (Macropod) Conservation Plan 2005.
National scene
Macropods are harvested in four Australian states: New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. Queensland has the highest commercial harvesting figures. Kangaroos have been commercially harvested here for more than a century and the annual harvest usually exceeds a million kangaroos.Commercially harvested kangaroos are used to produce high quality leather, fur and meat products. Most Australian states now sell kangaroo meat for human consumption.
The Australian Government controls the export of wildlife products and uses this authority and the latest population density information, to set a quota for each state specifying the number of kangaroos that can be commercially harvested each year.
To ensure kangaroos are conserved and that any commercial harvesting of kangaroos is ecologically sustainable, each state and territory is required to prepare a wildlife trade management plan under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 before export is allowed.
The Wildlife Trade Management Plan describes:
- how kangaroo harvesting and dealing will be regulated
- how the kangaroo populations will be monitored
- how over-harvesting and illegal harvesting will be prevented; and
- other conservation practices.
Queensland scene
The Environmental Protection Agency administers commercial kangaroo harvesting in Queensland under the Wildlife Trade Management Plan for Export - Commercially Harvested Macropods - 2008-2012 ) and also the Nature Conservation Act 1992 , Nature Conservation (Administration) Regulation 2006, Nature Conservation ( Wildlife Management) Regulation 2006 , and the Nature Conservation (Macropod) Conservation Plan 2005 .The aim of the Wildlife Trade Management Plan is:
- to manage all species covered in the plan to provide sustainable use and conservation of the species and their habitats in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development.
Which species?
In Queensland, the following macropod species are covered by the Wildlife Trade Management Plan and therefore can be harvested for export:- Eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus
- Red kangaroo Macropus rufus
- Wallaroo Macropus robustus
All are common species that are widespread and abundant. Western greys Macropus fuliginosus cannot be harvested in Queensland.
Harvest period
Each year a Harvest Period Notice is made by the EPA chief executive which defines the start and end dates for the macropod harvest period, the sizes of macropods that may be taken and the shires in Queensland where each species may be harvested.The annual harvest can be reviewed at any time to consider changing circumstances such as the effects of drought or disease. Based on such information, or if the harvest approaches the annual quota, the harvest period may closed.
Quotas and harvest zones
Since the 1970s, quotas have been set limiting the number of each macropod species which can be harvested. Currently the Commonwealth Government sets quotas on how many kangaroos of a particular species can be harvested commercially in Australia. In Queensland the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation proposes a commercial quota for the state and submits it to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts for approval.The proportion of the population of each species that can be taken is based on research. Annual quotas for each species are set on the basis of:
- current population trends
- review of previous harvests
- weather trends (for example, drought)
- the extent of non-commercial harvest
- the proportion of the population not subject to harvesting
- non-harvest mortality
Currently, quotas in Queensland are set between 10 and 20 percent of the estimated population for each species. Harvesting at these levels will ensure a safe sustained yield and long-term conservation of kangaroo populations.
In the past, the quotas for each species were set for the whole state of Queensland. Under this system, the harvest was sustainable on a state-wide basis but it was possible that over harvesting may have occurred in different regions of the state. In 2003, using detailed monitoring data, quotas were set for eastern, central and western regions (see maps of harvest zones (PDF 409 KB) or harvest zones with shire boundaries as they are at January 1 st 2008(PDF 368 KB).
The 2008 quotas for Queensland are:
|
Central |
Eastern |
Western |
Total |
Red kangaroo |
5761393 |
8263 |
24006 |
608408 |
Eastern Grey Kangaroo |
854697 |
158506 |
0 |
1013203 |
Wallaroo |
285029 |
29067 |
13964 |
328060 |
The harvest to date for Queensland as of 02/04/2008 is:
|
Central |
Eastern |
Western |
Total |
Red kangaroo |
10% |
6% |
22% |
38% |
Eastern Grey Kangaroo |
9% |
7% |
N/a |
16% |
Wallaroo |
15% |
2% |
3% |
20% |
For each of the harvested species (eastern grey kangaroo, red kangaroo and wallaroo), 45 percent of the commercial quota may be set aside by the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation for pet food and human consumption. This should guarantee a minimum supply of product to the carcass sector of the harvesting industry.
Monitoring
From 1980 until 1991, fixed-wing aircraft were used to monitor trends in Queensland kangaroo populations. Since 1991, helicopter surveys have provided a more accurate estimate of kangaroo populations. Ground surveys conducted at the same time confirmed the accuracy of these surveys. Surveys are conducted across Queensland on private properties and National parks.For Queensland’s environment, ground surveys together with helicopter surveys produce the most accurate estimates of macropod populations.
Permits
You need a licence, permit or authority to shoot kangaroos, whether for recreation or commercial use. In Queensland, the Environmental Protection Agency issues these.Commercial harvesters need a Commercial Wildlife Harvesting Licence. Prior to applying, new applicants must complete a TAFE training course and a firearms competency test. Applicants must provide the following details:
- personal details
- properties where the applicant intends operating
- approval of each property owner
You cannot shoot kangaroos in protected areas such as national parks or in state forests.
Recreational shooters can only use the macropods they shoot for their personal use and have annual limits.
Commercial harvesters must sell harvested animals to licensed dealers (processors) who then sell meat and skins within Australia and overseas.
Tags
Self-locking, numbered tags with a unique annual colour code are used to regulate the harvest. A tag must be attached to each animal harvested.The number on each tag can determine the harvester’s identity.
The Environmental Protection Agency issues tags at a cost that is regularly adjusted according to the CPI. Tags vary between 64 cents each (in lots of 500) and 73 cents (in lots of 100). The cost of administering the macropod management unit and monitoring macropod species is also covered by the cost of kangaroo tags.
Recreational wildlife licence holders can purchase up to 50 tags. Commercial harvesters can purchase boxes of 500 or 100 tags.
The person who shoots a kangaroo and was supplied with the tags by the Environmental Protection Agency must attach a tag to each kangaroo. The skin and carcass must be prepared in a manner that ensures the sex of the animal is readily identifiable as outlined by the Conservation Plan.
Every month, commercial harvesters have to submit records of the number and sex of each species taken on each property each night to the Environmental Protection Agency. Recreational shooters must provide a return within a fortnight of each quarter even if no macropods were harvested in that quarter.
Harvesting methods
When harvesting kangaroos, animal welfare is a primary concern. Harvesters are required to use humane methods. A nationally endorsed Code of practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos applies.Kangaroo trade
All macropods must be sold before the end of the harvest period to a holder of a Commercial Wildlife Licence (macropods).Restrictions apply to storing and moving kangaroo products.
Anyone keeping or using macropod skins or meat must be licensed. Records must be kept on all macropods entering the trade so harvesting trends can be monitored. Each dealer must submit these records to the QPWS each week.
A minimum carcass weight and skin size is set each year in the Harvest Period Notice. The minimum sizes are set to ensure that only mature kangaroos are harvested. The aim of current size limits is that an animal would have a live body weight of approximately 21 kg and has therefore spent time as a breeding adult in the population.
Trade gradings apply to the size of macropod skins for each species:
- For eastern grey kangaroos, red kangaroos and common wallaroos:
- Large > 0·65sq.m
- Medium 0·65– 0·41sq.m
- Small < 0.41sq.m
Damage mitigation permit
The QPWS recognises that commercial harvesting may not always satisfy a landholder’s need to control damage by kangaroos. Under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, landholders may be issued with damage mitigation permits to deal with specific problems requiring culling of kangaroos in particularly high numbers. A record of the number of kangaroos taken under damage mitigation permits is maintained on an Enviromental Protection Agency database.Impact of harvesting
Only species which can sustain harvesting are allowed to be taken. The number that can be harvested will be reduced if monitoring of kangaroo populations reveals any natural or harvest-induced decline in kangaroo populations.Harvest details compiled from returns submitted by harvesters and dealers (such as species, sex, weights and locations) provide an indirect overview of the status of kangaroo populations. This information is used to determine long-term effects of harvesting on kangaroos across the state.
Low-level aerial surveys by trained observers in helicopters are conducted annually to monitor trends in kangaroo populations. These surveys are the basis for setting quotas and monitoring any effects of harvesting.
Even though kangaroos have been harvested since the early days of European settlement, changes to the number and distribution of kangaroo species seems to be related more to land use changes and environmental factors than harvesting.
Because harvesting could affect the dynamics and composition of kangaroo populations, kangaroo populations and the harvest are closely monitored.
Effective management of kangaroo harvesting ensures both the safe sustainable use of an abundant wildlife group and long-term conservation of kangaroos and wallabies. As a bonus, some revenue from the kangaroo harvesting industry funds research and recovery programs for threatened macropod species which have declined since European settlement.
Nature Conservation (Macropod) Conservation Plan 2005
Nature Conservation (Macropod Harvest Period 2008) Notice
Code of Practice for Humane Shooting of Kangaroos
Wildlife Trade Management Plan for Export - Commercially Harvested Macropods - 2008-2012 )
Macropod Management Quota Submission for 2008
Information sheet - Commercial wildlife harvesting licence macropods - TAFE course
Guideline - Storage and movement of commercially harvested macropods
Guideline - Commercial wildlife harvesting licence macropods
Commercial harvesting of protected animals, including macropods
Last updated: 08 April 2008
