Kangaroo debate: Marsupials under fire as drought hits South Australian farmers hard

Australia’s cute and cuddly national emblem or a pest threatening farmers’ livelihoods? The Sunday Mail takes a look at our burgeoning kangaroo population and the impact it’s having across the state.

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They’re among Australia’s most treasured native animals, but kangaroo species are increasingly coming under fire as they eat through the pastures farmers would rather keep for their stock.

The drought and a lack of feed is bringing the marsupials into conflict with landholders, as animal welfare advocates also raise the alarm about how populations are managed.

Recently released figures from the Environment Department show permits issued for non-commercial destruction of kangaroos accounted for about 154,000 animal deaths last year.

That was more than double the 75,000 kangaroos shot under valid permits the year before. However, some speculate that the number killed could in reality be much higher because non-commercial shooters do not tag animals.

The commercial industry last year took about 109,000 kangaroos — 14 per cent of the state’s harvesting quota for the year and well short of the number landholders had shot and let lie.

Peterborough sheep farmer Neil Sleep said over the past year, he had little choice but to seek permits to destroy more than 1500 kangaroos which had invaded his property looking for food.

A commercial harvester had also shot about 500 on Mr Sleep’s land, but stopped coming around December because the kangaroos had become so thin they were no longer as profitable to catch.

Peterborough sheep farmer Neil Sleep. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“I came home last night and we counted about 300 in a mob within about half a kilometre,” Mr Sleep said.

The Government could help by covering the cost of bullets, he said, to assist farmers in controlling populations.

“There should have been a government cull 12 months ago,” Mr Sleep said.

“It’s not good to see them dying next to the troughs. They’re starving — they get to the troughs and just fall over and die.” Mr Sleep said he would soon need to cut back his flock to about a quarter of its usual size because of the difficulty in accessing hay.

Matters were being made worse by the kangaroos, who were eating through any remaining food they could find.

“The kangaroos ate everything that was there — everything in sight,” Mr Sleep said.

RSPCA animal welfare advocate Rebekah Eyers said there was evidence kangaroos were suffering because of the drought.

But her organisation was advocating for strict monitoring and auditing of non-commercial culls to ensure permits were not exceeded and animal welfare issues minimised.

“One of the biggest issues here is the number of kangaroos not shot humanely — in particular the non-commercial sector,” Dr Eyers said.

“There’s usually no requirement for them to demonstrate competency or accurate shooting or an understanding of the appropriate firearm or ammunition to kill the animals instantly.

“There’s no oversight that these animals are being killed humanely.”

Issues included kangaroos being injured and joeys orphaned and left to starve or be picked off by predators.

Dr Eyers said applicants should require proof of the damage kangaroos were doing to the environment. Athol Park-based Macro Meats is the world’s largest distributor of wild game kangaroo meat.

Director Ray Borda agreed there were animal welfare issues associated with non-commercial culls — as evidenced by the dozens of kangaroos his business found with shrapnel in their bodies after previously being shot by landholders.

“They’re not marksmen — they don’t have to undergo any firearms accuracy,” Mr Borda said.

“A lot of these animals are getting injured because a lot of them are using shotguns. We throw out between 80 and 100 (kangaroos) a night because they have shrapnel in them.”

Mr Borda said he was working with the Environment Department in the hope of training farmers to help supply the commercial industry with kangaroo meat.

The high costs of shooters’ licences, and tags, were also holding the industry back.

“We used to have 120 shooters in SA and we’re down to about 50,” Mr Borda said. “We (also) can’t get the kangaroos because either the drought has got them or the destruction permits have got them.”

A reduction in the fees for tags and licences would help boost the industry and animal welfare, Mr Borda said. He also raised concerns about a lack of Government monitoring for non-commercial permit holders.

“They could say, here’s a permit for 200 kangaroos and they go out and shoot 200,000 — they just don’t check.”

Kangaroos on Blinman Road in the Flinders Ranges. Picture: Phil Coleman/Outback Imaging

Livestock SA was working with the Environment Department, president Joe Keynes said, in the hope of having commercial harvest areas expanded.

At the moment, they cover 63 per cent of the state, including the northern pastoral and agricultural areas.

The organisation was keen to work with Mr Borda on training farmers to supply kangaroo meat — helping reduce roo numbers and adding a new income stream to their operations.

Mr Keynes said most farmers with non-commercial kangaroo destruction permits were skilled at their job.

“The majority of producers are very responsible in making sure that they carry out their duties with the destruction permits to the best of their abilities and that includes the animal welfare issues,” Mr Keynes said.

Fauna Rescue kangaroo co-ordinator Diana McGregor said her organisation recently received a call after a Scout group came across a badly injured kangaroo at Sandy Creek Conservation Park near Lyndoch in the Barossa Valley.

Fauna Rescue volunteer Jo Geyer is looking after about 25 kangaroos at her Adelaide Hills home. Picture: Tait Schmaal

The female roo had been shot in the face, but was still alive and had a dead joey in her pouch that was being eaten by maggots.

“We often get little joeys where the mum has been shot and they’re just left to fend for themselves,” Mrs McGregor said. “Joeys from car accidents are usually very calm because it happens so quickly. But those orphaned from a cull obviously pick up all the terror from their parents and they’re quite stressed for days and days.”

Fellow Fauna Rescue volunteer Jo Geyer is looking after about 25 kangaroos at her Adelaide Hills home.

The dry weather in SA’s north was bringing roos further inland, she said, in search of water and food.

“It becomes a problem for farmers because they’ve got livestock they want to feed — it’s not a good situation to be in,” Mrs Geyer said.

Kangaroo numbers are only surveyed in commercial harvest areas in SA.

An Environment Department spokeswoman said at the last count, there were about 4.4 million in those areas — down from 5 million in 2017, but still a significant increase on the 2.7 million recorded in 2013.

Animal welfare was “of the upmost importance” to the department.

“The department administers the Animal Welfare Act 1985 to ensure the ethical treatment of all animals and works closely with the RSPCA,” the spokeswoman said.

“Any report of noncompliance with the Act is investigated and treated seriously.”

So far this year, one landowner in the Mid North has been fined $270 for failing to comply with the conditions of a permit.

The landowner had breached the Code of Practice for Humane Destruction. No fines were issued last year.

The spokeswoman said the department had investigated the incident involving the kangaroo at Sandy Creek.

“The kangaroo was not shot as part of a population control program and there were no permits issued to landholders in the area,” she said. “(The Department) concluded that it was an illegal act, which is disappointing but also fortunately rare.” The Government encouraged landholders in the commercial harvest area to use a commercial kangaroo shooter to harvest kangaroos from their land for little or no cost to the landholder.

“That way there is more regional employment, the carcass is removed from the land and it value adds to unique Australian products,” the spokeswoman said.