Half of kangaroos killed in Victorian cull turned to pet food

TENS of thousands of kangaroos have been killed and turned into pet food in a controversial Victorian trial.

The Government has hired just two fulltime compliance officers to police the kangaroo cull program.

TENS of thousands of kangaroos have been killed and turned into pet food in a controversial Victorian trial.

Government figures show the commercial pet food program has processed 27,760 kangaroos — almost 50 per cent of the total culled since the trial began in 2014.

The initial success of the program has led to state Minister for Agriculture Jaala ­Pulford extending it until 2018.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Should the kangaroo pet food trial continue?

However the Victorian Greens raised concerns that shooters were flouting trial rules by exceeding permitted kill numbers and not euthanising joeys left without mothers.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning revealed this week that several shooters had ­received warnings for exceeding the number of kangaroos they were allowed to submit for processing.

Mr Barber said some shooters were killing too many kangaroos and failing to euthanise joeys.

The Government has hired just two fulltime compliance officers to police the program.

Greens leader Greg Barber called for better scrutiny of shooters.

“We know the Government can’t supervise these culls properly,’’ he said.

“We know there is cruelty, and a slow death, and joeys are orphaned.”

A department spokesman said there had been a “very small number of incidents of noncompliance, and the ­department has taken the ­appropriate action.’’

Despite the controversy over the pet food trial, local councils continue to support culling and carcass management as communities across the state battle increasing kangaroo populations invading farmland and outer ­suburban backyards

More than 100,000 kangaroos are now culled each year in Victoria, prompting the pet food trial in the bid to minimise carcass waste.

Despite the benefits of the trial, kangaroo advocates continue to rally against culls.

A planned killing of 150 kangaroos in Melbourne’s outer north was called off after protesters threatened to swarm the area.

The department’s Melbourne region executive director, Chris Hardman, confirmed that the operation at Woodlands Park near Melbourne Airport had been cancelled “due to concerns for public safety’’.

“It’s important to note that the kangaroo control action was planned in order to maintain a critical breeding population of eastern barred bandicoots,’’ he said.

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Originally published as Half of kangaroos killed in Victorian cull turned to pet food