South Australian farmers demand better control incentives as kangaroo numbers boom

GREATER incentives are required to entice more people to become kangaroo shooters, farmers have urged, as numbers of the marsupial skyrocket to five million — threatening the state’s prime pastoral land.

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GREATER incentives are required to entice more people to become kangaroo shooters, farmers have urged, as numbers of the marsupial skyrocket to five million — threatening the state’s prime pastoral land.

A mix of high rainfall creating ideal breeding conditions and a decline in the commercial kangaroo meat business has led to the population more than doubling since 2012.

Primary Producers executive chairman Rob Kerin said the State Government should make it “more rewarding” for people to become kangaroo shooters.

He said some incentives, such as lowering the $1000 accreditation and tag costs for shooters or engaging sport shooters, could be rolled out to attract more shooters.

“But South Australian shooters normally stay close to home, so to get them to come out to shoot kangaroos, the isolation factor is pretty big,” he said.

Mr Kerin said the industry was “for the first time acknowledging the problem” when previously the State Government had focused on kangaroo conservation.

In a meeting between farmers, industry leaders and the State Government late last year, several options were discussed but “it all comes down to getting enough shooters”, Mr Kerin said.

ON THE RISE: Kangaroos on Blinman Road, just south of Blinman in the Flinders Ranges. Picture: PHIL COLEMAN

He dismissed the use of biological agents, which may wipe out the whole kangaroo population.

All kangaroos are protected in SA, but three species — the red kangaroo, western grey kangaroo and euro — are covered by the new SA Commercial Kangaroo Management Plan, released a month ago, to set new quotas to keep numbers under control.

But the quotas are never met. In 2016, only 14 per cent of the approved quota of 684,600 kangaroos was killed. Meanwhile, the number of field processors, or kangaroo shooters, has fallen from 83 in 2007 to 49.

Latest State Government figures show red kangaroo numbers are now 43 per cent higher than the five-year average between 2013 and 2017 at 2.75 million, compared with the state’s human population of 1.72 million.

And the growing mobs are decimating pastoral land as they compete with stock for feed.

Richard Warwick, whose family owns Holowiliena Station in one of the worst-hit ­regions of the Flinders Ranges, said a neighbour recently driving the 73km between Quorn and Craddock counted 354 kangaroos along the way.

“Numbers are shockingly higher and it’s stopping people going out at night,” Mr Warwick said.

“One family I know who went to the Carrieton Rodeo north of Orroroo said they could not travel above 60km/h at night because of the population of kangaroos. They’ve lived in the area all their lives and they have never seen kangaroos so thick.”

Richard Warwick, whose family owns Holowiliena Station in one of the worst-hit ­regions of the Flinders Ranges, said a neighbour recently driving the 73km between Quorn and Craddock counted 354 kangaroos along the way.

Mr Warwick’s station now has 2½ times more kangaroos than sheep.

“You would think the areas in the national park would be well looked after, but it’s probably more degraded than ­pastoral land surrounding it because there are so many kangaroos,” he said.

“There’s a feeling of desperation from the landholders.”

SA Arid Lands Region regional director Stuart Paul said kangaroo numbers were calculated through aerial surveys in June and July last year. Red kangaroos and western greys were causing problems, he said.

Mobs on the Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Hills were also swelling.

Mr Paul said the major contributor was rain. During the state’s dry decade until 2012, numbers had remained steady.

“The numbers taken commercially doesn’t really have any bearing on overall numbers, but it can help on particular properties,” he said.

The Environment Department is working with pastoralists, commercial shooters and meat processors to find ways to target problem regions and to find ways to make the kangaroo industry more attractive.

New rules, which came into effect last May, mean pastoralists granted non-commercial destruction permits could shoot double the number of kangaroos, from 200 to 400.

Livestock SA chief executive Andrew Curtis said lucrative markets for kangaroo-skin football boots in the US and for meat in Russia had disappeared and work was now under way to understand barriers to more businesses harvesting the animals.

“We need to look at different markets for kangaroo products. Kangaroo is premium meat which is clean and tasty (while) kangaroo hide is of high quality,” Mr Curtis said.

“Within the industry we need people who understand these markets and people in state government such as State Development who has a good handle on the market.

“We’ve got a problem with increasing kangaroo numbers. Let’s see if we can look at the issue together with the environment department and farmers for a better solution because there should be.”

He encouraged measures to reduce kangaroo numbers, which have already put pressure on the environment.

There has also been a worrying rise in car crashes involving kangaroos.

RAA Insurance claims senior manager Hayley Cain said claims from hitting animals rose by 50 per cent since 2014 to more than 1500 a year, and “kangaroos account for the majority of animal collision claims at around 60 per cent”.

Yesterday, three people, including a three-year-old child, were taken to hospital after the car they were in hit a kangaroo on Kangaroo Island.

The crash happened about 11.10am on South Coast Rd at Seal Bay. No one in the car was seriously injured.