Victorian kangaroos will be shot and turned into pet food under a new permanent program

The kangaroo is one our most beautiful native animals, however it will now be hunted and served to our pets under a new state government program.

Kangaroos like this will be shot and killed under a new state government program. Picture - Nikki Redman

Kangaroos will be shot and turned into pet food as part of a permanent program after a state government trial has been given the permanent tick of approval.

The Andrews Government announced the Kangaroo Harvesting Program today, saying accredited shooters will be able to have carcasses from across the state processed for pet food by licensed businesses.

Pet owners could soon be serving Kangaroo to their cats and dogs.

It replaces the Kangaroo Pet Food Trial which has been carried out in several regions of Victoria since 2014, with positive results, despite over culling in some areas.

The new program will be rolled out statewide with allocated numbers of roos that can be killled and processed in each region using a special tag system.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes said the move will make life easier for farmers and support jobs in regional communities.

Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes believes the plan will assist farmers and regional communities.

“The program balances the need to keep kangaroo populations at healthy levels and ensure farmers aren’t being overrun by roos who can eat crops, damage property, and compete with stock for feed and water,” she said.

In the first two years after the trial began in 2014, more than 100,000 kangaroos were shot per year and 30,000 culled animals processed into pet food.

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Under the new plan a maximum total harvest will be set for each region by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning based on statewide kangaroo population surveys.

These quotas will be updated annually to reflect changes in wildlife numbers and to ensure a sustainable Victorian kangaroo population.

The Authority to Control Wildlife system will continue to operate alongside the Kangaroo Harvesting Program as an alternative for landowners to control kangaroos on their own property – but these carcasses cannot be processed under the new system.

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