Victorian Government confirms kangaroo harvest to be permanent
Questions over the future of kangaroo harvesting in Victoria have been answered with the state agriculture minister confirming a trial will be replaced with permanent trade.
A FIVE-YEAR trial of harvesting kangaroos for pet food has been confirmed as a permanent trade by the Victorian Government.
Accredited shooters will now be able to harvest kangaroos and have carcasses processed for pet food by licensed businesses on an ongoing basis — after a trial launched by the Napthine Government in March 2014 and extended by the Andrews Government.
The Kangaroo Harvesting Program replaces the Kangaroo Pet Food Trial and will be administered by the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions.
State Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes said the program included strict safeguards to ensure harvesting was carried out at a sustainable level, that animal welfare standards were met, and that the livelihoods of local farmers were protected.
“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,” Ms Symes said.
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.
Opposition agriculture spokesman Peter Walsh said: “It’s absurd that kangaroos controlled under an Authority to Control Wildlife permit will now be left in the paddock to rot, feeding up wild dogs and foxes.
“After the Andrews Labor Government’s lacklustre approach to this program over the past five years, it remains to be seen if the latest changes will work or if processors, hunters and farmers are just being wrapped up in more red tape.”
Seven harvest zones have been designated — Mallee, Upper Wimmera, Otway, North East, Lower Wimmera, Gippsland and Central — with an allocated number of kangaroos harvested in each zone by shooters accredited with the program, using a tag system.
A maximum total harvest will be set by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning for each harvest zone based on state-wide kangaroo population surveys.
These quotas will be updated annually.
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