Pastoralists concerned as kangaroo numbers boom

SA Arid Lands regional director Stuart Paul said in the past decade, kangaroo harvester numbers had dropped by 40 per cent, with only a handful of those younger than 30.

“We are really keen to promote options to participate in the industry, to support the growth of the industry,” he said.

“We think there are opportunities to buddy up with more experienced people and do on-the-job training.”

Mr Paul said kangaroo populations appeared to be rising nationally – in SA there are about five million kangaroos, up on the five-year average of 3.6m.

In recent years, only about 15pc of the quota set has been harvested.

He said part of this was driven by a global decrease in demand for kangaroo meat, with industry working to increase markets.

“If demand for the produce is not there, meat processors don’t require as much and they don’t pay as much to field processors,” he said.

In the meantime, total grazing pressure was high.

Mr Paul said pastoralists should consider a mix of commercial and non-commercial partnerships with harvesters to help reduce numbers on their properties.

Pastoralist Nick Blore, Mundi Mundi Station, via Broken Hill, NSW, said he had never seen kangaroo numbers so high.

With half of his land in SA and half in NSW, he said in one 5000-hectare paddock, there were an estimated 3000 kangaroos.

“They’ve been drinking a lot of water, eating a lot of food and destroying fencing,” he said.

“We’ve had shooters come in, but it’s just hard to get on top of because of the sheer number of kangaroos and the fact shooters have to stick to quotas.”

Mr Blore would love to see some government assistance with the kangaroo problem, either through major aerial culling or subsidies for cluster fencing.

“I don’t know if cluster fencing would be a long-term solution, but in the short-term I think it would be a great help to get on top of numbers,” he said.