RSPCA bows to pressure on its own kangaroo meat sales

The animal welfare organisation today said the move was "based on current concerns about animal welfare implications in the sourcing of these products".

The partly government-funded charity group has sold kangaroo meat based pet food at its state member stores.

Those stores are generally attached to their "care centres", shelters and veterinary hospitals.

The products no longer on sale include processed dry food and kangaroo fillet treats.

About two million kangaroos are harvested in Australia each year depending on state quotas, from a total population estimated to be almost 40 million.

The Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia says kangaroos are harvested by skilled, qualified shooters who must pass a proficiency test every five years to prove they can meet the animal welfare, food safety and meat processing requirements of Australia and export markets.

Mandatory licensing and tagging systems as well as regular government inspections mean every kangaroo harvested for the commercial industry was done so humanely in line with nationally agreed codes of practice.

Victoria believes there are almost two million kangaroos ranging across the state which has led the government to introduce a 39 per cent lift in culling quotas.

Like Victoria, most states set their quotas at 10-20 per cent of the total estimated kangaroo population.

The South Australian government has been using aerial surveys since 1978 to count kangaroo numbers.

The Queensland government also uses aerial surveys to set quotas at about 10-20 per cent of the estimated population size.

Quotas in New South Wales for its commercial harvest are divided into kangaroo management zones.

Last year's quota was set at 2,126,176 with an estimated kangaroo population across the state of more than 14 million.

Western Australia's quota was set at more than 670,000 in 2019 but because of the dry conditions, the quota was not reached.

Permits are needed in all states and territories for commercial harvesting of kangaroos.

The RSPCA's move was applauded by groups like the Victorian Kangaroo Alliance which said it had been lobbying for the change.

The alliance said it would now switch its focus to other kangaroo meat stockists like Woolworths, Coles, IGA, Petbarn and Petstock to stop selling kangaroo meat.

The alliance claims the kangaroo meat industry is "unethical, unsustainable and unhygienic".

The RSPCA says kangaroos shot in Australia for their meat or skins can suffer when killed depending on the competency of the shooter and the conditions in which they're killed.

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The RSPCA's published policy on management of wild animals says "in some circumstances it is necessary to manage populations of wild animals, native or introduced".

That policy said it was sometimes necessary to manage populations to "reduce adverse impacts on human activities or the environment".

The kangaroo industry has been under attack both domestically and also globally.

Australia last year launched a diplomatic campaign in the US to try and better explain the kangaroo leather and meat industries.

Late last year Australia's best wildlife scientists called for a national approach to combat the kangaroo plague.

The scientists, wildlife experts from many universities around Australia, agreed current strategies on curbing their numbers are not working.

They have embraced the need for more culling, and also want to see prices paid for kangaroo meat trebled to encourage more harvesting.