It was reported in this week’s edition of the Weekly Times [a rural newspaper in Victoria] under the headline “It’s Hop, Skip and Rump” that Victorian kangaroo meat is set to be tossed on to barbeques in the New Year as the Andrews Government approves the Aussie icon being processed for human consumption. I assume that the kangaroo meat that can presently be purchased in Victoria comes from those states which already have such an approval.
Now I imagine this could be a very emotive subject for many people, despite the fact that most people already happily eat, without any thought for the animals involved, the meat from livestock such as cows, sheep, pigs, fowls, ducks, geese, and so on. I assume that the reason for the emotion [apart from the non- meat eaters and in the main, their general distaste to kill any animal for food], is most likely based on the fact that the kangaroo is a ‘national icon’, and that makes presumably that form of meat all the difference!!
Not that the ‘culling’ of kangaroos for food is new! Already in 2020, more than 40,000 Victorian kangaroos have been harvested by professional shooters and processed into ‘pet food’!! [As of the 1st December, the actual number was 39,484 During this COVID year, pet food processors claim that there has already been a big lift in demand for roo and deer meat in the face of beef shortages. Those organisations will insist that ‘Kangaroo meat is the way of the future’.
Surveys of the Victorian kangaroo population are conducted regularly, the most recent in November. The report noted that ‘Harvesting is tightly controlled by Victoria’s Game Management Authority, which issues tags that professional shooters must attach to each kangaroo carcass’.
I guess the writer is standing on the fence a little here – I generally dislike the idea of raising animals for the purpose of killing them for a human food source, yet I do eat some meat. Animal husbandry has been a part of ‘man’s’ existence since the beginning of time. We regularly read reports of kangaroo populations getting out of control in Australia, and the problems this causes for our farming communities, especially in times of drought; similarly, with the build-up of urban areas around the cities and towns, the subsequent encroachment into the animals’ environment, and their ‘forced’ movement into urban areas in search of food, causes numerous other problems of conflict.
So it would seem, that despite the protests and concerns, of some aspects of society, the processing of kangaroo meat in Victoria for human consumption in inevitable. The Editorial that follows outlines the environmental advantages – it could have also made reference to the advantages gained through the regulation and control of animal numbers and over-population – arguments for some form of culling have being used to justify the practice, not just with kangaroos, but other wild species such as deer, brumbies & wild horses, feral pigs and buffalo, etc. Personally, I’d like to see more attention given to the culling of wild dogs and feral [and domestic] cats of the sort which devastate much of our Australian wildlife.
In any case, we read from the Weekly Times editorial, of the 30th December 2020 [and this is admittedly, essentially a not unexpected rural view]
“What better way to celebrate being Australian than throwing a strip of kangaroo loin, fillet or rump on the barbeque.
It is one of the healthiest, leanest and arguably most sustainable meats in the world..
NSW, Queensland, and South Australia have been regulating the harvest and processing of the Aussie icon for decades.
So why has it taken the Victorian government so long to approve the processing of kangaroo for consumption?
The Weekly Times readership need look no further than the lobbying of animal welfare and environmental groups, who have urged Victorian Labor MPS to ban kangaroo culling and processing.
Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick wants to ‘rapidly phase out the commercial killing of kangaroo and wallabies and close down processing industries’ with more funding to encourage ‘kangaroo friendly wildlife-based tourism’.
The Greens have also called for the ‘banning of the commercial killing of kangaroos’.
Yet such policies fail to recognise kangaroos are the most efficient source of meat found in Australia.
While people such as Mr. Meddick want to ‘save’ every animal, surely the Greens realise the environmental value of a species that has such a low carbon footprint.
They need to accept roos are an ideal source of high-quality protein, which when properly managed, can supplement the supply of agricultural meats.
While it has taken a while, Premier Daniel Andrews and his team should be congratulated on standing up to Meddick and the Greens.
The next step is to tap into another rich source of protein in the forests – wild deer”………………………………………….
One final word on a subject that does leave the writer with no difference or conflict of opinion – a letter to the editor in the same publication, whose thoughts I thoroughly support.
“Victoria’s native wildlife is in decline due to many mounting pressures, including climate change, bush-fires, drought and habitat loss. It is unconscionable to add to this decline by continuing the barbaric sport of killing waterbirds for pleasure. It is 2021, not 1821. It is time the Victorian Government banned duck shooting to bring our state up to date with social expectations”.
[rather than allow a small minority of powerful interests to continue to run the agenda on this question].
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