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2002 / 12: Should kangaroos be commercially harvested?
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2008/24: Should kangaroos be commercially farmed in Australia?<BR>

2008/24: Should kangaroos be commercially farmed in Australia?

What they said...
'For most of Australia's human history-around 60 000 years-kangaroo was the main source of meat. It could again become important'
The final Garnaut report

'It really is an absurdity to suggest and it reflects very poorly on Garnaut that he would make such a suggestion.  Anyone that's ever had anything to do with kangaroos knows that they're a nomadic animal'
Mallee livestock and crop farmer, Mr Leonard Vallance

The issue at a glance
The final report from the Federal Government's chief climate change adviser Professor Ross Garnaut has recommended that agriculture should be covered by a carbon trading scheme.
Despite the report proposing some free permits, paying for livestock emissions would be so expensive under the report's recommendations that beef and lamb production would be likely to reduce and kangaroo production increase.
Professor Garnaut has recommended that seven million cattle and 36 million sheep would have to be replaced by 175 million farmed kangaroos.
The  report's recommendations have been opposed by a range of farmers'  associations.

Background
(The information outlined below is taken from the Wikipedia entry titled 'Kangaroo meat'.  The full text can be read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_meat
Other information comes from the World league for the Protection of Animals 2008  Submission on the Cruelty, Risks and Illegality of the Kangaroo Industry to the Hon. Peter Garrett,
Federal Minister for the Environment.  The full text of this submission can be found at http://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/submission-kangaroo-industry-2008.pdf

The current exploitation of kangaroo meat in Australia
Kangaroo is produced only from free ranging wild animals in Australia and not produced by organised farming. Both the meat and the hides are sold.
Although most species of marsupials are protected from hunting by law, a small number of the large-sized species which exist in high numbers can be hunted by commercial hunters.
This policy has been criticized by some wildlife activists. On the other hand the kangaroo harvest is supported by a wide range of professional ecologists in Australia.
Groups such as the Ecological Society of Australia, the Australasian Wildlife Management Society and the Australian Mammal Society have position statements in favour of kangaroo harvesting. Such groups argue that basing agricultural production systems on native animals rather than introduced livestock like sheep offers considerable ecological advantages to the fragile Australian rangelands.
Though it is impossible to determine the exact number, population estimates are calculated each year by the government conservation agency in each state. Nearly 40 years of refinement has led to the development of sophisticated aerial survey techniques which enable overall populations estimates to be constructed.
Current estimates indicate that there may be between 35 to 50 million kangaroos in Australia. In 2002 the number of kangaroos allowed to be shot by commercial hunters was increased from 5.5 million to 7 million per year. While animal rights activists protested the move, Australian farmers claimed that kangaroos were a plague after a huge increase in their numbers.
A 2002 report studying the grazing pressure caused by kangaroos indicated that scientific evidence is lacking that kangaroos reduce wool production or sheep carrying capacity.
In 2007 the national kangaroo culling quota was more than 3.5 million (but significantly down on the figures earlier in the decade).
Kangaroos are protected by legislation in Australia, both state and federal. Kangaroos are harvested by licensed shooters in accordance with a strict code of practice. Meat that is exported is inspected by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).
Kangaroo meat was legalised for human consumption in South Australia in 1980, and in all other Australian states in 1993.
Kangaroo was once limited in availability, although consumption in Australia is becoming more widespread. Many Australian supermarkets now stock various cuts of kangaroo including fillets, steaks, minced meat and 'kanga bangas' (kangaroo sausages).
Seventy percent of kangaroo meat is exported, particularly to the European market: Germany and France. It is sold in supermarkets in England and used in Russian sausages. The industry is worth around A$250 million annually.
The kangaroo industry is growing at 7% a year and there is pressure to open up additional areas for
commercial exploitation.
The meat is also processed into pet food. Pet meat processing comprises the largest proportion by volume of the industry with about 60-70% of kangaroos slaughtered being processed for pet meat. Leading industry figure Ray Borda of Borda Meats has been quoted as saying that the industry wants to raise kangaroo meat to represent 8% of all Australian red meat consumption by 2010. Currently kangaroo meat represents less than 1% of the red meat market.
To achieve the industry's goal the commercial quotas would need to be increased by 78% and the export markets closed. At present most meat for human consumption is exported.

Internet information
The full index of the Garnaut Climate Change Review final report can be found at http://www.garnautreview.org.au/index.htm
Chapter 22, 'Transforming Rural land Use' can be found at http://www.garnautreview.org.au/pdf/Garnaut_Chapter22.pdf

An ABC report on Professor Garnaut's kangaroo farming proposal, dated September 9, 208, can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200809/s2378181.htm

On October 2, 2008, the ABC aired a report dealing with support within the kangaroo industry for Professor Garnaut's proposals.  The report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/02/2379745.htm

Wikipedia's entry on Kangaroo meat can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_meat
The entry looks at production, products and history.

In March 1998 the CSIRO released a report on the viability of kangaroo harvesting.  A media release summarising this report can be found at http://www.csiro.au/files/mediaRelease/mr1998/KangaroosFactfiction.htm

On February 16, 2006, Online Opinion published an opinion piece written by Ian Mott is a third generation native forest owner, miller and regenerator from the Byron hinterland.  The piece challenges the viability farming kangaroos.  It is titled, 'The ruse of farming roos'.  It can be found at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4159

A series of comments in repsonse to Ian Mott's "The ruse of farming roos' was also published in the Online Opinion Forum.  The comments can be found at http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=4159

On August 7, 2008, The Sydney Morning Herald published a report on the work of FATE (the University of NSW's Future of Australian Threatened Ecosystems project).  The project is exploring the commercial exploitation of Kangaroos.  The article is titled, 'Roo on the Menu or Rue the Day'.
The full text can be read at http://realdirt.com.au/2008/08/07/roo-on-the-menue-or-rue-the-day-smhreal-dirt-exclusive/

Arguments against farming kangaroos
1.  Kangaroos are not suitable for commercial farming
Many farmers have rejected Professor Garnaut's suggestion that they should farm kangaroos rather than sheep and cattle.  They argue that kangaroos are not well suited to commercial exploitation.
Mallee livestock and crop farmer Leonard Vallance has stated, 'It really is an absurdity to suggest and it reflects very poorly on Garnaut that he would make such a suggestion.  Anyone that's ever had anything to do with kangaroos knows that they're a nomadic animal. The livestock that Western agriculture farms have been domesticated for 2000 years or more.'
Some scientific studies have also suggested that kangaroos do not suit domestication.  A CSIRO study conducted in 1983 concluded that a number of factors were likely to preclude the intensive farming of kangaroos.
Kangaroo meat production under intensive conditions is limited by a low reproduction rate and a slow growth rate.
Handling difficulties would also ensure many husbandry problems. Rangeland farming of kangaroos is limited by the mobility of kangaroos, their ability to jump stock fences and behaviour patterns which prevent mustering or herding.
Markets for meat and skins are limited and are adequately supplied from the existing rangeland harvest (that is kangaroo hunting).
Farmed kangaroos could not compete successfully in these circumstances because of high costs associated with establishing and operating a kangaroo farming enterprise.
In an article published in Online Opinion in 2006, Ian Mott outlined those factors which would make kangaroo farming prohibitively expensive.  After factoring in fencing and other costs, Mott concluded, 'Each kangaroo sold will have to be worth $465 more than what the farmer paid for it, or could have received for it if he sold it as a joey the year before. The problem is ... that the young male and mature female Eastern Grey Kangaroos only weigh an average of about 31kg live weight. And this means their cost price would be $15/kg in the yard against the current beef price of about $2.00/kg. And this would mean the retail price of kangaroo meat would be 7.5 times higher than the current price of beef. And that would mean the urban consumer would need to pay $150/kg for kangaroo steak and $75/kg for mince.'

2.  Kangaroo meat is not widely accepted by Australian consumers
There have been two recent government-sponsored surveys of Australian consumers' attitudes toward the consumption of kangaroo meat.  One conducted in 1997 and the other in 2007. Though there has been a growth in acceptance of the meat it cannot be regarded as well-accepted by the Australian market.  Currently kangaroo meat represents only some 1% of the Australian meat market.
The 2007 survey indicated that  58.5% of respondents had tried kangaroo at some time in the past year. 14.5% had eaten kangaroo at least 4 times per year and 44% had eaten it at least once but not regularly.
Of the 41.5% who had not eaten kangaroo meat, half (that is 25% of available non-export consumers) indicated that they were not prepared to try it.
The 1997 survey indicated concern over consuming an animal that was regarded as a national symbol.  This concern seems to have largely disappeared; however, others remain. For example, there remain issues around the harvesting of animals.
Across the sample of those surveyed in 2007, there was a widespread (and incorrect) belief that kangaroo populations are managed in fenced farms (36.4%) or 'free-ranged' on properties like cattle stations (35.8%).
Only 27.8% believed they were harvested as wild animals. Knowing the animals were harvested did not change attitudes to eating kangaroo amongst focus groups participants but there was an indication of increased sensitivity to hygiene factors and the welfare of the animal in the harvest.
Further, there is consumer uncertainty about how to prepare kangaroo meat.  This remains an issue for all but the medium to high consumers, and even most consumers in that category perceive limited scope for preparing kangaroo.
Also, a potential barrier is the level to which kangaroo steak or fillets are cooked, as, while half the consumers surveyed prefer their red meat cooked medium to well-done, the general recommendation is that kangaroo meat should be served rare or medium-rare, due to the very low fat content. The recommendation that the meat be served rare to medium rare is at odds with consumer concerns about hygiene which prompt a desire that the meat be well-cooked.

3.  Increased use of kangaroo meat would damage Australian beef and lamb production and food security
There has been concern expressed that attempts to either encourage or require the farming of kangaroos in marginal areas will damage the existing beef and cattle industries and will not supply a meat that can either be sustained or is wanted by the Australian market..
Ben Fargher of the National Farmers' Federation's has stated, 'What we have to make sure is that we set up a scheme so that cattle and sheep production is not disadvantaged to a point where those industries are put out of business.
They [cattle and beef industries] are responding to market demand. The market demand is strong. Kangaroo meat is not going to substitute that.'
The Federal Opposition's Environment spokesman, Greg Hunt, has argued that the Federal Government cannot allow the undermining of livestock farmers that Garnaut is predicting.
Mr Hunt has stated, 'You [will] have a food security problem if you suddenly try to wack new costs on our farmers.'
It has further been noted global warming will create major difficulties for Australian farmers and that whatever solutions proposed to these problems cannot afford to actually worsen the farmers' situation.  
David Crombie, the president of the National Farmers' Federation, has stated, 'Australia must not take an 'at any cost' approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, particularly as there is no certainty about the contribution to be made by other nations - especially our trade competitors ... We risk a disproportionate impact on Australian food production. Our farm sector is responsible for 12% of GDP, 1.6 million jobs, $30 billion in exports and 93% of our daily domestic food supply, and it could be absolutely devastated...'

4.  There are other ways of reducing methane pollution
There is a wide range of initiatives being considered to reduce the methane emissions of sheep and cattle.
Japanese researchers have found that oil from the cashew shell mixed into feed can reduce methane emissions in livestock. Initial studies showed as much as ninety percent lower greenhouse gas emissions from cattle fed the cashew oil.
Another area of study has been the mapping of the methane genome, which a New Zealand research organization has accomplished. With this knowledge they will work toward producing a vaccine to prevent belching and flatulence. Vaccine development and refinement may take some time.
Some cattle and sheep naturally produce less methane. Efforts are underway to determine the gene or genes involved. Farmers could then breed for lower greenhouse gas producing livestock. As with the flatulence vaccine, ensuring that new problems are not created in the effort to genetically manage existing ones will be key to taking advantage of this inherited trait.
New Zealand and Australia are working on a joint venture to alter grasses to make them more digestible, thereby reducing methane production. A range of other feed-based solutions are being explored to address the problem.
Australia is also investigating ways of transferring to the stomachs of cattle and sheep microbes from the intestinal tracts of kangaroos.  The kangaroos' intestinal microbes allow them to digress grass and other vegetation  without producing significant quantities of methane.

5.  Global warming will dramatically reduce kangaroo numbers
A study conducted by researchers at James Cook University has suggested  that Australia's kangaroo population could be devastated by climate change.  Such a decline in kangaroo numbers would reduce the likelihood of kangaroo meat being able to reduce Australians' consumption of  beef and lamb.
The study found that a temperature rise of two degrees, which is likely by the second half of this century, would reduce the range of most kangaroo and wallaby species by half. A six-degree increase would lead to the territory where kangaroos can survive reducing by 96 per cent.  Such a decline would cause large-scale marsupial extinctions.
Dr Euan Rotchie, who led the three-year study, stated,'The area where kangaroos and wallabies are able to survive is probably going to get smaller, so you would have to expect the populations to drop quite significantly.
Although rainfall in northern Australia may increase as the climate changes, the temperature will also be going up, so you might see a net loss of water through evaporation.'
The World League for the Protection of Animals presented a submission to the Federal Environment Minister in August 2008 which stated, 'The kangaroo populations are under severe pressure from continuing drought and from the unknown and as yet unquantified effects of climate change.'

Arguments in favour of farming kangaroos
1.  Methane from sheep and cattle is a major greenhouse gas
Cattle, sheep and goats are responsible for 60 percent of global methane emissions. Like carbon dioxide, methane is a greenhouse gas that is a real threat to global warming and climate change.
Dr George Wilson of the University of New South Wales has stated. 'Sheep and cattle constitute 11 per cent of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions.'
A paper in the journal Conservation Letters has argued that reducing cattle and sheep populations and increasing the kangaroo numbers to 175 million by 2020 would lower greenhouse gas emissions by 16 megatonnes, or 3 per cent of Australia's total emissions. Dr Wilson is the paper's lead author.
The final Garnaut Report indicated, 'The sheep and cattle industries are highly emissions intensive'.
In Australia, enteric (intestinal) fermentation emissions from livestock (mainly sheep and cattle) account for about 67 per cent of agricultural emissions (DCC 2008b).
Cattle and sheep production also accounts for a significant proportion of emissions from agricultural soils, and beef production is responsible for some emissions from savanna fire and land clearing currently limited opportunities for the reduction of methane emissions.
In July, 2008, Geoff Russell, a mathematician and computer programmer; Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University and Barry Brook, Sir Hubert Wilkins professor of climate change at the University of Adelaide, stated, 'Australia's methane emissions  come primarily from 28 million cattle, 88 million sheep and a bunch of leaky coal mines. The livestock emissions, on their own, will cause significantly more warming in the next 20 years than all our coal-fired power stations.'

2.  Kangaroos are an environmentally sustainable form of livestock
A recent study conducted by the University of New South Wales indicated that farming kangaroos instead of sheep and cattle in Australia could cut by almost a quarter the greenhouse gases produced by grazing livestock.
The study claimed that Methane from the foregut of cattle and sheep constitutes 11 percent of Australia's total greenhouse emissions.
Kangaroos digest their food via a different process and produce negligible amounts of methane.
Removing seven million cattle and 36 million sheep by 2020 and replacing them with 175 million kangaroos, to produce the same amount of meat, could lower national greenhouse gases by 3 percent a year, the University of New South Wales study indicated.
The final Garnaut Report makes a similar point.  It states, 'Australian marsupials emit negligible amounts of methane ... This could be a source of international comparative advantage for Australia in livestock production. For most of Australia's human history-around 60 000 years-kangaroo was the main source of meat. It could again become important.'
The report further states, '[Researchers] have modelled the potential for kangaroos to replace sheep and cattle for meat production in Australia's rangelands, where kangaroos are already harvested. They conclude that by 2020 beef cattle and sheep numbers in the rangelands could be reduced by 7 million and 36 million respectively, and that this would create the opportunity for an increase in kangaroo numbers from 34 million today to 240 million by 2020.
They estimate that meat production from 175 million kangaroos would be sufficient to replace the forgone lamb and beef meat production, and that meat production from kangaroos would become more profitable than cattle and sheep when emissions permit prices exceed $40 per tonne CO2-e. The net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be about 16 Mt CO2-e per year.'
Kangaroos also do far less damage to the land than do cattle or sheep.  A 2004 ABC science program, 'Skippy Size Me' stated, 'A far-reaching conservation benefit of a growing kangaroo industry is that it may let graziers reduce the numbers of sheep they are running, or do away with them altogether.
Reducing sheep numbers has the potential to undo some of the damage done on the rangelands over the last two centuries. Unlike soft-pawed kangaroos, sheep have hard hooves, which over time have broken the ground, exposing the soil to the elements. What hasn't been blown or washed away has been compacted, totally changing the drainage properties of the soils. This has had a marked effect on the vegetation of the region, which in turn has impacted on much of the native wildlife.'

3.  Kangaroo meat is growing in popularity
In the past decade, the proportion of Australians eating kangaroo meat has risen from 51 to 58.5 percent, according to a recent national survey.
The survey indicates around 15 percent of people are regular consumers of kangaroo meat, eating it four or more times per year, while more than 50 percent of people have tried it (33 percent) or are open to trying it (21 percent).
Prepared for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the report reveals higher demand for kangaroo meat than for other game, with six percent of households buying kangaroo meat at least monthly.
It has been claimed that consumption could readily be increased with appropriate promotion.  One of the bases on which it could be promoted is the health benefits of the meat.
CSIRO Project Leader, Dr Andre Wright, has noted that kangaroo meat is very lean with a two per cent fat content.  Dr Wright has also noted, 'Kangaroo meat also has high levels of protein, iron and zinc.'
It has also been argued that consumers need to be made aware of what a relative  disease-free  meat kangaroo is.  Kangaroos suffer from few of the diseases associated with domestic animals such as sheep and cattle. On average, only 0.7% of all kangaroo carcasses inspected show signs of any sort of pathological condition, which is the same figure we get from abattoirs that process domestic stock.

4.  There is a large overseas market for kangaroo meat that could be met by commercial rearing
It has been noted that there is a growing overseas demand for kangaroo meat which the current free range rearing and harvesting through hunting cannot necessarily meet.
Australia's kangaroo industry began exporting kangaroo meat to Europe in 1959 in response to interest from the European game meat industry. Today kangaroo meat and skins are exported all
over the world. Australia exports kangaroo meat to twenty-one countries.
The European Union is the largest importer of kangaroo products. Kangaroo meat is also exported to the United States and many parts of Asia.Australian kangaroos are a popular delicacy in some of the finest restaurants in France and Germany. They are stocked on British supermarket shelves and are used in Russian sausages.
In September, 2005, professional shooter Ron Cugley, from Deniliquin in southern NSW, was reported as stating, 'People out there are screaming for kangaroo meat.'  Mr Cugley noted that drought years made it very difficult to supply demand.
Australian Meats general manager, Wayne Earls, has stated, 'The prices for kangaroo meat from overseas are very good but there is a shortage of supply.'
Kangaroo Industry executive officer John Kelly has also noted, 'The industry is at its most buoyant. We are doing well on export and it [kangaroo meat] is being accepted in the local market - it is in Coles nationally now...We export to over 60 countries and have grown at a rate of around 5 per cent per annum for the last 20 years. There are not many rural industries that can say that.'
Strict quotas govern the number of kangaroos harvested each year.  This is an attempt to ensure the long term sustainability of the industry. In 2007 about 3.2 million animals were 'harvested'.
There are those who argue that rearing kangaroos commercially would help to reduce the impact of drought on the supply of kangaroo meat.  It has also been suggested that commercial kangaroo-rearing would free the industry from the limiting effect of the quotas imposed to protect wild populations.

5.  Australia is investigating mixed harvesting practices to encourage the sustainable exploitation of native fauna on farming properties
Australia has already undertaken a number of research projects aimed at increasing the sustainable use of native species in agriculture.  The focus of these studies is the use of kangaroos.  The most prominent of these research groups is the FATE (Future of Australia's Threatened Ecosystems) Program, coorinated through the University of New South Wales.
The FATE (Future of Australia's Threatened Ecosystems) Program aims to investigate the value of sustainably using native species in Australia's threatened ecosystems to enhance the long-term conservation of Australian biodiversity and through this process to increase the resilience and economic viability of rural and regional Australia. It seeks to encourage the development of commercial activities by rural communities that involve the sustainable use of wildlife, and to monitor the ecological, economic and social consequences of these activities.
FATE is the first Australian land management program to assess whether land management programs that include sustainable utilisation of indigenous species will enhance ecosystem function, regional biodiversity and the economy of rural and regional communities.
Kangaroo harvesting is probably the wildlife enterprise currently most likely to deliver a significant return in the degrading rangelands of New South Wales.

Further implications
The question would ultimately appear to be one of viability.  There appears to be no disputing that were it possible to farm kangaroos there would be environmental advantages.  Kangaroos' digestion processes do not produce methane at the level that cattle and sheep do.
However, there remain serious questions over the viability of kangaroo farming.  There are containment and animal management issues.  There are also very different meat yields per animal when comparing kangaroos to cattle and sheep.
Farmers currently involved in producing meat from the farming of cattle and sheep are opposed to such a change in livestock.  They claim that kangaroo farming is impractical. It also seems likely that they would be reluctant to incur the trouble and expense involved even were kangaroo farming shown to be viable.
There is also the question of public acceptance.  Though consumption of kangaroo meat appears to be on the increase, customer demand is still relatively very low when compared to the demand for beef and lamb which are very widely consumed and accepted.
However, Professor Garnaut is not recommending that kangaroos replace cattle and sheep.  Rather, he has recommended that kangaroo farming be developed in those marginal rangelands were cattle and sheep are currently reared but where they continued farming is likely to prove increasingly problematic.
Australia currently has a well-developed and growing kangaroo meat industry.  This is supplied by the hunting of wild kangaroos under quota.  The FATE (Future of Australia's Threatened Ecosystems) Program is looking at ways of integrating such harvesting into the meat growing practices of commercial farms.  If successful such projects may demonstrate a means of making Professor Garnaut's recommendations feasible.

Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline
Herald-Sun:  June 30, page 7, news item (ref to native animals as meat for pets / pet food) by Sarah Wotherspoon, `State blocks roo meat bid'. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23943098-2862,00.html

The Australian: June 28, page 5, news item (photo of Maria Island kangaroos) by Matthew Denholm, `Vets' claims of law breach may halt roo cull'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23943238-5006788,00.html

The Age: September 24, page 3, news item by L Battersby, `Skippy du jour as top tucker'.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/skippy-du-jour-as-top-tucker-20080923-4ml7.html

The Australian:  October 1, page 4, news item by Maiden and Ker, `Roo the answer to meat demand'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24428038-5013871,00.html

The Age: October 1, page 6, news item by D Gray, `We'll skip the kangaroo suggestion, farmers say'.
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/well-skip-the-kangaroo-suggestion-farmers-say-20080930-4r8p.html

The Age: October 7, page 3, news item by Adam Morton, `Roos win a reprieve'.
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/roos-win-a-reprieve-20081006-4v28.html

The Australian:  October 3, page 6, news item (photos) by Wahlquist and Elks, `Don't expect more diners to hop into roo'.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24438794-11949,00.html