Farmers, kangaroo harvesters say more needs to be done to control numbers

Farmers and kangaroo harvesters say numbers, throughout the state, have exploded.

In a submission to the annual review of the Victorian Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan, VFF Livestock Group president Scott Young said the group was proposing quotas be increased and the system reformed.

"We believe there are considerable deficiencies in the assigning of the quota system, which allows harvesters to assist primary producers in controlling kangaroos," Mr Young said.

"The key areas of concern for our members include improving population survey methods, ensuring adequate allocated quota numbers for harvesters, and reforming the quota system to reallocate unused tags to regions with the need and demand for increased quotas.

"This ability to reassign tags to a neighbouring region would aid farmers in their ability to control kangaroo numbers, while still ensuring that the quota numbers for the year remain stable."

He said quotas currently determined for the KHMP had sparked concern among primary producers.

"They feel the quotas are too low and insufficient for managing the increasing kangaroo burden," Mr Young said.

Meanwhile, Mount Alexander shire this week passed a motion calling for council to lobby the state government to ban commercial kangaroo harvesting within its boundaries.

Councillor Stephen Gardiner told council kangaroos formed "part of the shire's attraction and beauty.

"There is no economic benefit for our shire on this," Cr Gardiner told council. "Most of the hunters are not from within the shire and no, or minimal jobs, will be created."

He said shooting took place at night, using spotlights and high-powered rifles with the potential to cause injury to people.

He said there had been "many stories (and) documented evidence that a large number of killings are done inhumanely with animals suffering and leaving offspring to die."

Deputy mayor Matthew Driscoll had the casting vote on the seven member council and said there was overwhelming community support for the ban.

"I was inundated with people wanting me, as their representative, to support the motion - there were 23 emails overall and 22 were in support of the motion," Cr Driscoll said.

"Mount Alexander has a lot of tourists, who come and look at the wildlife."

He said if harvesting was stopped, farmers still had access to the Authority to Control Wildlife program.

"We haven't shut off farmers, per se, completely, we are just questioning the commercial culling of kangaroos," he said.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action said more than 700 submissions were received for the review of the KHMP.

The spokesman said this year's KHMP quota was 166,750 grey kangaroos.

Beef producer James Walsh, Pipers Creek, near Kyneton, said he estimated he had up to 1000 kangaroos, moving onto his 130 hectare property.

He said three years of good conditions, brought on by successive La Nina events, had seen a rapid increase in numbers. The property was surrounded by pockets of bushland, which were a haven for kangaroos, he said.

"I have seen numerous animals with joeys in their pouches, they are doing extremely well in the current conditions," he said.

"It limits our stocking rates significantly - an adult kangaroo is estimated to be one dry sheep equivalent."

If numbers were reduced, he said he would be able to increase his breeding herd by another 20 to 30 cows.

"The other issue is the supplementary feed bill is quite high because you don't have that volume of feed available for the cattle," Mr Walsh said.

Kangaroos were also destroying fences, which was another expense for farmers.

"A mate of mine is a local fencer and he quoted an exclusion fence at $45,000 a kilometre," he said.'

Professional full-time harvester Adam Crossthwaite, Mount Martha, said in one recent trip he shot 19 kangaroos in a night in the Ballan area.

"It was the first time on that property, I do a lot of my shooting out Avoca way and there a lot of roos out there," he said.

"I have had some properties where I might take 300-400 roos in three to four months."

He said cost of living pressures were hitting hard.

"The cost of fuel went up 80 cents a litre in two months," he said.

Buyers were holding their prices, "so you are actually earning less than you did 12 months ago," he said.

"But if you are harvester, the farmers get the service for nothing, the animal is being utilised and it's a really good resource."

Mr Crossthwaite said there was only one abattoir processing kangaroos for human consumption and that was in Bairnsdale, otherwise he would supply that market too.

One south-west Victorian professional shooter, who only wanted to be known as Jason, said he'd put in a submission to the inquiry.

"My concerns with the industry aren't really based on anything government is doing," Jason said.

"I just think the industry should be turned into more of a profession, with skilled operators, rather than just 'weekenders'."

While he said was happy with the way the program was being run, his greatest concern was in the issuing of tags to what he said where "weekend shooters".

"The tags then sit in their glove boxes for six months."

He said while he'd shot hundreds of kangaroos, some property owners still told him "there's more here, than when you started," Jason said.

"Down the south-west, I work on a lot of dairy and beef farms and they are having to reduce stock numbers, because of the overgrazing caused by the kangaroos."

The DEECA spokesman said a consultation report summarising all non-confidential submissions would be released soon.

Once the draft KHMP is complete, it will be submitted to the commonwealth government as a Wildlife Trade Management Plan under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The state government has been contacted for comment on Mount Alexander shire's position.