The Liberal party in the Australian state of Victoria has announced it will permit the processing of culled kangaroos in the State. The Oppositions spokesman for Agriculture, Philip Davis, announced the plan to create a new industry to make kangaroo meat more widely available for human consumption. Mr Davis said being able to process kangaroo meat would open the doors for the export and sale of kangaroo leather and other products. Other Australian states such as South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia allow the processing of culled kangaroos.
The Victorian Farmers’ Federation (VFF) welcomed the announcement saying the
development of a commercial kangaroo processing industry in Victoria was long overdue. VFF president, Paul Weller, said during 2003 more than 1600 permits were issued to harvest about 85,000 kangaroos in Victoria, none of which could be processed. Allowing the development of a commercial kangaroo industry would create more jobs and allow the export of Victorian kangaroo products, Mr Weller said. He said it was up to private industry to determine whether or not it was economic to process kangaroos in Victoria.
Managing the kangaroo population was necessary to protect farmers’ crops and prevent overgrazing of native vegetation, and the number of kangaroos culled each year was strictly controlled under a rigid permit system operated by Department of Sustainability and Environment, Mr Weller said.
