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    • The Kangaroo meat industry is not ethical and sustainable

    The Myth: The kangaroo meat industry is ethical and sustainable

    The Reality: The kangaroo meat industry is cruel and untenable

    Kangaroo slaughter is cruel

    • The commercial kangaroo shoot takes place in remote locations, allowing for no effective monitoring of animal welfare.
    • The kangaroo industry’s Code of Practice requires kangaroos to be slaughtered via a single shot to the head, yet even conservative estimates suggest that more than tens of thousands of the adult kangaroos commercially 'processed' each year are not killed in this manner. Instead it is likely that many kangaroos are simply wounded and endure a long and painful death.
    • It is estimated that 855,000 dependent young kangaroos are either clubbed to death or left to starve after their mothers are killed for the kangaroo meat industry.
    • Decapitation or bludgeoning to death of joeys (this is standard practice and enshrined in the current code of practice) is common during a kangaroo cull.

    “The mouth of a kangaroo can be blown off and the kangaroo can escape to die of shock and starvation. Forearms can be blown off, as can ears, eyes and noses. Stomachs can be hit expelling the contents with the kangaroo still alive.” - David Nicholls, former kangaroo shooter

    Kangaroo slaughter is traumatic

    • Kangaroos are terrorised by hunters on a nightly basis. They are known to be fragile animals, suffer from anxiety and live in an emotionally and socially rich mob structure.
    • There is ample evidence to show that kangaroos form strong bonds amongst one another and grieve when one of the mob is lost.
    • This relentless slaughter of kangaroos is causing immense suffering amongst the survivors of the nightly slaughter.

    Eating kangaroo meat is untenable

    • A court intervention was necessary to prevent over-exploitation of kangaroos under the dubious NSW Kangaroo Management Programme.
    • In 2016, 1.34 million kangaroos were killed for the commercial industry, despite the kangaroo industry having dwindled in the last decade.
    • There is no convincing data to support claims of the over abundance of kangaroos, and with approximately 855,000 dependent young dying per year as industry ‘wastage’ there are concerns that kangaroo populations are unable to replace themselves.