Livestock producers say kangaroo numbers are exploding in western Queensland on the back of excellent seasonal conditions and have warned without a solution their operations are on track to becoming unviable.
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Producers can not cull the native animal at a rate that will hold numbers, let alone reduce them.
They are limited by state and federal laws to culling a set number but they say the roos are breeding at a faster rate right now.
Many producers are budgeting for as much as 30 per cent of their pasture to go to kangaroos this season and say they could run thousands of head more livestock if they could bring kangaroo populations under control.
They are also dealing with big bills from roos spreading weeds and destroying infrastructure.
Queensland government authorities, however, say they are currently doing 2025 surveys, with data for western Queensland showing a slight increase in population numbers, though this is still considered a normal variation, with no population 'explosion' indicated.
The surveys are for the red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), and the common wallaroo (Osphranter robustus).
Producers say the official surveys are way off the mark.
The issue is not limited to Queensland, with farmers as far away as Victoria calling on their state governments to help with the plague proportions of kangaroos.
For Toby and Georgia Whip, who run crossbred goats at Leander Station, Longreach, huge mobs of a hundred or more roos are a regular sight in their paddocks.
Mrs Whip said for the past six years, since the last drought, the numbers had been growing each year. They estimate there are 10,000 roos on their 11,000 hectare property.
"Our neighbour did a helicopter count and he had 12,000 head," Mrs Whip said.
Many in the region say exclusion fencing has trapped roos on their stations and the combination of plenty of water and good feed has seen them breed ferociously. Kangaroos have only a 33 day gestation on average.
The Whips cross boer and rangeland goats aiming for a good meat animal with resilience and currently have 5000 head.
They also have some agisted cattle and a small beef herd of their own.
Their open downs country with Mitchell grass and thick mulga scrub is home to the three species the government surveys.
"A kangaroo has an equivalent DSE (dry sheep equivalent) to one of our goats, so that's a lot of extra goats we could run without the roos," Mrs Whip said.
The Queensland Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation issues damage mitigation permits to allow producers to offset any damage or other negative impacts, with these permits specifying how, and how many, macropods can be removed.
The permits the Whips have obtained allow for just a thousand kangaroos to be shot every three months.
Macropods are a protected species under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
To ensure ecologically sustainable macropod populations, harvest quotas are set annually by the Commonwealth Government.
These are set at proportional thresholds, which allow quotas to fluctuate in line with natural population fluctuations, authorities said.
Producers say they are moving towards a point where it will be kangaroos only on their country.
Exacerbating the problem is the market for kangaroo meat in pet food has fallen away.
Roo shooters are finding it's not worth doing anymore.
"We're fencing off dams in an attempt to control the kangaroos breeding levels but this needs a collaborative response and help from authorities," Mrs Whip said.
"Given public sentiment about destroying kangaroos, the solution really is in a market for their meat."
Shan Goodwin
Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications.
She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas.
She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
