Australian Wild Game

The use of game meat and skins in Australia has a long history and a bright future with many of the harvesters based in Queensland. We talked with the Australian Wild Game Industry Council to delve into its truly iconic place in our land. 

For thousands of generations humans in Australia have harvested macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) for food, leather and materials for tools. More than just subsistence hunting, First Nations people incorporated macropod resources into their complex socio-economic trading systems along with other important resources. 

More recently, kangaroo leather became a valuable commodity in the global economy. During the mid 1800s the expanding pastoral industry created the ideal conditions for macropods populations to thrive. So much so that the eastern states passed some of the earliest wildlife legislation in the country, specifically to decrease the number of macropods. Known as the Marsupial Destruction Acts, they regulated bounty systems designed to incentivise the killing of kangaroos for monetary reward. By the time of federation, approximately £1000000 ($200,000,000 in today’s value) was paid in bounties under these Acts. A commercial trade in kangaroo skins started around the same time. So valuable were the skins, around a million were exported every year by 1900 and bounties ceased being paid in 1906. This volume of trade in kangaroo skins has continued for more than a century and a half, testament alone to the size of the kangaroo populations that can support this scale of harvest. 

Kangaroo meat was always used throughout Australia but wasn’t traded in any meaningful quantities until refrigerated field sites became possible in the 1950s. Since then, the practice of selling whole kangaroo carcasses to be used for their meat and skins has become commonplace. Today, kangaroo skins are a by-product of a thriving meat industry supplying protein for human consumption and pet food within Australia and around the world. 

The legal status of macropods changed from declared pests to protected native species around the same period, as trading in whole kangaroo carcasses began in the middle of the twentieth century. The industry became regulated throughout Australia, with oversight for licencing and paying royalties vested in the state governments. The scale of the harvest continued to exceed a million animals every year and this drew the attention of scientists and conservationists around the world. Concerns were raised that harvesting wildlife at this rate may cause the collapse of wild populations. Such was the level of interest that the ‘Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia’ was formed in 1970 to represent the industry at the Commonwealth House of Representatives ‘Select Committee on Wildlife Conservation’. 

Kangaroo harvesting was the principal concern of the Select Committee, who informed the Commonwealth Government of the day. While harvest data and some excellent science around the demographics (age structure and sex ratio) of wild populations indicated that the harvesting was indeed sustainable, the committee recommended greater certainty was needed. Although the state governments regulate the harvesting of wildlife, the federal government controls the export of products derived from the harvest. In 1973 the Commonwealth banned the export of macropod products until substantial population assessments could demonstrate the size of wild kangaroo populations. 

The ban on exports was lifted in 1975 after aerial surveys conducted over the pastoral districts of Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland demonstrated that the four commercially harvested macropod species are indeed widespread and abundant. Aerial surveys have continued since this time, creating one of the longest running, continuous broad scale wildlife datasets in the world! The scientific basis for monitoring macropod populations is widely supported by the international scientific community. These annual surveys continue to be funded through the sale of harvest tags used to ensure harvested macropods can be traced. 

The Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia (KIAA) continued to represent the interests of the macropod harvesting industry ever since 1970, with some notable changes since that time. Principally used for pet food when the organisation formed, kangaroo meat is now available for human consumption within Australia and around the world. The introduction of a National Code of Practice ensures that only macropods killed with a shot to the brain can enter the trade and directs the specifics of rifles and ammunition to be used. 

Not surprisingly, the major processing works for kangaroo meat and leather around Australia also process other wild harvested game including wild boar, wild goats and increasingly wild deer. To better reflect and represent this growing industry, the KIAA evolved into the Australian Wild Game Industry Council (AWGIC) in 2023. AWGIC continues to address the challenges faced by the kangaroo industry but now works with a broader range of stakeholders actively managing wildlife across the country. 

Kangaroo leather is incredibly strong and durable for its weight. Significantly stronger than cattle, sheep or goat of the same thickness, it is ideal for many applications such as footwear, gloves and clothing. Australians can rightly be proud every time they watch a golf tournament, soccer match or motorcycle race. Regardless of who wins, chances are a kangaroo has helped with their success. Moreover, by making use of the kangaroo skin that would otherwise be discarded, it makes a valuable contribution to the circular economy. 

Wild harvested meats are the ultimate free-range protein. In a society that places a premium price on free range due to the higher welfare outcomes, nothing beats meat sourced from the wild. Animals that enter the Australian wild game food supply industry must be taken by a shot to the brain, ensuring instantaneous loss of consciousness. Hygiene standards throughout the Australian wild game industry are some of the most stringent in the world. Controls and testing at every stage of the supply chain ensure the end products meet the highest quality standards. The industry only harvests widely abundant species that would otherwise be considered pests to agriculture and the environment. Low in fats and high in essential minerals, eating wild game meats makes good nutritional sense for you and your carnivorous pets.