Matthew Hulse runs a grazing farm out of the New South Wales town of Braidwood. He believes kangaroo numbers are overabundant.
Mr Hulse said one of his properties hasn't had cattle on it for around six months because there is no grass for his stock to eat.
“The damage [kangaroos] do can be measured in a lot of different ways,” he told The Feed.
“The main thing is the overgrazing, so the most significant thing is they eat all the grass and people say ‘oh it's only grass’ but if you understand business: they eat the profit.”
Mr Hulse estimates that he’s lost “hundreds of thousands of dollars” due to the presence of kangaroos on his farm.
Kangaroos to be double the population of humans in Australia, with around 50 million kangaroos roaming the landscape and aerial census data suggesting kangaroos are somewhat increasing each year.
Dr Thomas Newsome, an academic fellow at Sydney University in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, said humans have caused the mass population of kangaroos.
“We have changed the landscape, we've cleared the land and created more green pastures which kangaroos like to feed on, we've also eradicated one of their main predators from many parts of Australia, the dingo,” he told The Feed.
“We've also put water points all throughout the landscape, so they've got easy access to feed and easy access to water.”
What is ‘harvesting’ kangaroos? And how is it different to culling?
To gain control of his farm, Mr Hulse has turned to professional kangaroo harvester Rob Gallina on several occasions.
Mr Gallina’s business, , works to manage the population of kangaroos through culling and harvesting.
“Farmers are desperate out there to get some sort of control on feral animals and the kangaroos especially because of the numbers,” he told The Feed.
“There are millions and millions of kangaroos that are literally just roaming in the bush.”
Mr Gallina said a successful night of harvesting is a full truck of 54 carcasses. Whereas when culling, the amount killed can be unlimited.
Professional kangaroo harvester Rob Gallina Source: The Feed
“When harvesting we're actually taking the meat away for pet food and human consumption, whereas culling is just shooting and leaving the body on the ground,” he said.
“I don't believe in culling too much... it actually feeds the animals that we're trying to control like your dogs, your foxes, cats and wild pigs cause they're omnivores.”
Is killing kangaroos ‘Australia’s dark secret’?
Professor Steve Garlick runs the animal recovery centre Possumwood in the small New South Wales town of Bungendore.
The centre primarily homes eastern grey kangaroos and joeys, caring for up to 100 animals at any given time of the year.
Mr Garlick opposes culling and believes the term harvesting “needs to be thrown out immediately”.
“This is not harvesting, we are not talking about tomatoes or grapes here,” he told The Feed.
“This is Australia's dark secret… this is causing this country immeasurable damage to its reputation,” he said.
“The killing of kangaroos in this country is the largest land-based slaughter of any animal on the planet.”
Mr Garlick believes that the industry “needs to be shut down right now”.
“All it does is bring misery to the animals involved,” he added.
Over the past 30 years, have been killed for their meat and skin.
Professor Steve Garlick runs the animal recovery centre Possumwood. Source: The Feed
During the 2019 financial year, 501 licences to harm kangaroos were issued to professional harvesters in New South Wales, according to the NSW Government Planning, Industry and Environment.
A further 3,523 licences were issued to landowners for non-commercial harvesting, the department’s data shows.
The NSW government claims it hands out licenses like these as “cause damage to properties, eating what little pasture is left on the ground and accessing limited water resources”.
What happens to the joeys?
In many ways, the controversy around harvesting kangaroos comes down to the joeys.
Doctor Rosemary Austen, Mr Garlick’s wife, claims they are brutally murdered.
“I think it’s grotesque brutally what happens to these poor little creatures, they’re just innocent, defenceless little babies, and they are subjected to a cruel death,” she told The Feed.
Under regulations, Mr Gallina said the law tells them to “euthanise” the joey quickly but said shooting a doe should be avoided.
“If you do shoot a doe and it has a joey, you must kill it,” he said.
Around 90 million kangaroos have been killed for their meat and skin over three decades. Source: The Feed
“It is unfortunate, but some of these joeys cannot survive without their mothers, so the easiest way is literally a quick blow to the head.”
“The only other way really, and I know it doesn't sound nice, but it's either; look for something hard like a tow ball or tyre or if it's really small unfortunately you crush it with your foot.”
“I often can’t believe that someone would look at a joey in the eyes and want to hurt it,” she said.
‘Humane killing’
Mr Gallina said he’s dedicated to making sure animals are harvested properly, whether they’re “kangaroos or feral.”
“This business and industry has been tarnished by people who have done it the wrong way [and] I want to make… these animals are actually harvested ethically and humanely,” he said.
Mr Gallina added that a humane shot “is basically categorised as something that will kill an animal instantly” like “a quick blow to the brain” so the animal doesn’t feel it.
These are regulations under licenses that all states and territories manage, with Mr Gallina having obtained his license in NSW.
“You have to have one through TAFE NSW, a commercial license via the office of environment and heritage, firearms license and insurances,” he said.
Mr Gallina said it’s the people who go out with their “mates” that tarnish the reputation of the industry.
Mr Gallina says there's a purpose behind harvesting. Source: The Feed
“It's mainly not the professional guys but the recreational hunters that go out there and do the wrong thing,” he said.
Mr Gallina said he stands by his line of work and wants people to understand he is not a “ruthless killer” and that there is a purpose behind harvesting.
“This is basically what I do for a living, it puts food on the table, and it puts my kids through a good education.”
