IT’S not only sheep producers putting money into vermin fencing in western Queensland – Longreach cattle graziers Warwick and Rosemary Champion are a third of the way through fencing off their 20,000 acre Longway station to keep kangaroos away from their pasture.
The couple estimate their country is carrying between 15,000 and 18,000 kangaroos and say their decision to fence, although an added cost burden in drought, was motivated by survival.
Their property sits beside the town common and they say they were forever being inundated by kangaroos enjoying the timbered country on the common and the water facilities on Longway.
“It reached plague proportions in the last couple of years and was exacerbated by the weather,” Warwick said.
“I would say the roos helped create drought conditions for us earlier than it should have happened.”
Rosemary believes they are losing one third of their productive capacity each year, regardless of weather conditions.
Most boundary fencing at Longway consists of four barbs and has been recently erected, which means the new exclusion fence and apron can be put up without the expense of new posts.
Warwick said he had been monitoring the work already done and hadn’t seen any kangaroos getting through, even when their harvester was driving along the fenceline behind a mob.
“With just the four barb fence up, roo tracks between us and the common were really deep but that’s all gone now.”
He and his staff are completing 500m a day and have about 25km to go, hopefully before the hot weather returns.
The property has just had 25mm of rain and the Champions are looking forward to their Buffel grass shooting.
“No doubt the roos will hone in on that but over a period of time we’re aiming to manage the populations inside the fence with permits,” Warwick added.
Sally Cripps
Journalist
Journalist
