FRUSTRATIONS are growing among Queensland landholders battling to spell precious pastures from plagues of kangaroos.
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Landholders say roo numbers are the worst they have seen for years and many are investing heavily to fence their properties to protect pastures and crops from devastation.
But with kangaroo prices languishing at about 60c/kg and a directive from Australia's largest processor to harvest only male kangaroos, few envisage a decline in numbers any time soon.
The woes of the sector have largely been blamed on the collapse of the Russian export market in 2009 but some, like AgForce kangaroo spokesman and Quilpie landholder Stephen Tully, now believe that was simply a symptom of a highly troubled industry.
Mr Tully is pessimistic about the willingness of state and federal politicians to tackle issues in the kangaroo industry for fear they will be targeted by animal liberation groups.
He believes the answer to developing a sustainable kangaroo industry lies with landholders and wants graziers to be given more say in setting quota numbers and greater flexibility in controlling kangaroos on their own land.
Mr Tully says nothing will improve in the kangaroo industry until a value is placed on the animals themselves.
He points to the development of a viable and sustainable industry for feral goats in recent decades and says the same could be achieved with kangaroos if government placed less emphasis on protecting kangaroos and more emphasis on creating a sustainable industry.
"Just imagine if kangaroos were valuable - graziers would be feeding them in a drought rather than shooting them," he said.
"It would not be unlike the situation with feral goats. Once we were able to put a value on the goats, farmers looked for ways to capitalise on that."
"Everyone in the kangaroo industry wants to exclude landholders from the process but there will never be a sustainable industry without them.
"The landholders are the ones watering and feeding these animals and they aren't even invited for basic consultation when something arises in the industry let alone provided with any remuneration for them."
Mr Tully said there were several factors influencing the profitability of the sector including "excessive green tape" imposed by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
"The quota system is a major problem because the quota is based on 20pc of the estimated kangaroo population, which is just ridiculous," he said.
"If we have 50 million kangaroos in Queensland then the harvesters are still only allowed to take 20pc. There should be a system in place that says once numbers drop towards unsustainable levels, then the quota system kicks into place. If we have plague numbers of 50 million there shouldn't be any talk of the quota system."
Mr Tully also warned that large, uncontrolled kangaroo populations were likely to lead to an animal welfare disaster.
"The greater the boom in numbers, the greater the bust as was the case in 2002 and 2003 when 18 million kangaroos starved to death," he said.
"Ag-Force has been warning of this current welfare disaster for three years.
"The Environmental Protection Act states that the harvesting of kangaroos should be sustainable. We all agree with that but the current system of boom, bust and environmental and welfare disasters is not by any measure sustainable."
Mr Tully believes the roo industry should come under the management of agricultural departments rather than environmental departments.
"AgForce policy has been for a long time that the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) should be running the industry because it has a commercial focus rather than the EHP which has a protection focus," he said.
"We would like to see DAFF running the kangaroo sector, managing all the traceability requirements and the EPA could be the auditor to ensure all necessary protections are in place.
"We just recently had another hiccup where harvesters and landholders were trying to utilise kangaroo meat for wild dog baiting.
"We have been informed that some harvesters had raids by police and officers from the EHP at their homes for what was at worst a technical breach.
"It seems to be such a heavy handed, over reactive approach that is reminiscent of the tree police in Queensland.
"It highlights the fact that the Department of Environment will hinder and harass the kangaroo industry at every opportunity."
