FARMERS fed up with soaring kangaroo numbers will get their chance to shape the state’s action plan when it comes up for review this year.
The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) is responsible for managing the booming roo population through its four-year Commercial Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan, which is up for renewal in December.
Farmers are demanding changes to the “restrictive” culling and licensing regulations as they attempt to beat back a reported explosion in numbers that has put the spotlight on biosecurity and conservation risks.
Others say production and infrastructure costs have spiked on account of roos encroaching on crops and breaking fences.
Producers The Land spoke to across the state this week said roo numbers were the worst they've seen in years, with panel beaters in the southern regions reporting that road collisions with the marsupial now account for 80 per cent of their business.
According to the OEH NSW Kangaroo Management Program 2016 quota report, overall kangaroo numbers in NSW (red and grey combined) have nearly tripled to more than 16 million since 2005.
OEH says kangaroos are a protected species and a licence is required to cull them – but it has made special allowances for landholders facing financial hardship caused by kangaroos to apply for special licences.
However, despite the authorised harvest quota increasing three-fold to about three million since 2005, the actual take has languished below 200,000 for six years.
Harvesting licence applications have also remained low.
OEH noted the harvesting industry was currently operating at historical lows, with registered harvesters dropping from 900 to 250 in seven years.
An OEH spokeswoman said farmers would be included in consultation for the redraw of the next Commercial Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan before it goes live in 2017.
The NSW Kangaroo Management Advisory Panel will be consulted as part of this process.
