Call for NSW roo cull as numbers explode

Producers say roos of “plague proportions” pose a growing hazard through damage to fence lines and crops.

Many have also baulked at the cost and bureaucracy they say surrounds kangaroo management, with some producers feeling pressure to break through the red tape of accreditation and tagging to carry out illegal roo culls.  

In the south, Crookwell farmer Joy Price, “Denburn”, said kangaroos are presenting themselves in “massive” amounts on her 250-hectare property.

Mrs Price said not only were roos eating stock feed, destroying fences and damaging crops, but were also becoming a dangerous threat to road users as dry conditions prevailed and kangaroos looked for feed on the roadside.

“I can go down and count 80 kangaroos in our scrub paddock compared to about 20 two or three years ago,” Mrs Price said.

“They have eaten down our neighbour’s oat paddock, knocked down fences and stock are getting out.”

Yass mixed-enterprise farmer, Frank Kaveney, said the area was riddled with roos.

“When I first started farming I saw one roo, now the property could be carrying five or six hundred,” Mr Kavanagh said.

“The main job is fixing boundary fences.That takes time, money and effort.

“The breeding doesn’t seem to slow down in hard times when they have a mixture of land to feed off.”

Junee farmer Martin Honner said  kangaroos had contributed to a rise in traffic accidents.

“The trouble is all these people are saying they’re a great animal and they’re on the coat of arms, but they are not farmers dealing with them every day,” he said.

Jock Munro, Rankin Springs, said numbers had dipped slightly around his place, but his crops were still under threat. 

"The government must always be prepared to manage kangaroo numbers, obviously nobody wants them to be extinct, but cropping and provision of water points, be it troughs or dams, helps increase numbers,” he said. 

Richard Webb, "Wonga", Tarana, breeds Merinos on his 690ha property.

He said producers were hesitant to shoot roos, even legally with tags.

"Especially since we have to shoot the kangaroos and then leave them tagged in the paddock," he said.

"I've got no grouch with a few kangaroos, I like to see a few roos, but not in the numbers they are. It is a major problem."

IF NOT in the paddock, kangaroos seem to be causing havoc on rural roads, according to one bush panel-beater.

Tony Evans from Evans Bodyworks, Crookwell, said the number of vehicles needing work due to collisions with kangaroos has jumped dramatically in three years. 

He puts this down to a rise in animal numbers, and drivers travelling at increased speeds. 

“Twenty years ago I hardly did a job involving a collision with a kangaroo,” Mr Evans said.

“These days 85 per cent of our work is due to roo collisions.

“People are also driving faster these days. I believe if you hit a roo at 80 kilometres an hour it will do a lot less damage than if you hit one at 120km an hour.”

Last year NRMA named its top three 2014 NSW kangaroo collison hotspots as Dubbo (141 collisions), Mudgee (122) and Goulburn (116). 

AAMI insurance had Queanbeyan, Goulburn and Singleton as the top three regions for total animal collisions in NSW.