Commercial kangaroo harvest quotas in 2007

Macropus rufus (Red Kangaroo) M. giganteus (Eastern Grey) M. fuliginosus (Western Grey) M. robustus (Euro/Wallaroo)

New South Wales Red, 371,074, Eastern Grey, 440,438, Western Grey, 98,028, Wallaroos,31,216. Total 940,756

Queensland Red, 658,736, Eastern Grey, 1,039,418, Wallaroo, 273,796. Total 1,971,350

South Australia Red, 223,400, Western Grey, 79,600, Wallaroo, 70,800. Total 373,800

Western Australia Red, 126,585, Western Grey, 197,780. Total, 324,365

Total for all States, 1,379,795 1,479,856 375,408 375,212........ 3,610,271

* State Macropus rufus (Red Kangaroo) M. giganteus (Eastern Grey) M. fuliginosus (Western Grey) M. robustus (Euro/Wallaroo) New South Wales Red, 32,742 Eastern Grey, 3,000 Wallaroo, 1,500. Total 8,000

South Australia Red, 3,500 - Western greys, 3,000 Wallaroos, 1,500. 8,000

Total Reds, 36,242 Eastern greys, 44,044 Western Greys, 12,803 Wallaroos, 4,622. Total 97,711

According to the Government, the purpose of the special quota is to provide for the commercial utilisation of kangaroos that would have been otherwise been shot under the normal non-commercial licensing system and left in the field. Special quotas are only allocated when there is a need, they say.

However, it is in fact a "Claytons" quota.....a quota when they dont really want to say an extra "quota".

If the Industry is short of kangaroos, (which they are because they have been largely shot out in the shooting areas) they contact the Kangaroo Management, who then do a ring-a-around of local farmers asking if they have many kangaroos on their properties. The answer from the farmers is always yes...to a farmer 10 kangaroos constitutes a plague.

Then they can shoot some extra kangaroos...over the "quota"!

Off course, none of this "quota" manipulation takes into account the thousands of joeys killed every year....the inpouch joeys who are pulled from the dead mother's pouch and have their heads smashed in or cut off, or the still dependent expouch joeys who flee into the night when their mother is shot, and die of exposure or predation.

ps In Queensland last year (2006) they accidentally overshot the quota....again! And from 2008 they will have "claytons quota" too!