A new two-year trial will see kangaroos shot and processed for commercial pet food in Victoria, creating a new industry worth to $1.4 million in revenue.
The trail is set to commence on March 31, and will involve up to 69,000 kangaroos which would have been culled under wildlife control permits, The Age reports.
The commercial trial will only include the eastern grey and western grey breeds, with each animal expected to generate around $20 at the meat processor.
Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh said that although the animals will be processed for pet food, he does not expect the number of kangaroos killed in the state to rise as it illegal to kill a kangaroo without a permit.
‘It will not mean any increase in the wildlife control permits at all, it is just utilising the waste that is there from the current controls,’’ said Walsh.
‘This is not about eating Victorian kangaroos; this is about utilising the waste from wildlife," he said.
‘‘Currently those people who control kangaroos under a wildlife permit have to bury them, so it is about utilising what is effectively waste.’’
According to The Age, the government will be closely monitoring the number of wildlife control applications to ensure that the new kangaroo pet food industry does not cause a spike in kangaroo killings.