Kangaroo Industry - Licensing Controls Over Kangaroo Harvesters

Licensing Controls Over Kangaroo Harvesters

To purchase the tags issued by the authorities, kangaroo harvesters must be licensed as such. To do so, they must undergo training delivered by government-accredited agencies and approved by the Australian Tertiary and Further Education agency in the appropriate State. This training covers the regulatory controls and compliance requirements, the animal welfare controls, and the hygiene controls to which each harvester must adhere. They must then pass assessment in their knowledge and practices relating to these controls by two separate government departments. This will include assessment of their competency with their firearms. Only then will they be able to obtain the required licenses from the two authorities concerned.

The kangaroo harvesters' licenses are conditional on adherance to the guidelines laid out in the federal ‘Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos’. This specifies the minimum high-caliber firearms which can be used, and requires all animals to be head-shot, and documents procedures for the humane dispatch of any pouch young.

Any kangaroo or kangaroo product accepted by processors, be it for meat or skins, must have an approved tag applied to it and be supplied by a licensed harvester. Each processor must report on a monthly basis to the State authority the numbers of kangaroos purchased, from whom, and the relevant tags numbers.