Wild harvest

From IssuesBriefs

Overview

Currently in Australia, kangaroo’s are being culled to reduce their high numbers as they are thought of as a pest in many regions of Australia. There is a potential to capitalise on this, by using these kangaroo’s and harvesting wild animals, solving multiple issues at once. By harvesting kangaroos, Australians would be embracing native animals, rather than supporting more environmentally destructive foreign animals. Similarly, the kangaroos would live a normal free life rather than most animals bred for consumption who spend their lives in controlled captivity. Other avenues of wild harvest are apparent although must be explored with caution so as not to damage or destroy ecosystems. Some argue that there is potential for a much higher harvest of animals in the ocean for use as food. Problems which arise through wild harvest include ownership and profit and the difficulty of killing and transporting the carcasses efficiently and avoiding waste. Despite this, both in Australia and internationally there is potential to explore the opportunities created through wild harvest in the face of the looming food shortage.

Contributors

• John Kelly - Executive Officer of the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia

Articles

• John Kelly: 'Kangaroo: designed for our times' [1]