Kangaroo industry

The kangaroo industry in Australia is based on the regulated harvesting of species of kangaroos.

Australia commercially produced kangaroo meat since 1959. Annually about 3 percent of Australia’s 50 million kangaroos are utilized for their meat, which is served in many Australian restaurants and sold in some supermarkets. It is also exported to over 60 countries overseas. Various pet food companies offer animal feed based on kangaroo or including kangaroo.

Since kangaroos emit smaller amounts of methane compared to cattle and sheep, their meat is sometimes advertised in this context. Australia's beef industry is estimated to account for about 11 percent of the country's carbon emissions.

Various products are made from the skins of the animals. Kangaroo leather is a strong, light leather, which is more stretchy than goat or cattle but also wrinkles more easily and darkens faster. It is commonly used for shoes, motorcycle suits, handbags, wallets and in whips. Big brands usually market it as “k-leather”. Since many people see kangaroos as pest animals (and numbers have to be limited with annual culling) using the leather, when the meat is also utilized is seen as sustainable.

Of the 48 species of macropods (kangaroos) in Australia, only six abundant species are allowed to be used commercially.

The kangaroo industry, which represents a large amount of the commercial meat and leather traders, calls the shooting of kangaroos "commercial kangaroo harvest". They advocate applying under regulated quotas for the limitation of kangaroo populations, because they can overgraze, which can lead to both, a loss of biodiversity, and conflicts with farmers. As the kangaroos are not farmed, they spend their lives in their natural habitat. The shooting of certain quotas is permitted in six of eight Australian states and some additional areas with large kangaroo populations.

According to the kangaroo industry, the limitation of the kangaroo population is the key "to ensure conservation and animal welfare" while "health and safety standards are upheld". Each state government has its own kangaroo management plan to estimate their populations and outline the hunting quotas.

Most kangaroos are hunted in the arid grazing rangelands.