The Victorian Government has been accused of “massively over inflating” kangaroo numbers to support a larger cull. 

Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas announced last week that the 2021 quota for the state’s Kangaroo Harvesting Program (which allows culling for commercial purposes) has increased by 37,780 from last year to 95,680 kangaroos.

Ms Thomas says there has been a near-40 per cent increase in the estimated number of kangaroos across the state in the last two years.

The State Government is now allowing Victorians to harvest kangaroo meat for human consumption, like other states.

“It's important that kangaroo numbers are sustainably managed in Victoria to reduce impacts on landholders and the community,” Ms Thomas said.

“This program provides a service to farmers and an income to trained professional shooters.”

But the Australian Wildlife Protection Council and the Coalition for the Protection of Kangaroos (CPK) says that the claimed population numbers are a “biological impossibility”.

CPK and Animal Justice Party member, and Alpine Shire councillor, Charlie Vincent, said recent bushfires have destroyed kangaroo populations.

“When you talk to macropod specialists, when you talk to ecologists, kangaroos can increase their population by up to ten per cent in a really good year,” Cr Vincent told the ABC.

“That's with great grazing conditions and no catastrophic fires.

“So to say that we've had an increase in population of 40 per cent since 2018 to 2020, over a two year period, is just not scientifically possible.

“It was less than 12 months ago that our state was still burning, that we were desperately trying to rescue kangaroos and our wildlife.

“Now to see a 65 per cent increase in the quota it's absolutely staggering, to see such an increase in the number of kangaroos that are going to be slaughtered across 95 per cent of our state for profit.”

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) has backed the government’s numbers, and says it will closely monitor the hunting of kangaroos in accordance with the National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies.

“The number of kangaroos available for the commercial harvesting program and the Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW) system is determined by the result of an aerial count conducted by experienced operators,” the department said.

“These results are combined with other information such as rainfall data, the age and sex ratio of the animals, and information about how far kangaroos move around the landscape.

“[That data is] used by DELWP scientists to estimate the total population of grey kangaroos across Victoria and the sustainable level of take.

“The number of kangaroos controlled through the commercial harvesting program and the ATCW system is closely monitored to ensure it remains sustainable.”