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Asking the Kangaroo

Fri, 22 May 2026 05:52:42 GMT

Spiritual Protocol and the Act of Harvesting

Asking the Kangaroo

CONTENTS

In much of the modern world, the act of harvesting an animal is understood primarily as a practical one. A resource is identified, a method is applied, and a product is obtained. The transaction begins and ends in the physical world.

For Aboriginal people, it has never worked that way. The harvest of a kangaroo is not simply the taking of an animal. It is a moment embedded in a relationship that runs in both directions, one that carries obligations, gratitude, and a recognition that the life given deserves acknowledgement.

Mark Koolmatrie describes this spiritual dimension of harvesting with quiet clarity.

"Spiritually, you're asking that kangaroo to give its life for whatever purpose. That purpose might be to care for the environment. The purpose might be a food source. That purpose might be so many other reasons, but you're asking the kangaroo, and you're thanking it for giving up its life to be able to provide some economics for my family."

The words "asking" and "thanking" are not incidental. They are the whole point. The kangaroo is not taken. It is asked. And when it gives, gratitude is returned.

A Reciprocal Relationship

What Mark describes is not a ritual performed out of habit or obligation. It is a genuine articulation of a worldview in which people and animals exist in a state of ongoing reciprocity. The kangaroo gives. The people give back. And that exchange is what keeps the whole system in balance.

"You're saying, hey, thank you for giving your life. Now I'm able to survive the next week because I now have some income coming in. Thank you. I now have some food for the rest of the week. And so it has given its life for us to prosper."

But the relationship does not end with the harvest. The obligation flows in the other direction too, and it is one that Aboriginal people have honoured for as long as they have lived on this continent.

"We also give the kangaroos life so that they are protected and looked after by making sure that the environment is cared for, to ensure there's enough food sources, there's enough shelter. So we're giving to the kangaroo, and in return, the kangaroo is giving back to us."

This is the spiritual logic that underpins everything Mark has described across this series. The Ngartji system, the custodians who protect without eating, the careful management of country and environment, all of it flows from this central understanding: that the relationship between Aboriginal people and the kangaroo is one of mutual obligation, not one-sided extraction.

The spiritual protocol of harvesting is inseparable from the concept of country. For Aboriginal people, country is not simply land. It is a living system of relationships, a place of spiritual connection, responsibility, and belonging.

"The term country means an area that our people have a spiritual connection to. Many other people will use the word place. So those places that are significant to us as individuals. And that's just not a First Nations term, this word for place. It is about every single person who has a connection to place."

Caring for country is an active practice, not a passive one. And sometimes, caring for country means harvesting.

"The importance of country is so important. Because what happens, sometimes these kangaroos are eating out everything. So they need to be lessened, to be able to look after country. It's a balance of understanding everything in it, but also then the environment, which is a part of country."

This is a point worth sitting with. The decision to harvest is, in this framework, itself an act of care. When kangaroo numbers grow beyond what the land can support, reducing them is not a departure from the duty to protect country. It is the expression of it.

"By doing things, we're actually caring in so many different ways. But at the end of the day, it is all still caring for country and caring for place."

Country, Balance, and the Decision to Harvest

The spiritual commitment to reciprocity is also expressed in the way Aboriginal people have always approached the question of numbers. Harvest is never extraction to the point of depletion. It is calibrated, always, to what the country can sustain.

"We would never ever take out all kangaroos. Because by getting rid of kangaroos in one area, there are so many other jobs that the kangaroo does to improve our environment. So we're making sure that it's a skilled balance, between if there's an abundance, an overabundance, or if there's less of something there. We wouldn't go and get any food source."

The traditional nomadic lifestyle was itself a practical expression of this principle. When one area's food sources were diminished, Aboriginal people moved on, allowing the land and its animals to recover before returning.

"There is talk about our people being nomadic over the generations. So when the food source is lessened in one area, we move to another area and we let that previous one replenish. Then when we come back around, there is more food there for us to enjoy again. And so that process of being nomadic, or that process of moving from one area harvesting to another, we're able to allow one area to replenish."

This is not conservation as a modern policy concept. It is conservation as a spiritual and cultural practice, woven into the very way of life that has sustained Aboriginal people across this continent for tens of thousands of years.

"This is why today the world exists and why it is very healthy. Because these processes of caring for your Ngartji, these processes of caring for the environment and caring for everything in it, has been instilled in our people for tens of hundreds of thousands of years."

This article is part of a series produced by the Australian Wild Game Industry Council, drawing on conversations with Mark Koolmatrie. Mark is a proud Tribal Man from Southern South Australia, Munkanboli (a First Nations figure of wisdom and knowledge) and Kool Tours Founder. He has cultural authority on matters of country, wild game, and First Nations knowledge systems.

The Nomadic Principle: Taking Only What Is There

A Model Worth Listening To

For the wild game industry, the spiritual protocol Mark describes is not simply interesting background. It is the foundation of one of the most successful and enduring models of wildlife management the world has ever seen.

An industry that takes these principles seriously, that approaches harvest with an ethic of asking and thanking, that manages numbers in relation to what the country can sustain, and that understands the harvest as part of a reciprocal relationship rather than a simple resource extraction, is an industry aligned with the oldest and most tested knowledge system in Australia.

That alignment is not just good ethics. It is good practice.

The Ngartji System

Fri, 22 May 2026 05:39:14 GMT

Totems, Custodianship, and the Ethics of Harvesting

The Ngartji System

CONTENTS

At the heart of Aboriginal relationships with wild game lies a system that is far older than any modern conservation framework, and far more sophisticated than it might first appear. It is called the Ngartji system, and it governs not just what Aboriginal people eat, but who is responsible for what, and why that responsibility is a gift rather than a restriction.

Understanding the Ngartji system is essential for anyone seeking to genuinely understand Aboriginal people's relationship to the kangaroo and to wild game more broadly. It explains how a culture can both protect an animal and harvest it. How a person can be deeply connected to a species without eating it. And how caring for something, even at personal cost, is the very act that keeps the whole system alive.

Totems, Family, and the Miwi

Mark Koolmatrie explains the Ngartji system as one of the foundational structures of Aboriginal society, built around totems that are assigned to individuals, families, or tribal groups.

"The cultural importance of it, with the many other native foods and meat sources, the system is called a Ngartji system, whereby what happens, we have these totems that are either given to us as a tribal group, given to us as a family group, or that food source or that totem role comes within what we call our Miwi."

The Miwi is not a simple concept to translate, but Mark describes it as something felt rather than merely known.

"The Miwi is something that's within the abdomen. It is something deep within, like a gut feeling. So that gut feeling that tells us something good or something bad or dangerous. What it does is we have this connection. When we're able to do that, we are very comfortable because we're connecting with ourselves and we're connecting with those ancestors. We're connecting with the knowledge that has been passed on, or we're connecting with the world around us by having a strong Miwi."

When a species becomes your totem through this system, you take on a custodial responsibility for it. You ensure it is protected, well fed, and that its environment is cared for. But the logic of the system has a beautifully practical dimension to it.

"We have to look after and care for that. But we care for it so somebody else can eat it, in the case of kangaroos or other food sources. So we don't eat it. But we don't stop anyone else from."

This is the key insight of the Ngartji system: the person most responsible for the wellbeing of a species is not the one who harvests it. They are the one who ensures it thrives so that others can. The custodian and the harvester are different people, operating within a web of mutual obligation that distributes both responsibility and benefit across the community.

"This is a system that's ingrained in our people right around Australia and many other tribal groups around the world."

It is a system that produces something modern wildlife management spends considerable resources trying to achieve: a genuine, motivated guardian for each species, whose personal and spiritual identity is bound up with the health of that animal and its habitat. The custodian does not need to be told to care. The caring is who they are.

Custodianship as a Shared Responsibility

One of the more striking aspects of Mark's account of the Ngartji system is how expansive it is. The totemic relationship is not restricted to native animals or traditional foods. It extends to any creature or place that a person feels a deep connection with, including introduced species.

Mark speaks from personal experience on this point.

"The thing for me that probably saved my life was the horse. When I went through many bad times in life, I went to work on a horse stud. And just being around them, feeding them, grooming them, having them come and nudge me, just that whole environment. So I understand why other groups in Australia have come to see the donkey or a cat as something so important."

The deeper principle here is that the act of caring itself is what matters. Whatever the subject of that care, the spiritual and psychological outcome is the same.

"What totems do is they lift your spirits. Because it's within you to care for them. And so you will do whatever it takes to care for them. And it might be just your totem is a certain waterway, and it is about caring for that waterway. But when somebody cares for that waterway, you're actually then caring for everything that uses it. From kangaroos to birds to snakes to lizards to whatever."

This is the system working as intended. One person's devotion to one element of the environment creates a ripple of benefit that extends to every species and every person who depends on it.

"This is how that system that began at the beginning of time has now allowed people today to share that knowledge, to be able to say to the rest of the world, here is a system that has worked for maybe fifty thousand years, probably since the dawn of time."

Totems Beyond the Native

What This Means for Wild Game

For the wild game industry, the Ngartji system offers a framework for understanding why Aboriginal people's relationship to harvesting is not, and has never been, a simple matter of personal preference or individual appetite. It is embedded in a structured system of responsibilities that spans families, clans, and generations.

When an Aboriginal person says they do not eat kangaroo (or a certain species of Kangaroo), it may well be because the kangaroo or that species is their totem, and their role is to protect it for others. That is not opposition to harvesting. It is participation in the very system that makes sustainable harvesting possible.

The commercial industry employs many Aboriginal people, including those who process the meat of the kangaroo species that is their totem. When asked, they told us of their pride in being able to help others access this resource, despite the fact they would never eat their own totem personally.

And when the wider community, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike, engages in the legal, responsible harvest of kangaroo, they are in many ways benefiting from the work of those custodians who have spent generations ensuring the animal is there to be harvested at all.

The Ngartji system is ancient. But its logic is as relevant today as it has ever been.

Kangaroo as a Resource

Mon, 11 May 2026 01:27:05 GMT

The Kangaroo: A National Resource Respected Across All Nations

Kangaroo As A Resource

CONTENTS

Ask Aboriginal people across Australia what they think about the kangaroo, and you will get a remarkably consistent answer. Not because anyone has told them what to say, but because the knowledge runs deep, across every language group, every region, and every generation.

Mark Koolmatrie has no hesitation on this point.

"What doesn't change is the importance of kangaroo. Wherever you are, it is a national way of us looking at it. So today we look at it nationally. However, it is a proper tribal way, where these groups all around Australia, on the whole nation that is called Australia today, have all utilised the kangaroo for food, for other resources, and they know what food the kangaroo needs and how to look after the environment to ensure that this food source and this resource source is there for them."

This is not a modern position adopted for convenience. It is ancient, practical knowledge that has been carried across tens of thousands of years and across the full breadth of the continent.

Near-Universal Agreement

Mark is careful and precise when he speaks about the level of consensus among Aboriginal people on the kangaroo as a resource. He acknowledges that no community is monolithic, and that dissenting voices exist. But he is also clear about the scale of agreement.

"I don't know the exact percentage, but I would say ninety-eight percent probably of Aboriginal people all agree that the kangaroo is a resource. We will all agree the importance of eating kangaroo as a food source. We all agree of utilising all of the kangaroo for resources, whether or not it's the bones to be able to help us, in our case, to weave or whatever. The food source, everything is utilised within the kangaroo."

That phrase, " everything is utilised, " is not incidental. It speaks to a philosophy of harvest that wastes nothing and recognises the full value of the animal. The kangaroo is not only meat. It is food, material, and resource in the broadest sense.

On the minority who hold a different view, Mark is equally clear and equally respectful.

"There is this minute percentage of our people who will say that no, we shouldn't be eating kangaroo. And they're entitled if they don't wish to eat the kangaroo, no one's forcing them. And they are right to put forward their values. However, the majority of people are saying, well, that's your opinion, and you're right to say, I don't want to do that. But the majority of people need the kangaroo as a food source in particular."

To understand how Aboriginal people have always viewed wild game, it helps to look beyond the kangaroo. Mark shares a vivid account of how his father and uncles approached rabbit hunting, not just as a means of feeding the family, but as an early form of participation in the broader economy.

"My dad, and a number of my uncles and grandparents, they were big rabbit hunters. What they would do is source the rabbits. They would not only use that food source, but they'd also pair them up and sell them to the rabbit man. He'd come along and that's how they'd make some money."

The arrangement was a genuine exchange, with the rabbit buyer bringing goods in return.

"The man that would come and buy the rabbits, quite often what he would do in the campsites, he would bring powdered milk, he'd bring a few other different food sources, some fresh vegetables, some fruit. He'd bring that and then he would look and say, okay, you can have all of that, I'll take your rabbits, I'll buy them off you, and let's deduct what it cost me for all those other food sources. Then what we'll do is I'll give you the rest in money."

For families living in circumstances where access to mainstream food supply was limited, and income was scarce, this was not a small thing.

"The rabbits were allowing people to not only eat something when food like lamb and mutton and beef had become too expensive when you're getting no money in at all in the early days. So by doing this, these rabbits, even though they're not native, they provided so much. They provided food for us but they also provided an income."

The Rabbit: A Lesson in Economic Resourcefulness

It is from this history that Mark draws a direct line to the present day and to the commercial kangaroo industry.

"This is what we see with the kangaroos. Not only do they provide a food source, they also provide an income. And no one has a right to say to somebody, you're not welcome to make an income. We live in Australia, a fair go for everybody. So no one has a right to stop somebody, for as long as it's a legal approach, from making a quid legally."

This framing is important. For Mark, the right to harvest kangaroo commercially is not a departure from Aboriginal values. It is an extension of them. The same logic that sent his father out trapping rabbits to feed the family and trade for goods applies today to the broader wild game industry. Economic participation through the harvest of wild game is something Aboriginal people have always understood and always practised.

The kangaroo, in this sense, has never been just an animal. It has been a provider, a partner, and a resource that Aboriginal people have managed, respected, and relied upon for longer than any other culture in Australia.

That relationship has not changed. What has changed is the scale of the opportunity to recognise and honour it.

The Kangaroo as Income: A Right, Not a Privilege

Cultural Authority

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:51:36 GMT

WHY IT MATTERS WHO SPEAKS ABOUT WILD GAME

Cultural Authority

CONTENTS

If you want to understand the relationship between Aboriginal culture and wild game, you need to start in the right place. Not with statistics. Not with policy. With the question of who is speaking, and whether they have the authority to do so.

Mark Koolmatrie has spent a lifetime earning that authority. Although he has completed his post graduate studies, his knowledge hasn't come from formal education. It has been handed down through generations, earned through years of listening, and tested against a cultural standard that has endured for tens of thousands of years.

"When someone speaks with cultural authority, that's end of story," Mark says. "They are speaking because they are coming with facts. When they speak, they don't speak for no reason, they speak with cultural authority."

The misunderstanding of who has cultural authority is at the heart of many of the difficulties faced when Aboriginal knowledge is sought, claimed, or debated in public life.

The Difference Between an Elder and an Older Person

One of the most important distinctions Mark draws is one that is frequently overlooked: not every Aboriginal person who is old is an elder.

"Eldership comes with knowledge and wisdom. It is not something that anybody can just call someone an elder."

The confusion, he says, often comes from good intentions. People use the title "elder" as a sign of respect. But in doing so, they can inadvertently elevate voices that don't carry the cultural weight the moment requires.

"Quite often people are thinking they're being respectful by calling someone an elder. Wherein, in actual fact, their knowledge base, or more so their cultural knowledge base, is not in the realm of eldership. So to be classed as an elder, or to have eldership, you must have knowledge and wisdom. If you don't have that, quite often you might be just an older or older person speaking."

The distinction matters enormously when it comes to wild game. Questions about how Aboriginal people relate to kangaroo, to harvesting, to country and sustainability are not casual questions. They deserve specialist answers.

"If you think about going to a doctor, and if you want professional advice, you would go to a specialist. And this is where the difference occurs. So what we're asking for is the specialists to come forward [regarding wild game], who can back up any information that they're given."

The standard of cultural authority leans on accountability. In traditional Aboriginal governance, speaking without genuine knowledge carried consequences.

"If you don't have the knowledge, or if you're talking off the cuff about many things when you are not a specialist, those sort of things are not listened to. Culturally, you're dismissed from your position of eldership if you're not following through on truth, reliability, knowledge. Everything is based on knowledge."

This is why, Mark explains, when a genuine elder speaks on matters within their area of expertise, their words carry such weight.

"When the specialist speaks, we take it on that they are speaking the truth. It is a part of who we are. We must be able to, when we speak, we must speak truth."

A System Built on Truth

To understand how cultural authority was maintained and passed on, Mark describes a traditional governance system known as the Yannarumi — a circle of knowledge holders that formed the original structure of Aboriginal decision-making.

"The Yannarumi was our form of government, where we sat in circle, where the inner circle was the high law, the high knowledge people. And as that circle went out, groups of people sat around — you might be learning things, you're learning how to do it — until everyone could come forward with their piece of knowledge."

It was a system that was deliberate, layered, and deeply patient. No one stepped into the inner circle before their time. Mark himself describes sitting at the outer edges of this circle for years, listening and learning before it was his turn to speak.

"I have sat in the outer realm of this Yannarumi, where I've listened to what other elders and other people of knowledge have told me. And then it has come a time when it is my turn to come forward into that circle and share the knowledge widely. You just don't come in out of the blue and speak. You must have the knowledge to be able to step forward to speak."

What Mark shares now, he shares with that full weight behind him.

"When I speak, I speak with authority, but I speak with generations of knowledge that have been handed down to me. I've also had to sit and wait until it was my turn to come forward and share what I know. I don't share what I don't know. I share what I do know, and I share what's been passed down and handed to me over centuries of knowledge."

The Yannarumi: A Circle of Knowledge

For those working in the Australian wild game industry (harvesters, processors, advocates, and policymakers) understanding cultural authority isn't just a matter of respect. It's a matter of getting the right information.

When the industry seeks Aboriginal voices on matters of wild game, harvesting practice, land management, or cultural protocol, the quality of that engagement depends on whether the right people are in the room. A well-meaning conversation with someone who lacks genuine cultural knowledge may not only be unhelpful, it may actually muddy the waters on questions where clarity and truth are essential.

The Yannarumi model offers a useful lens here. In that system, questions were directed to the person with genuine expertise in that area, not simply the most available or most vocal voice. The specialist was sought out. The knowledge was treated as something precious, not something to be casually substituted.

"Not everyone is a specialist in every single area," Mark acknowledges. "However, there are people even within our original society — the way we conducted that tribalism, the way we sat in circle — it is more about that specialist in that area speaking for that one, whether or not it's wild game, whether or not it's foods or medicines or whatever it might be. We listen to the specialist."

The Australian Wild Game Industry Council is committed to listening to the specialists, and ensuring that the Aboriginal voices informing this industry are voices of genuine cultural authority.

Mark Koolmatrie is one of those voices.

What This Means for the Wild Game Industry

A Sustainable Industry

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 08:04:44 GMT

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

A Sustainable Industry

The KIAA supports a responsible harvest that contributes to the conservation of kangaroos and all species, and makes intelligent use of a natural resource.

The kangaroo is a much-loved national icon of Australia and an important part of our natural ecosystem. As Australians, we have a long tradition of living off the land. Indigenous communities have been hunting kangaroos for food for centuries. Our responsibility is to do this in a sustainable way that protects our native species and the broader natural environment as well as supports our economy.

This task requires a multidisciplinary understanding of how different species of kangaroos and wallabies live and survive across the country and their impact on their surroundings. Over the last couple of decades, kangaroo numbers have fluctuated due to changing climate conditions and in the absence of natural predators. Large numbers of kangaroos in certain areas pose a threat to their own survival, the habitats of other native flora and fauna, and to agricultural land.

The commercial harvesting of kangaroos is widely considered among the scientific community, government, animal welfare experts, indigenous groups and the agricultural industry as a responsible way to manage kangaroo numbers, while boosting the economy. All states and territories have kangaroo management programs, of which some permit the commercial harvest of abundant species of kangaroos. This enables them to control and monitor the harvest to prevent any negative impact on the species or their ecosystems.

We commit to complying and advocating for stringent regulation and governance from the paddock to the customer.

Sustainability Mythbusters

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 08:04:43 GMT

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Sustainability M ythbusters

COULD THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY MAKE KANGAROOS EXTINCT OR THREATENED?

No. The commercial kangaroo industry is only permitted to harvest species that are not threatened and which are abundant. State governments measure the populations of these species and set annual harvest quotas at about 15% of the total number in harvest zones. These are adjusted in changed conditions such as severe drought. The actual number of kangaroos harvested each year has been closer to 3-7% in the last decade.

Not likely. Government population estimates only take into account the four harvested species in harvest zones. They do not count all other kangaroo species and kangaroos in non-harvest zones. Conservative estimates are set by conducting aerial and ground surveys, and extrapolating the data out to other areas. This is the most effective method currently available.

ARE THERE FEWER KANGAROOS THAN WHAT WE ARE TOLD?

No. State governments are required under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to protect kangaroo populations and biodiversity, which can involve conservation culling of overabundant species. The commercial industry is seen as the responsible alternative, because it makes use of the meat and skins that would otherwise be discarded. Harvest quotas shrink when populations decline.

IS KANGAROO MANAGEMENT MOTIVATED BY PROFIT?

A Humane Industry

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 08:04:41 GMT

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

A Humane Industry

We prioritise animal welfare at every step based on the latest science and make sure meat or skins do not end up in landfill.

As an industry of people with strong ties to the land, animal welfare is a core value of our organisation and allows us to proudly offer responsibly and ethically sourced products.

We comply with the National code of practice for the humane shooting of kangaroos and wallabies for commercial purposes, which was developed in close consultation with scientific experts and animal welfare advocates. It outlines the most humane methods for harvesting kangaroos.

Only supporting code-compliant harvesting and encourages a high level of accountability. Commercial harvesters have an obligation to minimise pain and suffering for the animals. Commercial harvesters are highly skilled professionals who are required to undergo proficiency tests before being licensed to prove their ability to meet the standards in the Code.

We recognise that there are individuals not represented by us who are not compliant. This raises concerns about the welfare of animals and taints the reputation of the industry. We continue to improve transparency and rigour around commercial harvesting and advocate for improvements in standards for non-commercial culling of kangaroos.

Animal Welfare

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 08:04:39 GMT

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Animal Welfare

IS IT BETTER TO FARM KANGAROOS THAN HUNT THEM IN THE WILD?

No. Kangaroos are not farmed but harvested from wild populations in an open range environment. This means they are free to live in their natural habitat and graze on the natural pastures and foliage of the Australian bush. These conditions are far better for the animals' wellbeing than a confined environment. Kangaroos are stunned and killed instantly using scientifically-proven humane methods.

No. The management of abundant kangaroo populations is humane because it prevents mass starvation. The commercial industry has an obligation to minimise the pain and suffering to kangaroos. It strictly follows the advice of animal welfare scientists and experts as to the most humane methods for harvesting kangaroos and euthanasing young.

IS THE INDUSTRY CRUEL TO KANGAROOS AND JOEY'S ?

No. If there was no commercial industry, conservation culling would still occur to manage abundant kangaroo populations in certain areas. Scientific studies show that it would lead to an increase in unregulated and illegal shooting to reduce damage to pastoral land, which would result in poorer animal welfare outcomes for kangaroos.

WOULD KANGAROOS BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY?

An Accountable Industry

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 08:04:38 GMT

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

An Accountable Industry

We support a traceable harvest that ensures the highest standards are upheld at each step of the process.

We comply with all wildlife conservation, and health and safety standards, and are always striving to improve the way the industry operates. Over the years, we have pushed for greater scrutiny and rigour in how the industry is regulated and monitored as well as funded research projects into animal welfare and the sustainability of the industry.

In 1999, KIAA successfully lobbied the Australian Minister for Environment to fund an audit by the RSPCA into the animal welfare of commercial kangaroo harvesting.

The KIAA and the Federal Government jointly funded a study to monitor welfare outcomes for kangaroos under actual field conditions.

The KIAA pays a levy on all kangaroos commercially processed to fund research administered by AgriFutures.

Looking ahead, we are working on:

Accuracy: New projects to promote the accuracy of recording kangaroo numbers, so the industry and customers are confident no long-term damage is done to kangaroo populations.

Traceability: Improvements to existing regulatory and monitoring systems for tracing harvested kangaroos to ensure only kangaroos from sustainable sources and verified harvesters reach customers.

Accountability: Examination of how the industry can be better regulated to cover all parts of the supply chain.

Accountability

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 08:04:36 GMT

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Accountability

IS IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCURATELY TARGET KANGAROOS AT DUSK?

No. Commercial kangaroo harvesters must pass a proficiency test every five years to prove they can meet the requirements of the National Commercial Code of Conduct, which outlines the appropriate conditions, equipment and method for harvesting kangaroos humanely. The vehicle must be still, and the kangaroo be within a certain range and standing upright. Dusk is optimal because it is when kangaroos feed.

Not commercial harvesters. Provisions are in place to prevent and monitor compliance with animal welfare, conservation and food safety regulation. For harvesters to sell the kangaroos they harvest, they must have a licence and fully tag and record every animal. Food safety data is also recorded at each step. The data and animals are regularly audited by government inspectors.

ARE HARVESTERS BREAKING THE RULES WITHOUT US KNOWING?

No. Kangaroo meat is lean, nutritious and tasty. The industry adheres to Australia's tough food safety standards and those of its export markets. This includes requirements around the harvester vehicle vehicle hygiene and refrigeration times. The meat undergoes third-party food safety inspections and NATA accredited testing before being passed fit for human consumption. Like most red meat, it is advised to cook it.

ARE THERE ANY RISKS WITH EATING KANGAROO?

A Valuable Industry

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 08:04:35 GMT

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

An Valuable Industry

We contribute to employment, conservation and the supply of high-quality, responsibly sourced products.

The commercial industry plays an important role in helping conserve Australia’s natural ecosystem. Without it, kangaroos would still be kept at sustainable levels through government and non-commercial culling, which would result in poorer animal welfare outcomes.

Commercial harvesting is the responsible alternative because:

Animals remain in their natural habitat;
The meat and skins - that would otherwise be discarded - are turned into valuable products;
Jobs are created for thousands of Australians including many indigenous people; and
The industry can be tightly regulated and monitored.

The commercial industry produces responsibly sourced lean kangaroo meat and strong leather. Unlike cattle and sheep, kangaroos emit little methane, which is 21 times worse than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas. It’s estimated that kangaroo meat has one-third the carbon footprint of beef.

The commercial kangaroo industry is worth more than $200 million to the Australian economy. This includes ancillary benefits such as reduced agricultural damage, reduced road accidents and broader benefits to the community. It also employs more than 3,000 people across the country, predominantly from rural and remote areas, and supports local farmers.

The World’s Strongest Leather

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 09:50:28 GMT

DD/MM BY NEAL FINCH

The World’s Strongest Leather

CONTENTS

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Why Strength Matters

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awgic

Asking the Kangaroo

Asking the Kangaroo

The Ngartji System

The Ngartji System

Kangaroo as a Resource

The Kangaroo: A National Resource Respected Across All Nations

Kangaroo As A Resource

Cultural Authority

WHY IT MATTERS WHO SPEAKS ABOUT WILD GAME

Cultural Authority

A Sustainable Industry

A Sustainable Industry

Sustainability Mythbusters

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Sustainability M ythbusters

COULD THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY MAKE KANGAROOS EXTINCT OR THREATENED?

ARE THERE FEWER KANGAROOS THAN WHAT WE ARE TOLD?

IS KANGAROO MANAGEMENT MOTIVATED BY PROFIT?

A Humane Industry

A Humane Industry

Animal Welfare

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Animal Welfare

WOULD KANGAROOS BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY?

An Accountable Industry

An Accountable Industry

Accountability

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Accountability

ARE THERE ANY RISKS WITH EATING KANGAROO?

A Valuable Industry

An Valuable Industry

The World’s Strongest Leather

DD/MM BY NEAL FINCH

The World’s Strongest Leather

Why Strength Matters

The Science Behind It

Sustainability in Every Stitch

A Legacy Worth Preserving

awgic

Asking the Kangaroo

Asking the Kangaroo

The Ngartji System

The Ngartji System

Kangaroo as a Resource

The Kangaroo: A National Resource Respected Across All Nations

Kangaroo As A Resource

Cultural Authority

WHY IT MATTERS WHO SPEAKS ABOUT WILD GAME

Cultural Authority

A Sustainable Industry

A Sustainable Industry

Sustainability Mythbusters

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Sustainability M ythbusters ﻿

COULD THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY MAKE KANGAROOS EXTINCT OR THREATENED?

ARE THERE FEWER KANGAROOS THAN WHAT WE ARE TOLD?

IS KANGAROO MANAGEMENT MOTIVATED BY PROFIT?

A Humane Industry

A Humane Industry

Animal Welfare

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Animal Welfare

WOULD KANGAROOS BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRY?

An Accountable Industry

An Accountable Industry

Accountability

an AWGIC FACTSHEET

Accountability

ARE THERE ANY RISKS WITH EATING KANGAROO?

A Valuable Industry

An Valuable Industry

The World’s Strongest Leather

DD/MM BY NEAL FINCH

The World’s Strongest Leather

Why Strength Matters

The Science Behind It

Sustainability in Every Stitch

A Legacy Worth Preserving

Sustainability M ythbusters