DEMAND for permits to cull kangaroos in Victoria has more than doubled since the state approved the processing of culled carcasses for pet food four years ago.

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In 2013, just 1624 permits were issued to shoot 74,443 red, eastern-grey and western-grey kangaroos. Last year 2841 wildlife control permits were issued, allowing landholders and professional shooters to cull 189,086 kangaroos.

The surge in numbers, and recent concerns over the slow rollout of permits for this year’s cull, have led the Victorian Government to review the scheme.

Southwest Victorian professional kangaroo shooter Barton Phillips said the slowdown had now been resolved, but the number of kangaroos was still huge.

“More farmers are coming on board because they see roo meat is a resource not to be wasted,” Mr Phillips said.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning officials have sought community feedback on the permit scheme, which has led to calls for a ban on wildlife carers and shelters rehabilitating injured or orphaned eastern grey kangaroos or other overabundant species, such as wombats, cockatoos and possums.

“Wildlife shelters and foster carers invest significant time and resources rehabilitating sick, injured and orphaned eastern grey kangaroos,” DELWP states in its discussion paper.

“Given that the species is overabundant in many areas, and is the species that the majority of ATCWs (Authority to Control Wildlife) are issued for, some members of the community have suggested that the species should not be able to be rehabilitated under the wildlife shelter system.”

The ACT already restricts rehabilitation of eastern grey kangaroos. “It’s nonsense that we have permits to shoot thousands of them and people on the other side of the road trying to rehabilitate them,” Victorian Farmers Federation livestock president Leonard Vallance said. “It shows how silly the world is.”

Victorian Shooters Fishers and Farmers MP Daniel Young said animal shelters should not receive government funding to rehabilitate roos.

“Farmers shouldn’t need a permit to shoot roos on their own properties,” Mr Young said. “We’d like to see them declared a game species for recreational shooters.”

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