Kangaroo populations are "out of control" in western Queensland and in numbers not seen before, local graziers say.

The State Government said it was aware high densities of the animals were doing damage to pastures and crops and it was working with farmers to assist.

Areas that had received relief rain were not expected to get any reprieve from the kangaroos and farmers said drought-affected country was also being damaged.

Grazier Harry Glasson, from Yaraka, more than 200 kilometres south of Longreach, said while the native animals competed with livestock for grass, they could also decimate plants.

"Conservatively we have got 10,000 to 15,000 roos here and growing every day," he said.

"The problem is out of control and never seen roos like this before. I have never seen this situation.

"Nobody wants to see roos extinct - we've just got to get control of them.

"Sooner or later, they will take our place. There will be no grazing left if we don't do something about it."

Roos 'just clean the paddocks out'

Grazier Bill Chandler, from Barcaldine, east of Longreach, said his property Hillalong received good rain in December, but the roos were adding enormous pressure.

Kangaroos find some grass in central-west Queensland. ( Audience submitted: Jenny Underwood )

"I'm quite convinced we've got anywhere between 12,000 and 15,000, because they are just here in huge numbers and in the time of drought, they just clean all the paddocks out," he said.

"We can't do anything about them because of the numbers.

"They are one of the single [biggest] causes of drought in this country because they are there cleaning up all the good feed."

Further west at Darr River Downs near Longreach, grazier Cam Tindall said it was a similar story.

"We are competing with no rain, plus the roos," he said.

"We have a roo problem here, but there are people who have got a roo to the acre, and if they have got a 25,000 acre place, that's a lot of sheep or cattle they could be running."

Roo population has 'just exploded'

Mr Tindall said female roos were not being harvested and they had continued to breed rapidly.

Female roos were not being harvested and had continued to breed rapidly ( Audience submitted: Tracey Walker )

"The roo population - it would have over doubled at least in the last two years, because we have made it better for the roos - we have put water everywhere and we have improved pastures," he said.

Professional macropod harvester David Coulton, who is based at Aramac, north-east of Longreach, has worked in the kangaroo sector for many years and said he had never seen kangaroos so thick.

"For three or four years now we haven't been able to shoot females, and leading up to this drought we have had seven pretty good years, and the abundance of kangaroos - it's just exploded," he said.

"It's incredible to see. Sometimes you could see 8,000 or 9,000, 10,000 roos in front of you, all rolling together. It is an eye-opener."

New export markets needed

Mr Coulton said more promotion of kangaroo meat and new export markets were needed to help revive the sector.

Police said roos hit on the roads posed a road safety issue in outback Queensland. ( Audience submitted: Tracey Walker )

"It is the most free-range animal ... eating the best grass all the time - it is just the healthiest animal," he said.

It is a sentiment shared by Longreach-based roo shooter Paul Tindall.

"We've got plenty of cockies whinging about them, but we can't really do much," he said.

"This year has probably been the worst ever. I have shot for the last nine years. There's no market, the money's the worst I've ever seen."

Mr Tindall's father Cam agreed new markets were desperately needed.

"Roo is probably one of the best meats in the world. There is no cholesterol in it," he said.

"Australian roo shooters and the industry is the most qualified in the world - no-one in the world is as hygienic as us - but we fight against not having markets."

Roos also pose outback road safety issue

While the State Government said it was working to help farmers to manage the big numbers, police were also appealing for care on the roads.

Longreach Police Inspector Mark Henderson said roos were common in town but were an increasing problem on the roads.

He said there had been more than 100 animal strikes on police cars in the district in the last year and dead kangaroos on the roadway were an issue for all drivers.

"Between here and Barcaldine, which is only an hour away, there are hundreds and hundreds of them - in fact it is known in town as 'the killing fields'," he said.

"The carcasses can be 20, 30 or 40 of them in a stretch of 10 or 20 metres, and [drivers in] cars that are inexperienced, they try and swerve around them and into the paths of trucks and everything else."