The VFF supports the balance of native flora and fauna in the natural environment and across farm productivity.
Kangaroo Pet Food Trial
Kangaroos are protected in Victoria. There are however situations where kangaroos can cause damage which negatively affects Victorian farmers, regional communities and biodiversity. The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) issues Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCWs) under section 28A of the Wildlife Act 1975 for the control of kangaroos where they are demonstrated to be damaging pasture, crops or other property or impacting on biodiversity values.
The vast majority of kangaroo carcasses from kangaroos controlled under an ATCW are buried or left onsite to decompose.
The state government commenced a kangaroo pet food trial in March 2014 to allow the use of kangaroo carcasses resulting from authorised control activities to be processed for pet food. This trial has been extended until March 2018 to test its sustainability over a longer period and to expand the geographic area of the trial.
The trial does not change the requirement for a landholder to apply for an ATCW to demonstrate that kangaroos are causing damage.
The kangaroo pet food trial operates in Ararat, Benalla, Horsham, Mansfield, Mitchel, Murrindindi, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, Southern Grampians, Strathbogie, Wangaratta, Yarriambiack, Greater Bendigo, Glenelg, West Wimmera and Loddon.
The VFF supports the commercialisation of kangaroo pet food. A number of commercial operators have invested in facilities and processes to meet the demands of this pet food market.
The VFF will provide a submission to the state government in September 2017 in support of the commercialisation of this trial. The VFF is asking farmers and natural resource managers to provide pictorial evidence (images) of kangaroo damage on farmland and in the natural environment that threatens biodiversity as determined under section 28A of the Wildlife Act 1975.