Under the Victorian Government’s Kangaroo Harvesting Program (KHP), and associated Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan (KHMP), landowners are allowed to arrange for a commercial harvester to attend their property and kill the kangaroos living there for pet meat, human consumption, and leather.
Wildlife Victoria opposes kangaroo harvesting on the grounds that it is unsustainable, unnecessary, unethical, and that it lacks relevant in-field supervision. The program monetises the killing of kangaroos across Victoria and prioritises commercial interests above our precious wildlife. Wildlife Victoria calls for an immediate and permanent end to commercial kangaroo harvesting.
We continue to advocate against the KHP by both raising public awareness of the inhumane killing practices permitted under the plan, collecting detailed evidence for submission to plan reviews, and urging the Victoria Government to call for an end to kangaroo harvesting.
The facts
- The shooting of kangaroos takes place under cover of night with limited supervision
- Prior to the implementation of the Kangaroo Harvesting Program (KHP) in 2019, reports of kangaroos presenting with gunshot‑related injuries were rare. Since the program’s commencement, these cases have escalated sharply, reaching triple‑digit levels in more recent years
- The National Code of Conduct for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos for Commercial Purposes stipulates that shooters must kill in-pouch and at-foot joeys either by cervical dislocation, decapitation, or by blunt force trauma to the head – such as by swinging a joey against the bull bars on a ute
- Wildlife Victoria has recorded a 478% increase in orphaned joey cases since the implementation of the KHP in 2019
Key actions
January 2026 – Call to pause the kangaroo harvesting program following natural disasters
In January 2026, Victoria experienced severe and compounding events including bushfires, floods, prolonged drought, and heatwaves. Wildlife Victoria’s frontline responders observed increased numbers of injured, orphaned, and displaced kangaroos as a direct result of these disasters. Wildlife Victoria has written to the Victorian Government, urging that the KHP be paused until a comprehensive and transparent assessment of current kangaroo population levels can be undertaken.
January 2025 – Call to pause kangaroo harvesting program in the Grampians following bushfires
In January 2025, Wildlife Victoria called for a halt to the commercial harvesting of kangaroos in the Grampians region of Victoria following bushfires that burnt 76,000 hectares of land. Wildlife Victoria’s CEO spoke to ABC News and called for the KHP to be halted in the Grampians until there was greater understanding of the immediate and potential long-term impacts of the fires and habitat loss on kangaroo populations.
July 2023 – Submission to the Review of the Kangaroo Harvesting Management Program
In 2023, Wildlife Victoria made a submission to the review of the Victorian KHMP 2024–2028. In the submission, Wildlife Victoria called for an immediate cessation of the program, and a full parliamentary inquiry into the wildlife impacts of the KHMP. We also called on the government to act on its responsibilities to care for and protect our wildlife, and to commit to prioritising wildlife welfare over commercial interests.