Pastoral Poddy

Throughout this special series on kangaroo management, we’ve unpacked a range of issues around this wicked challenge. From landowners, conservation groups and the indigenous community to wildlife advocates, industry and the general public, everyone has a different view and story to tell. With focuses varying from economics to morals to conservation issues, it can be challenging to find common ground.

In this episode, we’ll hear from an ecologist, the industry and the government about some new strategic initiatives that aim to give a voice to these diverse groups. We’ll see how education, consultation and innovation can be part of the solution. Tune in to hear how a predictive tool for kangaroo populations and new adaptive approaches could help advance kangaroo management in Australia.

Guests featured in this episode include:

• Fiona Garland, Team Leader - Kangaroo Management, Western Local Land Services
• Dr John Read, Ecologist and Author- johnlread.com
• Dennis King, Executive Officer, Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia
• Terry Brill , Senior Team Leader  Kangaroo Management Program NSW Government

Other useful resources

Kangaroos have a cultural and spiritual significance for Aboriginal people, being a totem for some and a source of food and clothing for many. Tune in to learn about the diversity of views that Aboriginal people have about kangaroo management. When caring for country, they use a holistic, sustainable approach. There are still challenges, as traditional methods can sometimes clash with legislation. In this episode, we’ll talk to indigenous community members about what kangaroo harvesting means to them and some of the challenges they face. Join us to hear some ideas of how the industry and government can help improve community access and involvement through the use of cultural tags as well as providing work opportunities for indigenous people.

Guests featured in this episode include:

• Joshua Clarke, Land Services Officer, Aboriginal Communities, Western Local Land Services
• Lawrence Clarke, community elder and Chair of the Western Local Land Services Aboriginal Community Advisory Group
• Garry Trindall, indigenous professional kangaroo harvester
• Dennis King, Executive Officer, Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia

Other useful resources

The Kangaroo Management Taskforce website has several resources including  several films made with Aboriginal communities

Drought is a stressful time for any farmer trying to balance competing business, livestock and landscape demands. In this episode, we’ll hear from a farmer about his experience living through the latest drought with unmanaged, overabundant kangaroos on his property. Kangaroos also struggle in drought with inevitable dehydration and starvation from lack of food and water. 

So what can be done about it? We’ll hear from an animal welfare expert about the different ways kangaroos are managed on agricultural properties, the impact on animals and what the general public thinks.  Join us to see how the use of new tools and how being proactive instead of reactive, will help both landholders and kangaroos in this challenging situation.

Guests featured in this episode include:

• Leon Zanker – Pastoralist from Western NSW
• Dr. Trudy Sharp - Research Scientist, Vertebrate pest research unit, NSW DPI
• Dr. Steve McLeod -  Manager Vertebrate Pest Research | Invasive Species Biosecurity

Other useful resources

The National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes (the Code)

Do you struggle with managing Total Grazing Pressure on your property, particularly from unmanaged animals? You're not alone. It can be overwhelming for many landowners in Western NSW to manage their livestock and deal with the challenges of other animals like goats and kangaroos. Kangaroo numbers can fluctuate very quickly across individual properties, uprooting and damaging plants and negatively impacting the land. But there's hope. Research is addressing this challenge, focusing on a positive outcome for both production and biodiversity. Join us in this episode as we talk to a farmer and see how he is better managing kangaroo numbers on his property using this new research.

Guests featured in this episode include:

• Graham Turner – Pastoralist, western NSW
• Dr. Steve McLeod - Manager Vertebrate Pest Research, NSW Department of Primary Industries
• Trudie Atkinson - Technical Specialist Grazing Systems, NSW Department of Primary Industries
• Russell Grant,  Rangeland Ecologist

Other useful resources

The Rangeland Journal: Managing Total Grazing Pressure in Australia’s Southern Rangelands

https://www.publish.csiro.au/RJ/issue/9641

The National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes (the Code)

Kangaroo management is a complicated, nationwide issue that involves many diverse stakeholders. From landholders to the kangaroo industry to animal welfare groups and everyone else in between, it impacts people across Australia. In this first episode, we’ll talk to an ecologist and an academic to better understand the complex issues surrounding kangaroo management, including diverse approaches such as translocation, fertility control, culling and commercial harvesting.  Want to learn about options on how to help improve the management of kangaroos and the environment in your neck of the woods? Tune in and hear from a researcher who’s looking for solutions by developing a tool for land managers to forecast kangaroo numbers.

Guests featured in this episode include:

• Dr John Read - Ecologist and author - johnlread.com
• Dr. Steve McLeod - Manager Vertebrate Pest Research, NSW Department of Primary Industries
• Dr Graham Coulson -  Kangaroo Ecologist

Other useful resources

• Special Issue of Ecological Management & Restoration: Optimum management of overabundant macropods - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14428903/2021/22/S1

• Kangaroo management in NSW - https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/Topics/Animals-and-plants/Wildlife-management/Kangaroo-management

• Kangaroo Management Taskforce website - kangaroomanagementtaskforce.com.au

Did you know that NSW has the largest rangeland goat population in Australia?

For part of Western NSW, they’re a key source of farm income. Goats are a hardy animal well suited to the rangelands and whilst the last drought was tough on everyone, goat numbers. have rebounded from 2.4 to 6.8 million and more goats are coming onto the market.

To take advantage of this growing opportunity, many producers are transitioning toward semi-managed or managed systems. So what lessons can be learned from other livestock sectors? Well if a farmer, a scientist and a geneticist walked into a pub this is what they’d say.

Guests featured in this episode