Is it true that in Australia they breed and eat kangaroos like cows or sheep? (11 photos)

In the town of Bad Vöslau, there's a wonderful kangaroo farm: a whopping 800 square meters of wide enclosures and green lawns, where the famous red kangaroos, rare white-breasted wallabies, and even a unique albino kangaroo hop about!





Isn't he a beauty?

No, I didn't make a typo, and you weren't imagining things; I really did write "go to Austria." Wouldn't you like to go there? Go to the USA, Canada, Bulgaria, or even the Rostov region, for that matter. But not Australia. There are no kangaroo farms in Australia!



Ah yes, those famous Don kangaroos...

It would seem—where better to breed kangaroos than Australia? After all, the climate there is ideal, and food is easy to come by. You could take tourists to the farm, and sell the meat. After all, a large red kangaroo isn't just a cute orange bouncer, it also produces 15-25 kilograms of easily digestible, dietary meat (with a fat content of only 2%)! Sounds like a great business plan!





Well, they really do have a perfectly good supply of meat!

But the whole problem lies in the right environment. The local conditions are too good for kangaroos. Today, the combined population of the four most common kangaroo species numbers approximately 50 million individuals—almost twice the population of Australia! And that's not just a lot, it's downright excessive. Not only do the locals not want to breed them, they don't know how to get rid of the kangaroo overpopulation!



Pigeons are certainly strange in Australia...

After all, marsupials cause a lot of problems for people. They occupy parks and completely destroy pastures, causing soil degradation. They compete with other herbivores, including domestic animals, invasive species, and native animals. And the latter are already having a hard time.



Weeding is in full swing.

As if that weren't enough, large and powerful kangaroos roam the suburbs, break fences, dig through trash, and, of course, get hit by cars. So if you suggest breeding kangaroos to an Australian, they'll be surprised that anyone would want these huge, jumping rats.



Don't try to fool us. We don't even have any money!



Okay, okay, people, you've bought your way out of our mess for today.

The Australian government is trying hard to control kangaroo populations, and every year allocates quotas for the culling of 20-25% of the population. Moreover, these permits are given out free of charge to both individuals and companies. But even this doesn't help, as humans only shoot 5% of the population, which is clearly not enough to offset the birth rate. It seems that in a few years, the government itself will be forced to pay extra for the culling.



Even other kangaroos suffer from kangaroo dominance. Because large kangaroos easily destroy undergrowth and young trees, forests are slow to recover. And without forests, endangered forest kangaroos cannot replenish their numbers.

But until then, kangaroos are of no use to anyone. Their fur is coarse, their skin is far from the best quality and is significantly inferior to cowhide. Even their meat, with all its beneficial properties, is unpopular both domestically and internationally due to its tough texture and gamey smell. And while you can buy it at any Australian grocery store, the numbers speak for themselves – kangaroo meat sales are lower than those of chicken, beef, pork, or rabbit.



That elusive Joe from the joke (find the joke in the comments).

Until 2009, kangaroo meat sold relatively well abroad, earning the country around $20 million a year from its exports. But even this opportunity was cut off when the main importer, which accounts for about 70% of exports, completely abandoned kangaroo meat. Today, Australia exports $6 million worth of marsupial meat annually. Taking inflation into account, the dollar is a pittance.



When you know the hunters don't care about you, and you can afford to play air guitar right in the middle of a field.

In the past, manufacturers of inexpensive sausages and hot dogs eagerly purchased kangaroo meat to mix it into their products alongside more common meats. So, if you were born before 2009, you've almost certainly eaten kangaroo meat. You just didn't know it!



Girl, don't look at me like I'm a piece of meat. That's not the way to do things around here.