A two-year trial in Victoria, Australia, will involve processing kangaroo meat into petfood, creating a new industry worth up to AU$1.4 million (US$940,604) in revenue, according to reports. The trial will begin March 31, 2014, and will involve up to 69,000 eastern and western grey kangaroos which would have been culled under wildlife control permits.
According to Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh, the number of kangaroos killed isn't expected to rise because it's illegal to kill one without a permit. "It will not mean any increase in the wildlife control permits at all, it is just utilizing the waste that is there from the current controls," he said.
The government plans to closely monitor the number of wildlife control applications to ensure that the new kangaroo petfood industry doesn't cause a spike in kangaroo killings.
