The total Kangaroo population estimate for South Australia in 2024, which sets 2025 quotas, is 4,922,375 (includes the Eastern Grey Kangaroo) giving a quota for 2025 of 805,800, up from 577,000 in the previous year. If the quota was met in 2025, this would mean 230,000 joeys (not included in the data) would also die by decapitation, beaten to death or starvation if they escape.

While this cruel trade in wildlife should not occur at all, the following species should be removed from the commercial list with immediate effect because of significant damage to actual populations:

• Euro.

Then the recent 2020 additions:

• Kangaroo Island Sooty Kangaroo (Eastern Grey from Kangaroo Island);
• Tammar Wallaby; and
• Eastern Grey Kangaroo.

‍

2024

In 2024 a total of 105,845 Kangaroos were shot for commercial gain (excluding joeys) in South Australia. That was just 17 per cent of quota which was set at 635,400. The quota, a number which included the five species of Macropod (no Tammar Wallabies were actually killed for commercial gain in the year) currently killed for commercial gain in the state.

‍

2025 so far

The actuals for the period 1 January to 1 July 2025 as reported by the Government of South Australia are:

• Red Kangaroo – 37,880;
• Western Grey Kangaroo – 20,187;
• Eastern Grey Kangaroo – 6,816;
• Euro – 3,498; and
• Tammar Wallaby (Kangaroo Island) – 0.

TOTAL ACTUAL TAKE – 68,381 (8.5 per cent of full year quota).

‍

While the actual take is very low when compared to quota, the take is still higher than the Nature Knowledge Channel’s forecast. Given this I have asked the Government of South Australia the following question.

The numbers are interesting, particularly so as the numbers are higher than our forecast for SA and the period.

Is this because:

Public lands are being accessed more actively by commercial shooters? Or

Are joeys included in the data – at least the older at-foot joeys? Or

Is the bounty having an impact, particularly in remoter regions that are not usually viable when it comes to commercial exploitation.

It will be interesting to know which of these is the main driver of the increase in take.

‍

In response to these questions the Government of South Australia report the following:

“At this stage, there does appear to be an increase in the number of Kangaroos harvested compared to last year, however, it is hard to know if this trend will continue into the second half of the year.

I can confirm that the data provided to you in my previous email did not include joeys. The higher harvest is most likely driven by a number of factors, including climatic conditions and industry demand. At this stage it is too early to tell if the PIRSA drought program has had an impact on the number of Kangaroos harvested given DEW has only received two months of harvesting data since the program started mid-May. The higher harvest is also not a result of increased commercial harvest on parks, this is a very small percentage of the overall harvest and is not expected to significantly change from last year’s numbers.

Further analysis of the harvest data will be conducted when the 2025 harvest report is developed early next year”.

‍

The impact of the Kangaroo bounty

A letter (July 2025) to Peter Hylands from South Australia’s Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development / Minister for Forest Industries, contains the following paragraphs.

“The program aims to reduce the impact of Kangaroos on farmers’ pastures and crops, as well as mitigating the poor animal welfare outcomes due to lack of food and water available for Kangaroos. Consecutive good seasons has meant Kangaroo numbers have boomed, and the current drought has left them with little to eat.

Kangaroo populations are surveyed each year, and the science to estimate kangaroo population numbers has been extensively peer-reviewed. Currently, it is estimated there are 5 million to 6 million Kangaroos in South Australia, with only approximately 100,000 harvested per year. The additional measures are estimated to remove between 50,000 to 100,000 additional Kangaroos”. Hon Claire Scriven MLC

Prior to the bounty being announced the Nature Knowledge Channel’s forecast for actual take against quota in 2025 was just 11.7 per cent. The bounty might increase this given high levels of access to pretty well everywhere Kangaroos exist, and it will be interesting to see what actually happens.

This begged the question, now answered above, are joeys now to be counted as part of the commercial kill as this has never occurred before as they are considered not to be viable for processing? The images of joeys killed as part of the Drought Support Package and supplied by PIRSA suggest that at least some joeys are being processed.

We should remember this. In South Australia there is no achievable ceiling to the killing because populations are overstated and as a result, quotas are so high, and this results in the lowest actual take against quota in percentage terms in Australia at just 17 per cent in both 2023 and 2024. In addition to this Kangaroos can now be killed in almost every place in South Australia where they exist. So there are no achievable and regulated upper limits to the killing to deter shooters or farmers from obliterating Kangaroo populations. They are already killing everything they want to kill. We should also note that year on year the claims of a booming population increase, populations increasing from 3,912,711 in 2023/4 to 4,922,375 in 2024/5, were biologically impossible. That means IMPOSSIBLE.

This in turn means that the bounty will act as a proxy subsidy to enable an unsustainable industry, based on dubious claims and an even more dubious ‘science’, to continue until there are very few, if any, Kangaroos in South Australia. Just look at the state’s track record when it comes to wiping out native species.

The images of Kangaroos and joeys shown below were provided to PIRSA by commercial Kangaroo shooters et al seeking payment under the Drought Support Package for ‘reducing grazing pressure’ through Kangaroo management. The images were taken between 1 July to 20 August, 2025.

We can conclude that there is no evidence that these animals are starving as often claimed and that at least some of the images (not all shown here) are from natural areas and not farmland. The claim that the killing is humane does not stand up, these are among the most grim animal cruelty images that the Nature Knowledge Channel has received.

‍