A reduction in the commercial quota in quarter four 2025 in Victoria to just 5,200 animals, giving a full year quota for 2025 of 94,700. For three out of the now five Victorian shooting zones (following shooting zone amalgamations to make tracking harder), that is, the Gippsland, Hume and Loddon-Mallee shooting zones, the quarter four commercial quota has been set at zero. As we understand it shooting in these three zones will continue using up unused commercial tags and quotas.

We should note that the commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria requires reporting and tags, so the number of animals killed against quota is tracked. This is quite different to the way in which non-commercial permits to kill Kangaroos and many other species of protected wildlife in Victoria, that is, permits are issued on request with a maximum given number of animals to be killed, beyond that there is no tracking of what actually occurs.

So we know that Victoria is destroying its Kangaroo populations region by region in the most cruel of ways (young are beaten to death or decapitated and not accounted for in the quotas or actuals).

Smoke and mirrors

“In October 2025, the Secretary of DEECA decided to reduce the annual quota from 106,750 to 94,700. This change was made so that Kangaroo control remains at sustainable levels following a higher-than-predicted number of Authority to Control Wildlife authorisations being issued throughout 2025. These changes are reflected in table below. Available quota is released quarterly, where quota is not fully allocated, it can be carried over into the following quarter”. Victorian Government

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So how many Kangaroos were shot in quarter three for commercial gain?

The commercial quota for Kangaroos in Victoria for Q3 – 2025 was 32,380. The actual take reported for the period was 13,985 (very similar to Q2 which was 13,886), that is just 43 per cent of the quota for the period. The Q1 actual was 18,311 out of a quota of 37,950.

So for the first three quarters of 2025, the actual take  was 46,182  (according to government reports) which was 43 per cent of the original full year quota (against a total monthly consumption figure (tags) of 59,149 for the first three quarters of 2025) against an original full year commercial quota of 106,750. The Nature Knowledge Channel’s original forecast for actual take in Victoria in 2025 was 71,000. Currently our forecast looks too high.

We are very concerned about the status of the Western Grey Kangaroo in Victoria which is being hunted to extinction in the state and still remains on the commercial list. 633 Western Grey Kangaroos were shot for commercial gain in Q3-2025.

Of the grey Kangaroos shot in Q3, 7,061 were female meaning that 6,043 young Kangaroos were beaten to death or decapitated (the young are not accounted for in the commercial data). What is extremely concerning for the viability of future Kangaroo populations, given that 50.5 per cent of the commercial take in Q3 were female. This follows a similar pattern to Q2-2025 and is an indicator that Kangaroo populations in the state have plummeted.

We should note the following (when the commercial exploitation of Kangaroos was introduced to Victoria in late 2019 (as a trial in 2014) we were promised that the conditions stated below would not change.

Female Kangaroos with obvious young: Victorian Government conditions

Conditions of Authorisation under section 28A of the Wildlife Act 1975, to hunt, take, destroy, possess, dispose of and sell Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Western Grey Kangaroos in accordance with the approved Victorian Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan 2021-2023.

The conditions required to comply with an authorisation issued under section 28A of the Wildlife Act 1975, to hunt, take, destroy, possess, dispose of and sell Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Western Grey Kangaroos in accordance with the approved Victorian Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan 2021-2023.

Number 7 of 22 conditions states: Kangaroos with obvious dependent young must not be shot.

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The shooters in Q3-2025

Authorisations are valid for three years (2024 – 2026), for 2025, there are currently 130 authorised commercial shooters under the ‘Kangaroo Harvesting Program’. Of interest, is that the Victorian Parliamentary budget office report that  there were 29 active commercial Kangaroo shooters registered under the KHP in 2024 and this group of 29 were subject to around 1,200 audits of commercial activity and 18 investigations (including for illegal hunting reports). No offences were substantiated, and no harvesters faced enforcement actions.

What appears to be going on is that only those classified as active shooters (we think this means that these individuals are shooting Kangaroos for commercial gain in all four quarters of the year) are subject to ‘audits’. This means the rest (a large number) are not?

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By mid-year the situation looked like this:

The commercial quota for Kangaroos in Victoria for Q2 – 2025 was 29,050. The actual take reported for the period was 13,886, that is just 48 per cent of the quota for the period. The Q1 actual was 18,311 out of a quota of 37,950.

As per the headline data the actual commercial take in Victoria for the first six months of 2025 was 32,197 against an original quota for the period of 67,000, that is 48 per cent of quota was achieved in the period. Including dependent young which are discarded, a total of 43,457 Kangaroos were killed in the period as a result of commercial exploitation.

There were 105 shooter allocations across the five shooting zones (note that commercial Kangaroo shooters can and do operate in more than one zone).  There are currently (in Q2) 140 licensed commercial Kangaroo shooters in the state (was 133 in Q1 - 2025). As a rough estimate the average income value for each licensed shooter in Q2 was $3,937 (based on harvest  return data).

“From April to June (inclusive) 2025, 24,820 tags were allocated across the state which equates to 71 per cent of the 34,700 tags available for Q 2. Of the tags that have been allocated, 13,886 tags have been consumed (56 per cent) were consumed in Q 2”. Victorian Government

94 Western Grey Kangaroos were killed in the period for commercial gain, of which 86 were from the Grampians fire impacted shooting zone and this species is now threatened by complete eradication in the state and should be immediately removed from the commercial list in Victoria.

6, 817 female Kangaroos were killed for commercial gain in Q2 (was 6,309 in Q1) and as a result (in Q2) 5,896 dependent young were either beaten to death, decapitated or left to die of starvation or predation (was 5,364 in Q1). In the first six months dependent young which are discarded, accounted for a staggering 26 per cent of all Kangaroos killed in the period. This is not and cannot be sustainable.

The share of mature females killed in Q2 2025 was a staggering 49 per cent and higher than Q1 when the share was 34 per cent. After years of detailed research across the continent in all states where commercial exploitation of Kangaroos occurs, this is the highest female share of take I have seen from any data analysed.

Even more money for killing Kangaroos in Victoria

In July 2025, the Victorian Government announced $1.8 million in funding for On-farm Kangaroo ‘Control’ Rebates to help drought-affected farmers to ‘control’ Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroos through engaging a ‘professional’ shooter. Funding is provided until 30 June 2026 or until funds are exhausted.

Under this scheme, there would be:

• rebates of up to $450 per farm;
• farmer contributions of at least 25 per cent of the cost; and
• fast-tracked ATCW permit processing by the Conservation Regulator.

Farmers can still access the KHP, and the management of commercial kangaroo harvesting in their regions is still administered under the KHMP. The rebates assist individual farmers who require support beyond what is provided by the KHP.

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A grim export

We found ourselves wondering, as were property owners in New South Wales with nature based properties, why Victorian shooters were advertising their wares in New South Wales. I think the Q3-2025 Victorian statistics tell us why.

Here is an example which raises numerous questions, including who is responsible for compliance (the GMA or the New South Wales Government), where these animals are being processed and which tags are being used, the list goes on… And Deer and Kangaroo carcases in the same chiller box?? And we have the standard conflation of a protected native species and a naturalised species which is regarded as a pest. Victorian Government policies and their close connection to shooters leading to both a major problem for the environment and a major animal welfare issue for the Deer. Shocking mismanagement and poor behaviour.

“XXX is looking for experienced and new harvesters to join the quickly growing team. Also open to putting a chiller box in Jindabyne. Looking for more property owners with a Kangaroo or Deer problem. Royalties can be paid to property owners for Deer. Contracts for deer can be provided. We currently have harvesters travelling into the Jindabyne region harvesting Kangaroos and Deer for human consumption (?) that are looking for more properties. We can match each property owner with one harvester that will suit them the best. We never ask property owners to allow multiple harvesters on unless agreed. Give XXX a call for more information.

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