Picture: MOLLY TAYLOR
SOUTH East primary producers are fed up with the costly damage to pastures and fencing by mobs of kangaroos.
As booming populations of the native animal eat into farm profits, land owners have backed calls for a sustainable cull.
Shiloh Park Herefords farm manager John “Slogger” Richardson said pasture damage was compounding an already difficult season.
“I would say five kangaroos eat what one cow would eat,” he said.
“Stockfeed prices are through the roof at the moment so we need all the grass we can get.
“They are costing money across the country especially in areas still waiting for a good seasonal break.”
Mr Richardson said kangaroos grazed closer to the ground than livestock and could ruin valuable land overnight.
“They pull the grass from out of the ground and dig underneath looking for seeds,” he said.
“You will see three or four in an area say five metres by five and next morning all the grass underneath would be completely ruined.
“The trouble is, if they are not culled now, we will not be able to control them.”
Compounding the problem, the farm manager said he was routinely forced to undertake running repairs on fencing damaged by the native animal.
“If I do not know my fencing is broken on the other side of my paddock then stock may get out on the roads,” Mr Richardson said.
“It is also expensive to repair and takes time to fix.
“If you have anything that scares them, they will just go through them, over them or under them so there is nothing we can do.”
Mr Richardson also echoed recently road safety concerns, having hit three kangaroos in his ute within a fortnight.
“I do not mind them in the pine trees, but when they do start coming out and doing damage it is a concern,” he said.
“They are a farming pest and are a danger to road users, especially at morning and night.
“They need to be culled.”
