The Andrews Government has cruelled farmers trying to manage kangaroo numbers by making the state’s kangaroo pet food program unworkable, Member for Euroa Steph Ryan says.
Kangaroos controlled under an Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW) permit can no longer be processed for pet food under the Andrews Labor Government’s changes.
“Removing kangaroos culled under a permit is utter stupidity,” Ms Ryan said.
“By forcing farmers to leave kangaroos carcasses on the ground, the Andrews Government is creating a smorgasboard for wild dogs and foxes.
“This decision is another example of how little this city-centric Labor government understands the challenges farmers and landholders are facing.”
Ms Ryan said the kangaroo pet food program, set up by The Nationals, had gone through five years of delayed extensions and uncertainty under Daniel Andrews.
“The Andrews Government now says it will set up seven ‘sustainable harvesting areas’ instead for pet food which is almost guaranteed to be strangled by bureaucracy and red tape,” Ms Ryan said.
“Even though the revised program is supposed to start this week, no one knows what the seven regions are or how sustainable yields have been set.
“At the heart of this decision is the fact that Labor don’t like this program and they don’t want it to work,” Ms Ryan said.
“The Andrews Government is shutting this program down by stealth at a time when farmers are under immense pressure from increased kangaroo numbers.”
Shadow Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh said Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes should explain her changes.
“The Minister is illogical if she thinks it’s better to leave kangaroos carcasses lying in the paddock to be eaten by wild dogs and foxes is better than having them used for pet food.”