Australian Wildlife Services has contributed to the recently published, thought provoking book ‘Science Under Siege’ published by The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, November 2012.

The ‘Science Under Siege’ volume has many papers of interest regarding misuse or abuse of science in today’s society. Cooney et al. expose THINKK’s abuse of science in relation to kangaroo harvesting and Menna Jones exposes flaws in the way

On Tuesday 26 October 2010, Australian Wildlife Services met with members and prospective members of the Maranoa Kangaroo Harvesters and Growers Co-operative (MKHGC) in Mitchell, QLD. The group included landholders running various operations, Landcare members, Roo harvesters, QLD game meat processors, Government and NRM body representatives and the media. Discussions were also held with reps of the University of Queensland, Gatton Campus. MKHGC is a ‘Sustainable Wildlife Enterprise’ (SWE). A SWE is

Despite the importance placed on it by Indigenous people, land and wildlife management is a minor component of current Australian Government resource allocation for addressing Indigenous need.  Readdressing this situation is urgent because Indigenous wildlife use and hunting in Australia, as it currently practiced, is often unsustainable. Our investigations which have been published in the CSIRO journal – Wildlife Research, examine the opportunity for greater science support for traditional Aboriginal practice. They are summarised in an Opinion Editorial on ‘ …

Kangaroos are adapted to Australia’s variable climate and are abundant in rangelands where cattle and sheep are raised. However landholders rarely benefit from kangaroos on their lands or play a role in their management. An exception is a Cooperative of graziers in Queensland, established in 2009 with Landcare support.

The Cooperative seeks to increase the value of kangaroo products and to address kangaroos’ free ranging behaviour by enabling collaboration in their management across properties. Cooperative members are following trends throughout

A story on the front page of  The Australian on 8 February referred to AWS. It discusses methane emissions from camels and cars and follows a request by John Cobb MP to the Parliamentary Library to do an estimate. The Australian journalist sought comment from Sen Wong’s office and was presented with a much lower figure.  The journalist then asked AWS  for an independent estimate.

AWS makes the point that the issue is much more complicated than a simple comparison

An article in The Australian recently revisted AWS  interest in the potential of kangaroos as producers of low emission meat compart to other species. It contained a table with an incorrect legend that had been inserted by a sub-editor.  The correct table and legend follows:

Emissions from animals

AWS is working with a Kangaroo Management Cooperative of pastoralists and kangaroo harvesters in central Queensland.  We are examining if lower dependence on cattle as meat producers can reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. Lowering total grazing pressure will also reduce water consumption and can drought proof properties.

Ruminant livestock produce the GHG methane and so contribute to global warming and biodiversity reduction. Methane from the foregut of cattle and sheep constitutes 11% of Australia’s total GHG. Kangaroos, on

The Society for Conservation Biology in USA published a report by AWS on 5 August 2008, that describes how kangaroos could be utilised to help reduce Australia’s methane emissions. It proposes that eating more kangaroos in lieu of cattle and sheep will help slow climate change. Download

On 30 Sep 2008 the Garnaut Climate Change Review Final Report referred to the study in Chapter 22 and there was considerable media interest in follow up. Articles have appeared in New