The Development of a New Code of Practice for the Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos
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The development of a new code of practice for the commercial harvesting of kangaroos by Trudy M. Sharp and Steven R. McLeod November 2020 The development of a new code of practice for the commercial harvesting of kangaroos by Trudy M. Sharp and Steven R. McLeod November 2020 AgriFutures Australia Publication No. 20-081 AgriFutures Australia Project No. PRJ-010775 © 2020 AgriFutures Australia All rights reserved. ISBN 978-1-76053-114-0 Kangaroo Commercial Code Review Publication No. 20-081 Project No. PRJ-010775 The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable regions. You must not rely on any information contained in this publication without taking specialist advice relevant to your particular circumstances. While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this publication to ensure that information is true and correct, the Commonwealth of Australia gives no assurance as to the accuracy of any information in this publication. The Commonwealth of Australia, AgriFutures Australia, the authors or contributors expressly disclaim, to the maximum extent permitted by law, all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any act or omission, or for any consequences of any such act or omission, made in reliance on the contents of this publication, whether or not caused by any negligence on the part of the Commonwealth of Australia, AgriFutures Australia, the authors or contributors. The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the views in this publication. This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. However, wide dissemination is encouraged. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to AgriFutures Australia Communications Team on 02 6923 6900. Researcher Contact Details Dr Trudy Sharp Invasive Species Biosecurity NSW Department of Primary Industries Orange Agricultural Institute Locked Bag 6006 Orange NSW 2800 [email protected] In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to AgriFutures Australia publishing this material in its edited form. AgriFutures Australia Contact Details Building 007, Tooma Way Charles Sturt University Locked Bag 588 Wagga Wagga NSW 2650 02 6923 6900 [email protected] www.agrifutures.com.au Electronically published by AgriFutures Australia at www.agrifutures.com.au in November 2020. AgriFutures Australia is the new trading name for Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC), a statutory authority of the Federal Government established by the Primary Industries Research and Development Act 1989. ii Foreword As a condition of their licence or permit, all commercial kangaroo harvesters must comply with a national code of practice that outlines animal welfare standards for the harvesting of kangaroos and wallabies. The previous code was published in 2008 and was due for review in 2013. Since the 2008 code there has been new research that warrants inclusion to ensure the industry maintains best practice. The purposes of this project were to: • Develop a new evidence-based national code of practice for the commercial harvesting of kangaroos to include more detail on best practice harvesting procedures and clearer guidelines for harvesters with particular regard to minimising the suffering of dependent young. • Conduct consultation with stakeholders about the revised code. • Develop an understanding of public perceptions of the commercial kangaroo industry about the adoption and awareness of the code. In Australia, public consultation is considered best practice, and is a requirement in the development of new animal welfare standards that are to be incorporated into legislation or regulation. This code review includes a range of public consultation approaches that demonstrated the complexity of views Australians have about the commercial kangaroo industry. A range of stakeholders may potentially benefit from this report, including the kangaroo industry and government regulators and policymakers. The report presents new evidence on the level of knowledge and support for kangaroo harvesting. It also highlights the importance of using different public survey methodologies to gather information for policy decisions. This report is part of AgriFutures Kangaroo Program and adds to a diverse range of over 2,000 research publications overseen by AgriFutures. The report forms part of our ‘growing profitability arena’ which aims to enhance the profitability and sustainability of our levied rural industries. Most of AgriFutures Australia’s publications are available for viewing, free downloading or purchasing online at: www.agrifutures.com.au. John Smith General Manager, Research AgriFutures Australia iii About the Authors Dr Trudy Sharp Project Lead Trudy, a research scientist with the NSW DPI Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, has completed a PhD study to explore ways to improve the welfare of kangaroos that are managed, particularly those that are harvested commercially. With this research she used a multidisciplinary approach that focused on both kangaroos and people and included aspects of animal behaviour, physiology and human social psychology. She has worked in the field of pest animal management for over 17 years, developing procedures and strategies to improve the humaneness and effectiveness of wildlife management. She has researched, written and published over 60 codes of practice and standard operating procedures for 14 different species, and has developed a model to assess the humaneness of pest animal control methods. These codes of practice and standard operating procedures have set the welfare standards for the control of vertebrate pests in Australia and the model has been applied to a range of pest animal management methods in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Dr Steve McLeod Steve is a senior research scientist with the Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries. He is a quantitative ecologist and expert on the management kangaroos. He has conducted numerous studies on the ecology of native and introduced animals, with an interest in their economic and environmental impacts. He has specific expertise in modelling harvesting strategies and scenarios with a focus on kangaroo harvesting. Acknowledgments We would like to acknowledge the kangaroo harvesters who attended forums held in QLD and NSW to provide information and gather feedback on the commercial code review. Thank you also to the kangaroo management agencies in NSW and QLD for distributing invitations to the kangaroo harvester forums. We would like to thank the survey and other participants for their contributions to the public consultation; we value the richness of opinions that were shared. Molly Vardanega from NSW DPI assisted with the preliminary sorting and analysis of email submissions from the public consultation. iv Abbreviations .17HMR 17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, a rimfire rifle cartridge COP Code of practice DPI Department of Primary Industries DPIPWE Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment KIAA Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia NPWS National Parks and Wildlife Service NSW New South Wales QLD Queensland RSPCA Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals SOP Standard operating procedure TAFE Technical and further education TAS Tasmania YAF Kangaroo young-at-foot v Contents Foreword .................................................................................................................................. iii About the Authors ................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... iv Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... v Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 15 Objectives................................................................................................................................ 17 Chapter 1: Development of the revised Code ...................................................................... 18 The project reference group ................................................................................................ 18 The research team ............................................................................................................... 18 Kangaroo harvester forums ................................................................................................. 19 Developing the revised code ............................................................................................... 21 Chapter 2: Public consultation on the draft code ............................................................... 25 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 25 Design and procedural overview ........................................................................................ 26 Methods .............................................................................................................................. 27 1. Surveys ............................................................................................................