DMPs are issued when Kangaroos and other native wildlife are causing, or may cause, damage or loss, or represent a threat to human health or wellbeing. DES

In the first seven months of 2023, 27,485 Kangaroos were killed using DMPs against a quota 325,344, just 8.5 per cent of quota.

• Red Kangaroo: To end July 2023, damage mitigation permits were issued to kill 120,634 Red Kangaroos. The actual kill for the period was reported at 6,150.
• Eastern Grey Kangaroo: To end July 2023, damage mitigation permits were issued to kill 165,341 Eastern Grey Kangaroos. The actual kill for the period was reported at 17,025.
• Wallaroo: To end July 2023, damage mitigation permits were issued to kill 39,369 Wallaroos. The actual kill for the period was reported at 4,310.

The numbers to 10 October 2023 give the same story. For the Red Kangaroo just 6 per cent (for 7,750 animals) of the mitigation quota had been issued, for the Eastern Grey Kangaroo it was just 12 per cent (for 19,958 animals) and for the Wallaroo just 13 per cent (for 5,238 animals). No demand for mitigation permits, given the highly destructive nature of what occurs in the vast expanses of Queensland, means that Kangaroos are no longer present, certainly in nowhere near the numbers being claimed. The lack of demand for permits is a testimony to that.

Statements about strict compliance surveillance from Australian state governments can be misleading. The claim is always made, but is it true?

In Queensland there are no compliance checks relating to the actual shooting of Kangaroos or the shooters as they are doing the shooting. This means that it is impossible for the Queensland Government to know just how many Kangaroos were body shot (ie not head shot as required by the regulations) and left in the places they were shot. There are no checks in relation to the actual shooting as this compliance task is considered too dangerous for government employees to conduct.

In Queensland, the government’s compliance officers make occasional checks of chiller boxes where the Kangaroo carcasses are stored, checking to see if the carcasses have a valid commercial tag with landholder consent. Carcasses are checked for body shots, only head shot Kangaroos in Queensland can be sold for commercial gain. Given that lead may be used in the projectiles this looks like a human health concern, rather than anything to do with animal welfare, perhaps it is a combination of both. Either way, this is extremely misguided.

For example, in Queensland in 2022 there were 1,065 licences current for shooters killing Kangaroos for commercial gain. There were 103 dealer licences current for dead Kangaroos, which included 10 dealer licences current for dead Kangaroos (meat processing) and two dealer licence current for dead Kangaroos (tanning of skins).

There were 113 inspections in the period 2018 – 2023, roughly 19 per annum. None were pre-arranged. There were 41 investigations relating to animal welfare from which 26 infringements were found and 4 demerit points were issued to those shooters found to be offending (10 demerit points are required for loss of licence). That is roughly 4 infringements per annum. During this period around 3,500,000 Kangaroos were killed for commercial gain in Queensland (excluding joeys, approx 580,000). Combining all deaths due to commercial exploitation, that is 4,080,000 Kangaroos, an average of 680,000 per annum or one infringement notice per 170,000 Kangaroo deaths within each year in the period..

Commercial Kangaroo shooters in Queensland are not required to advise the government when and where they are shooting.