Could kangaroos be farmed as a low-carbon red meat alternative?

The radical idea was the subject of an AgriFutures study, which investigated if kangaroos could be farmed as a low-carbon source of red meat.

While farmers would lose income from fewer livestock, income diversification would arise from harvesting kangaroos, carbon credits and biodiversity stewardship payments.

The study also flagged several co-benefits, including reducing methane and carbon emissions, less grazing pressure, improved soil carbon, sustainability and biodiversity, and reduced costs for managing a pest animal.

There are an estimated 30 to 40 million kangaroos in Australia. Only a tiny proportion of the population is harvested commercially and the numbers are well below the annual quota.

Cattle and sheep generate between eight and 12 times more greenhouse gas per kilogram of meat produced compared to kangaroos.

"Kangaroos could be used in place of livestock, or even partially in their place, to provide a carbon-friendly alternative source of red meat," the study stated.

"Additionally, kangaroos have co-evolved with the existing vegetation and graze less intensively.

"While income would be lost from cattle and sheep substitution, gains could be made through kangaroo harvest and the sale of carbon credits for soil carbon sequestration and enteric methane reduction."

However there are currently several significant barriers to making an integrated kangaroo grazing system profitable, including the price of kangaroo meat and the eligibility of the scheme for Australian carbon markets under current methodologies.

"Under current kangaroo prices and carbon values, all management options lose income," the study found.

"To make the proposed kangaroo grazing system economically viable, kangaroos and/or carbon credits need to be worth much more, and/or carbon emissions (especially methane) need to be taxed."

Given global trends, particularly around carbon, the idea was still worth investigating, the report says, and suggests a trial using exclusion fencing to keep roos within a paddock.

Once a population has been established within the exclusion fencing, the farmers can manage it by harvesting a "premium product" and possibly acquire carbon credits.

"They would integrate kangaroos into their other enterprises and effectively 'farm' kangaroos... doing so would assist with converting a current liability to an asset," the study stated.

"Expansion of the kangaroo industry could be an innovative rural development opportunity with relatively low costs; the resource is already there, the industry is operating, albeit in a constrained form."

Kangaroos Industry Association of Australia chief executive Dennis King acknowledged the proposal to farm roos had serious challenges, such as developing the market for the meat. But given the increasing demand to reduce emissions, it was an idea worthy of investigating.

"This is a whole moving story as we go forward, we've seen so many changes in the last few years on so many fronts on carbon," Mr King said.

"It might be possible to come up with a workable system. It's something we're keeping a close eye on as an industry."

The study also recommended the federal government develop a National Kangaroo Strategy, which would clarify the population goals of kangaroo management, along with the role of kangaroos on pastoral properties.