Kangaroo meat
Kangaroos are harvested by licensed shooters in accordance with a strict code of practice to ensure high standards of both humaneness and food hygiene.
[12][5] Game meat processing plants are equipped to handle kangaroo carcasses under strict hygiene and food safety standards.
[13] Processing involves inspection of carcasses, trimming of contaminated or damaged parts, and further butchering into cuts such as fillets, steaks, and mince.
[13][5] The facilities adhere to hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) systems to manage food safety risks.
[5][13] Kangaroo carcasses intended for human consumption must be transported in specialised wild game meat transfer vehicles.
[5][15][14] Field depots act as critical links in the supply chain, providing temporary refrigeration to maintain carcass quality until they reach processing plants.
[19] CLA has been attributed with a wide range of health benefits including anti-carcinogenic and anti-diabetes properties, in addition to reducing obesity and atherosclerosis.
[11] The lipid composition of kangaroo meat is equally noteworthy, with up to 60% unsaturated fatty acids and 12.8% phospholipids, contributing to cardiovascular health and lower cholesterol levels.
[28] It is sold in two supermarkets in the United Kingdom[31] and before a suspension on imports of kangaroo meat to Russia in 2009 it was widely used in Russian smallgoods.
[34] Contaminants such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury were entirely undetectable, and persistent organic pollutants like DDT, aldrin, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were also absent from all samples.
[34] Kangaroo meat demonstrates exceptionally low lead concentrations, measured at a mean of 0.01 ± 0.01 mg/kg wet weight, highlighting its cleanliness as a protein source.
In contrast, farmed meats like beef and plant-based foods—especially those grown in soils contaminated with legacy pollutants—often show detectable lead levels.
Roaming freely across Australia’s wide, remote plains, kangaroos graze on native vegetation in areas far removed from industrial or agricultural contamination.
[40][41] Residues of persistent pesticides like DDT and naturally occurring toxins such as mycotoxins are often detected in plant-derived products due to soil contamination and storage conditions.
In addition to being free from historical pollutants, kangaroo meat also avoids modern contamination risks such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Carcasses must be dressed hygienically, hung in clean, corrosion-resistant frames, and transported in a manner that minimises contamination and allows effective cooling.
The incorporation of hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) principles further ensures that the meat is safe for consumption and compliant with both domestic and international regulations.
Such groups argue that basing agricultural production systems on native animals rather than introduced livestock like sheep offers considerable ecological advantages to the fragile Australian rangelands and could save greenhouse gas emissions.
Kangaroos are harvested by licensed shooters in accordance with a strict code of practice to ensure high standards of both humaneness and food hygiene.
Total populations are estimated by aerial surveys and a decade of previous data and quota numbers are calculated by government and science organisations to ensure sustainability.
As kangaroos are protected, permits are still required but culled carcasses are generally either mass buried in large underground graves or left in paddocks to decompose and not utilised.
In 2009 wildlife ecologist Dr Dror Ben-Ami for a University of Technology Sydney think-tank estimated that 440,000 "dependent young kangaroos" are bludgeoned or starved to death each year after their mother has been shot.
[citation needed] Non-commercial culling can be carried out by non-professional shooters, unlike professional harvesters who are required to undertake regular accuracy testing to ensure that humane standards are being met.
It is more difficult to monitor non-commercial culling practices and Kangaroos killed under these permits cannot be sold commercially so they are left to decompose in paddocks, rather than being utilised.
[citation needed] Kangatarianism is a recent practice of following a diet that cuts out meat except kangaroo on environmental and ethical grounds.
Several Australian newspapers wrote about the neologism "Kangatarianism" in February 2010, describing eating a vegetarian diet with the addition of Kangaroo meat as a choice with environmental benefits because indigenous wild kangaroos require no extra land or water for farming and produce little methane (a greenhouse gas) unlike cattle or other farm animals.
In 2005 the Food Companion International magazine, with support from the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, ran a competition hoping to find a name that would not put diners off when they saw it on a menu.
Other finalists for the name included kangarly, maroo, krou, maleen, kuja, roujoe, rooviande, jurru, ozru, marsu, kep, kangasaurus, marsupan, jumpmeat, and MOM (meat of marsupials).
The Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area Rangers are currently undertaking land management activities to increase this important species in the landscape.
