Roo Harvesting.

S

SKULLANDCROSSBONES65

New member
G'day.
I managed to go out last night with a "professional" Roo shooter last night. Things started out well with 7 in the first couple of hours. (That's after the 2 hour drive to the property.) All Roo must be Brain shot and over 15 kg (after gutting and removing feet, tail and head) to be sold at the "Chiller Box".
Our tally for the 13 hour and about 450km drive was 17.
 
Thats a new one for me, not many people I've talked to have been "Roos harvesting". If you have any picts I'd love to see them! Any other details, what gun did you use, did you shine them? Did you make enough $$ to pay for the drive?
 
G'day. Sorry, no photos this time.
I think it's called harvesting so that it sounds more professional. There are lots of requirements that need to be complied with including a shooting skills/accuracy test. .223 seems to be a popular choice as are Nosler ballistic tips.
I think most of the meat gets exported. It is only getting $0.70 per kg.
The old Toyota we were using can carry 38 max.

Here is a link to a similar (old) thread with photos.
 
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Sounds like fun.
We go out spotlighting (I assume thats what you were doing) for jackrabbits once in a while, but dont do anything with them.
 
Sounds awesome.

I've always wanted to someday take a trip to Australia and make a varmint-hunting trip out of it.....Big rodents all they is. :D
 
Hey skulls ive actually got a permit to cull 100 roos not far from where i live. Its a Goverment permit which i am to assist in. There are strict guide lines which i have to go by.

Im up to 20 now 80 to go. I am allowed to take some meat, think it is up to 35kg per day. Ive been using my .222rem for the job but now using my .243win for something different.

I now know how hard of a job it is for those roo shooters, by the time they gut, hang and harvest its a big night.

I shot 12 last sunday spotlighting, but im giving them a break now dont want them to get gun shy..
 
I take offense to Roo hunting, my High School mascot is the Kangaroo. Yea, I know it a little odd, but I think it's the only one in the US.
 
RickE - If you saw how many were hit by trucks and cars each night and the over population (and therefore starvation) of them you'd change your mind. A bullet to the brain is far more humane than the above.

That and Roo meat is DELICIOUS.
 
Tellgriff, I was not serious. I can imagine "tons" of them must be roadkill. What do they taste like? Like other game you have had?
 
Well just making sure RickE ;)

I see probably 2 dozen or more each day on my to and from work dead on the side of the road, which gets even higher when all the bloody tourists use the roads during ski season.

Roo tastes like... a nicer version of beef as far as my taste buds are concerned, better for you too. Though Roo meat can be tricky to cook, too little and its bloody too much an it burns really quickly. I prefer Roo meat to Venison.
 
Im sick of roo meat eaten too much since ive been doing this cull. All my mates dogs get plenty though. Back legs, tails etc.
 
Pest or Game ??

I have to ask if a Roo is considered a pest or game animal. Is what you have, considered hunting or a conservation effort? Here in the Midwest, the cut is made by whatever is eating your flowers. I have a shooting buddy that is also a "Bunny-Hugger" and every time I shoot a Groundhog, he asks me how it tastes. I just answer; fine and give him the standard Chicken comment. Should I assume that most Roo meat, is consumed by humans? Please understand that I am a Hunter and not judging this activity. Just curious as I have little knowlege of Roos. ... :confused:



Be Safe !!!
 
Roos are considered a pest in Australia, although shooting is strictly controlled via a tag system. It is illegal to shoot kangaroos without a tag, although National Parks & Wildlife issue over 3 million tags Australia wide per year. In certain areas roo meat can be harvested & sold commercially either for pet food or human consumption, but the "professional shooter" must be accredited by attending courses for safe meat handling & storage, & firearm safety & accuracy.
I was talking to a professional roo shooter last weekend that was complaining that the accreditation license for commercial sale of roo carcasses had just increased to $800 per year.
The commercial market for roo meat for human consumption has dropped during the last year as Russia banned the import of kangaroo meat- the geenies got to them. Russia was the largest export market for Kangaroo meat, & even though roo meat is available through the major super market chains ie "kanga-banger sausages", it sells poorly compared to beef & lamb.
 
They are considered a pest but they also are a native animal to Australia. That is why it is always a very sensitive issue when a cull is happening.

I did not have an accuracy test but shooting for human consomption, you do need all of the above as phil said.
 
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