In 2019 there were two national symposia events focusing on kangaroo management. The first was held at the Australian Rangeland Society Conference in Canberra and the second at the Ecological Society of Australia Conference in Launceston. The papers included in this landmark special edition of Ecological Management & Restoration emerged from those symposia.
This journal serves as an ongoing resource for those interested in kangaroo management, now openly recognised as a major ‘wicked issue’ for the animal welfare, conservation, Aboriginal and farming communities.
A joint statement
As this wicked issue is both complex and highly emotive for Australians, developing solutions will be complex and require all the relevant experts and stakeholders to come together. At the symposis in 2019 a group of 8 scientists with more than 200 years experience in this field began developing this Joint Statement describing the problem and making some recommendations for tackling the reform process.
The Statement has since undergone extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders. It calls for a collaborative national Taskforce to be formed with the goal of developing new strategies aimed at improving outcomes for landscapes, farmers, biodiversity, Indigenous communities and the kangaroos themselves.
The statement has been endorsed by a number of key organisations in the animal welfare, ecological, conservation, Indigenous and agricultural spheres.
Introduction to the special edition on overabundant macropods
(Read, Wilson, Coulson, Radford 2021)
The guest editors of this landmark special edition outline the issues surrounding kangaroo management, the motivations for this project and the development of the Joint Statement and special edition.
Overabundant native herbivore impacts on native plant communities in south-eastern Australia
(Morgan, 2021)
Species composition, herbage mass and grass productivity influence pasture responses to kangaroo grazing in a temperate environment
(Snape, Fletcher & Caley, 2021)
Charred and chewed chalkies: Effects of fire and herbivoy on the reintroduction of an endangered wattle
(Read, Guerin, Duval & Moseby, 2021)
Macropod management is critical for recovery of Sheoak grassy woodlands on Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
(Freeman, Pobke 2021)
Growth of the Black Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) population at the Cranbourne Gardens (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria), after the implementation of fox control
(Terry D Coates, 2021)
Rapid population expansion of Boodie (Burrowing Bettong, Bettongia lesueur) creates potential for resource competition with Mala (Rufous Hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus)
(Treloar, Lohr, Hopkins & Davis 2021)
Low-intensity kangaroo grazing has largely benign effects on soil health
(Eldridge, Ding & Travers 2021)
The dying has begun. It’s a pretty rough backdrop to a job
(McMurtrie & Kerle, 2021)
Kangaroos, drought and a frustrated landowner
(Leon Zanker, 2021)
Spatio-temporal analysis of kangaroo–vehicle collisions in Canberra, Australia
(Dunne & Doran, 2021)
Kangaroo management and animal welfare
(Tanya Stephens, 2021)
How many macropods? A manager’s guide to small-scale population surveys of kangaroos and wallabies
(Coulson, Snape & Cripps 2021)
Proactive management of kangaroos for conservation and ecosystem restoration – Wild Deserts, Sturt National Park, NSW
(Pedler, Read, Moseby, Kingsford & West, 2021)
Advances in aerial survey methods for macropods in New South Wales and Queensland
(Finch, Pople, McLeod & Wallace, 2021)
Assessing the spatial and temporal organization of Red Kangaroo, Western Grey Kangaroo and Eastern Grey Kangaroo populations in eastern Australia using multivariate autoregressive state-space models
(McLeod, Finch, Wallace & Pople, 2021)
Seasonal breeding of the Eastern Grey Kangaroo provides opportunities for improved animal welfare in kangaroo management
(Lucas, Pulsford, Wimpenny & Snape, 2021)