Kangaroos as Game Meat

Kangaroo was classified as Game Meat in 1989 by a Game Meat Working Party established by the Federal Government. The decision was made because:
1) kangaroo meat could not meet domestic meat health standards
2) the decision was made without any consultation or representation
by animal welfare or conservation groups

Dr John Auty, Former Chief Health Inspector, Bureau of Animal Health :

• 'Most hygiene standards require for all classes of animals that any condition that can cause elevation of body temperature has the potential to cause the condition known as fevered meat. Such meat is unsuitable for human consumption.

• '' A condition causing blindness in kangaroos, stress, inability to find water, elevation of body temperature etc. should result in condemnation of the meat from diseased animals. It is immaterial if this condition causes generalised septicaemia or not.''SHOOTERS ARE NOT COMPETENT TO JUDGE DISEASE IN ANIMALS ANTEMORTEM unless the disease is well advanced and it is not in their economic interests to reject animals.

• AQIS

  'Australian Quarantine and Inspection Inspectors inspect kangaroos only after they are transported to coastal or distant BONING establishments. I.e. after they have been eviscerated in the field. Such meat hygiene standards are not acceptable for domestic animals like sheep or cattle.

• '''Whereas the diseases that affect domestic animals are well understood and form the scientific basis for modern meat hygiene the diseases affecting kangaroos are virtually unknown and there are virtually no veterinarians in the areas in which kangaroos are shot" (Dr John Auty)

• "Kangaroos and wallabies can harbour a wide range of parasitic, bacterial, fungal and viral diseases and the majority of infections are unapparent (animals appear normal). (Dr David Obendorf in "The Kangaroo BETRAYED!")

• "Worldwide, it is recognised that so called "game meats" are a source of these infections for hunters, processors and consumers, especially when care is not taken while eviscerating and handling the carcasses or when the meat from these animals is served undercooked or raw."

• "Kangaroos are wild animals shot in the wild rather than processed at an abattoir. They are partially eviscerated at the site of killing and hung on a truck, before being transported to a field depot and placed under refrigeration.)Since kangaroo meat is virtually inedible when thoroughly cooked, it is recommended to be eaten in a virtually raw state by its purveyors. This precents a danger to human health.The concern is that chefs and food raconteurs serve their kangaroo meat undercooked , rare or raw which fails to kill the disease organisms.

ANTE- MORTEM INSPECTION (Hygiene at the point of slaughter is sub-standard)Shooters are not competent to judge disease in animals ante mortem unless the disease is well advanced and it is not in their economic interests to reject kangaroos.Abattoir practices under which cattle, sheep, pigs etc are slaughtered have been refined over centuries. These practices cannot be used in the slaughter of kangaroos in the bush.Ante- mortem inspection is carried out by the shooter, not by an independent observer, and movement - the most useful tool in ante-mortem inspection - is avoided where possible so kangaroos can be shot.
Initial post-mortem inspection is also carried out by the shooter, not by an independent, meat hygienist.

The actual hygiene at the point of slaughter is sub-standard.

It is not possible to avoid the film of dust accompanying every shooter's vehicle and kicked up by the kangaroos. The evisceration is carried out in dusty conditions. The shooter is required to carry only 20 litres of water for all purposes including personal hygiene. None of the ablution facilities required in abattoirs is present.An abattoir failing in any one standard is forced to correct it immediately. By any measure the product from abattoirs must be superior to field killing.The methods of killing become academic if meat is always subjected to cooking temperatures which will destroy all disease organisms. The kangaroo industry and food writers know that 'well done' kangaroo meat is virtually inedible and recommend it to be served rare. And there's the rub.
'The concern is that chefs and food raconteurs recommend cooking methods which would not kill these parasites'

"Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife - Threats to Biodiversity and Human Health "
by parasitologist Peter Daszak from the University of Georgia, Athens, veterinary pathologist from the Zoological Society of London, Dr Andrew Cunningham, and
Dr Alex Hyatt, CSIRO , a principal research scientist at the Australian Animal health Laboratory, Published in SCIENCE the leading predictive journal January 21, 2000.

These scientists warn about the:

1. "Continuing disinterest in diseases carried by wild animals will have devastating consequences for the environment, trade and human health."
2. "Diseases Spill from Wildlife to Cause Havoc" (29-30/1, 2000 '' The Australian')
3. "We just can't keep going the way we are going and not expect consequences' (Dr Alex Hyatt
4. "Humans at Risk of Wildlife Diseases"
   In the report, the scientists expressed concern about the lack of research into emerging wildlife diseases and urged governments and the wider scientific community to take the threats seriously.

A repeat of the terrible floods and subsequent receding waters in the outback will see the same circumstance as those that killed almost a million kangaroos through the choroid blindness disease , other viruses and unknown causes during 1996 and 1997.
Professor John Goldsmid, Lecturer in Microbiology at the University of Tasmania expressed his scientific concerns about the lack of research into a range of diseases and parasites transmissible between Tasmanian native animals and humans.

AUSTRALIA has no dedicated research or diagnostic facility To investigate wildlife diseases. Detections of new diseases are handled on an ad hoc basis.

'In the last 25 or so years, of 35 new or newly recognised infections in humans, 20 (57%) have been zoonotic (infecting humans as a result of animal-human contact of some kind and varying from companionable contact to utilisation of the animal as a food source) in origin.'Scientists only recently began studying such emerging diseases, which pose a threat to global diversity second only to land clearing. This is "the sleeper" issue which could influence importing countries in key trade in wildlife products - " the precautionary principle" is the policy which suggests when in doubt ...don't"A recent scientific report of the Internationale Health Organisation, the Office Internationale des Epizooties, of which Dr Obendorf is a member, warns " that wild animal meats which are undercooked, dried, or cold-smoked are potentially infectious to animal or humans that consume them.""We need to carry out much more research into potential infections that may be present in our native animal populations " , says Professor John Goldsmid (University of TasmaniaDr John Auty, formerly Chief Health Inspector with the Bureau of Animal health says:
"The whole science of abattoirs is geared towards preventing disease. In an abattoir the animals are washed down by a sprinkler system. Then a vet will inspect the animal before it is killed to ensure that it isn't showing the slightest hint of disease. The whole place is constantly inspected and is impervious to dust and insects.""The kangaroo killing industry is the exact antithesis to this. It is impossible to prevent dust from entering the carcase." "And because the kangaroos graze on the edge of farms, it is likely the dust is contaminated with cattle, sheep or horse faeces. This can lead to outbreaks in diseases like salmonella. "You can never guarantee that that meat is free of disease because it is usually delivered to the table bright red and screaming."