I haven’t got the most glamorous job to do though it is essential.
I would love to be one of those hunters you see pictures of with a big stag with huge sets of antlers. But no, my job in the community is much less exciting and somewhat mundane. I am a Profession Roo Shooter.
Kangaroo (Roo) numbers in my part of Western Australia have boomed since European settlement. This is because we clear the bush, improved the pasture and put in watering points for our stock. The roos loved these improvement to a point where they become so numerous that they eat all the feed for the stock and become inbred. Don’t believe what you read about roos becoming endangered, this is far from the truth.
Generally my culling is done at night under spotlight as roos become more nocturnal with culling pressure. An evening out culling starts at night fall, then we spend a few hours culling an area. Taking anywhere from a dozen to 35 in an evening. They are all tidied up for presentation to a chiller. They are processed for either human consumption, pet food or canine baits. None are wasted.
An accurate rifle is essential as under the national code of Humane Shooting of Kangaroos all animals must be head shot. As you can see by the numbers of animals taken in an evening, barrels require cleaning regularly. Steve from Napier’s of London put me on the right track in this regard when he visited once and he has a great video on his web page. I use Ultra Clean for patches, these have a rough side and a fluffy side. They are great. Generally I just use Napier Gun Cleaner down the bore but every now and again when giving a good doing over use bore solvent. Just follow Steve’s video and you can’t go wrong. Napier products are top quality. That VP90 stuff is excellent.
Kangaroos are culled under strict Government controlled guide lines and permits. All animals taken are recorded for weight, sex and location. These figures are used to monitor numbers taken and allocate future cull numbers as required.
As I started, not glamorous but essential to keep numbers under control for the benefit of the community and the agricultural sector. One day I might get to hunt a big stag.