![On the back of a Dragonfly [B&W]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6194/6128449851_14ec409b56_s.jpg "On the back of a Dragonfly [B&W]")
Since I left Thailand, lots of things have happened. Citizen protests have errupted in in Bangkok, violence and gunfire has spread along the Thai/Cambodian border, and elsewhere in the Asia/Oceana region, an Australian government advisor has recommended that citizens cut carbon fast... by switching their burgers for kangaroo chops.
Like the elephant in Thailand, the Kangaroo is a national symbol in Australia, appearing on the coat of arms, the dollar coin, and as a star in popular TV shows. Apparently, now it just may begin to resurface on the dinner plate.
I understand where the suggestion comes from: Methane from Aussie cattle and sheep makes up 11 percent of Australia's greenhouse emissions, and for those that can't give up dark meat it might be a palatable trade as the country tries to tighten the belt and slow contributions to global warming... but really... kangaroos? Can you really eat your national symbol? Can you really eat something so cute? And more importantly can you sustainably maintain a species while exploiting it?
34 million wild kangaroos currently live in Australia. There are certainly enough to capture, domesticate, and breed. But if history serves as a guide... humans aren't so good at leaving thriving wild populations of domesticated animals linked to profit. See: Wild horses, wild dogs, wild elephants, wild cats, wild cow-type-animals... do I need to go on?
I guess my point is... I'm still on the fence as to whether it is possible to have sustainable animal tourism, but when it comes to mass marketing kangaroo as the next big "low carbon red meat"... I just don't see the point. It might just be one more of those lobbyist backed decisions that involves jumping out of one boiling pot and into another that's just starting to warm up. It would make more sense to jump off the stove... don't you think?
Full disclosure: I'm totally biased in this discussion. When I was 12 I stopped eating beef because my favorite stuffed animal was a cow and I thought that consuming MooCow's antecedents was too mentally disturbing to handle.
Just a small point to consider. Kangaroo's can never be domesticated, there are no plans to domesticate them. Kangaroo meat sold in supermarkets in Oz comes from wild shot roo's as part of a 'sustainable' (read into that what you will) harvest. The quota is set each year dependent upon the previous years population size (based on aeriel survey across the whole of Australia).
No-one is suggesting that we should all switch to roo. We should all cut out, or at least cut-down, our red meat consumption. With this idea in mind, eating kangaroo steak once a week is a much more sustainable, environmentally friendly choice than eating beef - particularly in Australia where cattle do untold damage to the land.
For me - i once was a stict vegan, then a veggie for 17 years, now i eat Roo once a week...I myself am still not convinced this is the right choice....but i'm also not convinced eating tofu made from Amazonian soy is also the right choice....
Kangaroos cannot be domesticated or owned as they are nomadic. They have to be brutally shot, and joeys killed too. There is no "humane" was as they are wild and suffer greatly from stress. The meat cannot be guaranteed to be free from diseases or parasites. There are no refrigerators with the shooters, so it is not healthy to eat it. Our wildlife in Australia are suffering from this exploitation and the figures are likely to be much lower than what is written here! Kangaroos are NOT indestructible, so it is not "green" to eat them. The best way to reduce our carbon footprint is to go vegan/vegetarian.