Facing competition from such exotic delicacies as deep-fried scorpion, as well as objections from animal rights groups, Australia is trying to persuade China to allow imports of kangaroo meat.
The agriculture minister, Tony Burke, visited China last month with representatives of the kangaroo meat industry, who are confident of enticing Chinese consumers to eat one of Australia’s national symbols.
"They are very optimistic that they see China as a future market," Mr Burke told reporters after his visit, although he conceded that resolving strict Chinese quarantine rules would take time. Kangaroo meat is banned by China because it is considered wild game.
Worldwide, trade in kangaroo is worth AS$270 million (Dh725m) annually. It produces steaks and sausages for supermarkets around the country and for consumers overseas, especially in Europe, as well as cheaper cuts for pet food manufacturers; soft kangaroo leather has also been used to make football boots and other sport shoes. Proponents also claim it is healthier for humans and for the planet.
"I like the meat. It is very lean and has lower cholesterol levels than other red meats. It has got a gamey taste because it is a wild animal and grazes on natural pastures," said Terry Korn, the president of the Australasian Wildlife Management Society and a former senior government bureaucrat who was in charge of overseeing the annual kangaroo cull in New South Wales in 2002.
Mr Korn said quotas for the cull are set by federal agencies following independent surveys, which usually allow for about 15 per cent of the estimated kangaroo population to be killed by professional marksmen.
Despite concerns from animal rights organisations that the annual hunt is barbaric, Mr Korn insisted it is humane. "We don’t believe the cull is cruel. They are highly supervised and they are watched closely by welfare groups. Most animals are shot in the head. I don’t think it is a cruel way to kill an animal," he said.
Of the approximately 50 species of kangaroo, four are commercially harvested; the red, euro and eastern and western grey kangaroos. They are macropods, meaning great-footed, a suitable description for a herbivore with powerful back legs and long feet.
A mob of kangaroos (as they are collectively known) in full flight, hopping effortlessly at great speed, is one of the quintessential sights of the Australian outback.
Government statistics estimate there are about 25 million across the Australian continent, from its beaches and deserts, to tropical rainforests and cooler alpine regions.
For tens of thousands of years, indigenous people have hunted the marsupials for both their meat and skins. Today, however, animal welfare activists are indignant.
"The truth is they [kangaroos] are on the brink of extinction," said Nikki Sutterby, co-ordinator of the Australian Society for Kangaroos. "Most people aren’t aware our icon is being decimated to make pet food and runners [sport shoes]. It is quite tragic."
Officials in Canberra have said kangaroos are abundant and that the cull is managed in "an ecologically sustainable way" and intended to reduce the population of an animal that is destroying the habitat of endangered species. But campaigners accuse authorities of peddling propaganda and misinformation.
"It really breaks our heart to see the lies that are being spread around," Mrs Sutterby said. "The truth is that farmers and the Australian government are making millions of dollars out of slaughtering these animals and that is why they want you to believe that they are in plague proportions and they are a pest.
"We just hope China is aware that this industry is supporting the slaughter of thousands of joeys [young kangaroos] every night by clubbing and decapitation," she said.
"If the Chinese were to take kangaroos into their country it would be the nail in the coffin for the kangaroo." She also warned there was a chance of bacterial contamination in the kangaroo meat "because they are known to carry parasites in their limbs". While the debate rages, Australians generally remain ambivalent about the merits of eating kangaroo, although some are too squeamish to eat an animal on the country’s coat of arms, which is why the export trade is so important.
"Fostering the market overseas is definitely the way to go," said Dr Adam Munn, a zoologist at the University of Sydney.
"Kangaroo has a flavour that countries like China will warm to, so that is definitely an angle that the industry should be pushing."
Dr Munn said fostering the kangaroo trade will be good for the environment as temperatures edge higher and rainfall levels decrease.
His argument is based around research that has shown that a kangaroo uses far less food and water to survive than sheep, and farmers who diversify into marsupial meat or into kangaroo tourism could help protect their land as well as boost their bank balances.
"With the potential changes coming with climate change leading to more frequent and more severe droughts, landowners are going to be looking towards alternatives to maintain both the economic and environmental sustainability of their properties," he said.
