Pet food blow ends shooter’s roo run

A decision by one of Australia’s biggest pet food suppliers to stop using WA kangaroo meat has forced a local shooter to leave the region.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that Eastern States-based VIP Pet Foods had terminated its contract with Margaret River Pet Food, which employed a number of shooters in the area.

The company chose to end the contract because of a declining number of kangaroos in WA combined with an underutilisation of their processing plant in Perth.

Kangaroo shooter Peter Stonehouse had been based in Margaret River, but said he had been forced to leave after the contract had been terminated.

“I sold everything I own and I’m on my way to Port Hedland now to look for work,” he said.

Mr Stonehouse said he used to work three to four nights a week as a kangaroo shooter because of the demand.

“That’s how much I chose to work but I could have been out there an unlimited amount,” he said.

He said he expected the kangaroo population to become an issue and would force farmers to get recreational shooters to shoot them.

“They’ll get out of control again, especially in Margaret River, because they breed and breed and breed,” he said.

“Farmers will just let recreational shooters shoot them and just leave them there.”