A PROPOSED "open season" for kangaroo hunting in Victoria has been blasted by a central Victorian animal welfare group.
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The radical idea to control population numbers has come from the Shooters and Fishers Party, which says kangaroos had become a problem in many parts of the state and a road safety hazard.
But the plans has been branded ill-conceived and dangerous by the Australian Society for Kangaroos.
Society president and Castlemaine resident Nikki Sutterby said it appeared it was already open season on kangaroos.
Ms Sutterby was referring a separate call last week from the Loddon-Campaspe group of councils to be included in a trial of the use of native animals in pet food.
She said state government data showed more than 150,000 female kangaroos were shot last year for their meat and skins.
"The only thing that does is inflict signicant cruelty on orphaned joeys," Ms Sutterby said.
"All an open season does is make people think they can go out and kill kanagroos anytime they like.
"The really sad thing is that these sorts of calls are coming from people in positions of responsibility and authority."
A New South Wales Government decision last year to allow sporting shooters to hunt feral animals, including pigs and goats, in national parks had proves disastrous, according to the society.
"It wasn't just feral animals that were killed, there was plenty of kangaroos found dead," Ms Sutterby said.
Shooters and Fishers Party upper house MP Daniel Young said his anecdotal evidence showed kangaroos numbers had become a problem in many parts of the state.
He wants the state government to consider allowing people to hunt kangaroos with a permit from the Department of Environment.
"People say to me all the time - 'But they're on our coat of arms, they're a national emblem', and I really don't understand how that can weigh in on a viable solution,” Mr Young said.
The state government said it was not considering any kangaroo culling.
Eighty-nine permits were issued to destroy 2652 in Greater Bendigo last financial year.