Australia has almost twice as many kangaroos as people, according to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
It is a statistic that keeps roo hunters on the back foot when populations run rife.
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The department issues harvest quotas of between 12 per cent and 20 per cent of the national kangaroo population every year.
But only about 3 per cent of Australia's 50 million kangaroos are used for meat production.
Mount Isa roo harvester Shane Young said a growing number of hunters were struggling to keep up with culling quotas.
It comes as the increasing population of kangaroos in outback Queensland puts pressure on plants, other animals and stock.
"I've seen plenty more people come on board," Mr Young said.
"The price is good at the moment and you could pay off your mortgage and put your kids through school by just making a full-time go of it."
Industry leaders claim the solution lies in growing the domestic market for kangaroo products.
Southern Gulf NRM chief executive Geoff Penton said the domestic market could be a solution.
"The reason we see overpopulation of roo numbers and those quotas not being met is because Australians just don't eat enough kangaroo," he said.
Kangaroo population increases
Drought and floods in outback Queensland kept kangaroo numbers below average in the lead up to 2019.
"Over the last few years some of the region has seen some good seasons and roos have started to re-breed and repopulate," Mr Penton said.
"It's a sticky situation when numbers get high because they can overgraze leaving scarce food for cattle and other animals."
Mr Young said prices per kilo averaged about $1.30 — $1.40.
"For a week load we can have anywhere north of 10 to 14 tonnes that we send off," he said.
"It is good money. Especially with the rate fuel has gone up in the last six months."
"The past 18 months to two years have been extremely, extremely busy," he said
"Not just for our region but for other harvesting mobs across the country too.
He said roos were "just everywhere".
"We've never met those quotas and the current situation shows we won't be meeting them anytime soon," he said.
Domestic boom needed
Mr Penton said the Australian market for kangaroo products needed investment.
"The potential for this industry to contribute to the national economy is great if we can meet those quotas fully," he said.
"But in order for that to happen, shooters need to have somewhere to deliver their roos which means we need more processors and we need more markets."
Mr Young said meat processors in Ipswich, where he sent his product, couldn't get enough.
"The processors will take as much as they can get ... because the overseas market is pretty good."
'We're not rednecks'
Mr Young said misconceptions about the professionalism of the industry were a barrier to people on the coast considering roo as part of their diet.
"I think people don't realise that what we do is a professional, regulated practice," he said.
"We're not rednecks driving around in a paddock."
He said harvesters went through training and had to pay "quite a bit of money" to hold licences.
"There is also a lot of mass production from this culling," he said.
"Nothing gets wasted – whatever is cut from the roos goes into pet food."
He said wiping out roo populations was not a risk.
"It's also a very controlled industry — culling these animals to a point of extinction is not possible.
"Some people think there's a danger of us shooting them out of existence.
"It's just not physically possible to do that to animals like roos," he said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: November 21, 2022: This story has been amended to update figures on the kangaroo to human ratio in Australia and to remove references that roo hunters are struggling to keep up with international demand, that could not later be substantiated.
