Australia’s commercial kangaroo harvest industry is one of the most sustainable wild harvest operations in the world with management goals based firmly on principles of enhancing animal welfare. Across five states of Australia four main species of kangaroos are harvested to provide meat for human consumption and pet food. Kangaroo skins are utilised to provide high quality leather products.

AgriFutures Australia are seeking quotes from suitably qualified organisations to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for kangaroo meat and leather.

As Europe is a major export destination for both meat and leather the LCA should be suitable for demonstrating sustainability in the EU market.

For both kangaroo meat and leather we would seek a Cradle to Gate LCA to assess the environment impacts of dressed kangaroo carcasses used for both human consumption, pet food and manufacturing of high quality leather.

The LCA would include, but not be limited to, capturing the following metrics:

• energy usage,
• water usage,
• deforestation and
• greenhouse gas emissions.

The final product should deliver on key priorities from the Kangaroo RD&E Plan including:

• Compile the scientific information available on the industry’s animal welfare practices;
• Compare the animal welfare credentials of the kangaroo industry with other animal-based proteins, and
• Compile the scientific information available on the sustainability of the industry.

The final product should be appropriate for identifying hotspots for the industry to improve its environmental credentials and allow for benchmarking against other similar products. This important deliverable will form the basis of the kangaroo industry demonstrating the advantages in comparison to other meat and leather products.