Last year, 83,000 wallabies were culled on Australia's King Island, and 30,000 were shot by a single man, writes Paul Carter.
Depending on who you talk to, there's anywhere between 500,000 and one million wallabies on the 1,100sq km (424 sq mile) King Island, which is 64km long, 26km wide and has a human population of just 1,600.
The lush, rolling pastures that feed the island's acclaimed beef and dairy cattle also support this extraordinary population of Bennett's wallaby, which feast by night while resting and breeding by day in their coastal scrub fortresses.
"It's just a perfect breeding ground for them," says the island's sharpshooter Shane Keeler who last year claimed 30,000 kills at A$3 ($2.3; £1.60) a pop.
He co-ordinates the Tasmanian government's Wallaby Management Program on the island."http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35878526

One would hope that the skins were tanned for leather & the meat was used as food, for humans as well as Animal fodder. I eaten Wallaby all my life. Apparently it's supposed to be Gourmet now a days. It's very rich in Iron & almost Fat free.

I hate waste. My wife & I are rebirthers & repurposes. Nothing goes to waste around here. I'm rebuilding my Caravan, from the ground up. Every comes from building sites. Plywood, Timber, Electric Wiring, Paint. Surprising what you can get if you ask nicely.

I have, occasionally, picked up a fresh wallaby kill on the side of the road for my dog. Though they tell me it's illegal?

You had better worm that dog Jayb, most wallabies & roos are full of tapeworm, as well as a few others.

Every year or two we have one of the fool things seriously injured by crashing into a fence post or similar, that we have to put down. Got the wildlife people in the first time, & an elderly lady was in serious danger of injury while using needles to put it down. I do it myself now, & burry the thing, I don't want our animal eating them.

A pain in the butt actually, it takes a big hole to fit those legs.

Is Mise, what is your point? why do you mention The Greens? That man has created an ecological imbalance on King Island through intensive agriculture, resulting in the destruction of thousands of native fauna. I know how you personally get off on killing such defenseless animals.
As I drove around Tasmania recently it was horrifying to see the number of fresh road kills of native animals every few hundred meters. The only winners seem to be the crows. It is illegal to remove road kills as some people also became road kills themselves. The night time speed restriction of 65 kmph seems to have done little to stem the carnage. Its similar in New Zealand.
Is Mise how are sales of that book of yours going? what is it called 'Road Kill Recipes For The Unsuccessful Hunter'.

This is off topic but is it just me or do others find the claim that 30,000 wallabies were shot by one man in a year a bit incredulous?

Let's say that he works 10hours/day, 6 days/week with only 2 weeks holiday that gives 3000hrs of shooting for the year. Which means that he has to shoot one wallaby every 6 minutes! This six minutes includes the time in takes to track/find the wallabies and also whatever it is that he does with them once they're dead (presumably he has to at least take some part of it to verify the kill if he doesn't collect the whole carcass for meat). This time also includes all the other preparatory and concluding work- such as maintaining the rifles and paper work.
In addition, from what I understand, most shooting (well at least for some roos) happens during dusk/early night because this is the best time to find them- so he probably doesn't even have 10hrs/day available.

thinkabit: the claim that 30,000 wallabies were shot by one man in a year a bit incredulous?

Yes, I thought it was a bit high. Maybe an extra "0" was put in by a Greenie by mistake. You Know. ;-) A bit like bribing the Abattoirs Security Guard & hiring some local hoons who have never had anything to do with cattle to kill them. Then claim the animals are being mistreated.

Let see 83000 wallabies killed in one year. Area 1100 sq K. That’s 7.6 Wallabies /K. Now if the decimated the Wallabies then there would have been 83000 Wallabies on the Island, so, 75.5 Wallabies /K. Not allowing for the Cattle, the Township, People or other Wild Life it’s bloody crowded. I can see why they had a cull.

Something just doesn’t add up. Greenies being Greenies. I suspect.