Australia permits commercial harvest of wild kangaroos for meat and leather, with welfare standards that vary in quality and enforcement across species and states.
Kangaroo harvest welfare depends on individual harvester skill and code compliance. The required head shot methodology, when performed accurately, causes rapid death. However, population-level quality control is challenging with harvesters operating at night across vast areas. Sub-standard kills involving non-lethal shots to the body cause suffering before death. Orphaned joeys who survive harvested females require rescue or humane killing that field conditions often prevent. Welfare certification programs aim to improve standards and consumer confidence in humanely harvested kangaroo products.