I live in Australia.....Near Bendigo, Victoria......The Kangaroos here are everywhere. You can't drive a country road without seeing the occasional Roo carcass every few kilometers (smaller than a mile.....60 MPH = 100 KPH) ...... they are hit by cars & trucks all the time, & they usually lose the battle (they have absolutely no road sense), but they can really make a mess out of your car. If they come through your windshield at 100 KPH (called windscreen down here) they can kill you, or cause you to have a nasty accident....hit a tree....or another car....God forbid a truck! Most accidents with Roos end up badly for the Roo.
Now that said, they breed like rabbits, & the population is in the millions Australia wide.....so they are quite far from being an endangered species.
They make decent fare....a bit rich tasting, but very lean. They taste somewhat gamey....quite rich & distinct in flavor....how you cook & season it will affect the outcome.
I agree with culling.......I'd rather see 50 Roos shot by shooters, than one or two dead from thirst & starvation!!!
I first learned about "roo-bars" on cars and trucks in Oz back when I was around...oh say, maybe thirteen years old?
(1969-1970)
Now all of sudden, fast forward to the mid-1980's and now it seems every 4X4 truck, every van, even every mini-truck here in the US, even urban vehicles that will never ever see more wilderness than a grocery store suddenly has roo-bars on them but it seems the Aussies were maybe the first to put them on. It was a necessity.
Now here in the USA, it's mostly to show off unless you're looking at a serious outdoorsman.
The 1974 Dodge Tradesman 300 van I bought secondhand had them on the front, and that van used to belong to a local AM radio disk jockey. He had the damn thing set up like a single guy sin bin. He wasn't going to the boondocks, he was searching for skirt! :lamo
I always laugh when folks use the term "gamey". For the most part, it's almost like a negative connotation, I guess.
If I say that to describe venison
(which I absolutely love) I can see the women
(and some men!) wrinkle up their faces...
"ewwwww!".
So I never use that word anymore. I tell them it tastes like "artisanal" meat should.
Oh wow, like awesome sauce, dude! :lamo
If you tell an average American that they're about to try a rare imported artisanal cut of meat, not only will they gobble it down with aplomb, twenty four hours later they will present themselves as experts on artisanal meats to all their friends.
All you mates have to do is come up with an exotic and interesting sounding synonym for "kangaroo" and you'll have Yanks eating your dog food on a crisp or open faced on "artisanal" sourdough right here in Beverly Hills.
Wiki says that the word has a colorful history! :lamo
The word "kangaroo" derives from the Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru, referring to grey kangaroos.
Or maybe you could call it "New Age Wanburoo" meat?
Cheers mate, hope ya make a million bucks!