Kangaroo is ultra-low in fat, jam-packed with iron and has great health benefits for your dog, and we’re excited to have introduced this new sustainable protein to our line-up, to give our pack another healthy, delicious and nutritious recipe to chow down on.

But did you know that the positives of eating kangaroo go well beyond nutrition? Read on to find out why we are getting such a kick out of kangaroo!

It’s safe

At Lyka, all of our ingredients are human-grade and safe for your dog (and you!) to eat, and our kangaroo meat is no exception.

With news of a cluster of dogs sadly passing away or being hospitalised due to liver disease this year, with the common link being that they had all eaten raw food from a knackery in Victoria, it’s highlighted the importance of human-grade food to ensure tragedies like this do not occur.

Unlike pet grade food, each of our ingredients are safe for human consumption. Our kangaroo meat is 100% human-grade and sourced in Australia, wild-caught in both South East Queensland and Victoria. We share our reputable and trusted kangaroo supplier with some of the country’s most prominent butchers and wholesalers, and they undertake regular health and safety testing to ensure the protein is safe for both human and dog consumption:

• All field harvesters implement strict personal hygiene practices.

• Once harvested, the kangaroos are refrigerated within two hours and swiftly moved to ensure they are not affected by rain, dust or other animals – different movement rules do apply depending on when the harvest takes place.

• To help minimise the risk of E.coli and contamination post-harvest, our roo meat is transported in a way that maintains its natural integrity, with sufficient space provided to allow for safe and effective cooling.

• Only meat that is meant for human consumption travels in the same vehicle, so you can feel confident that your pup’s food never touches contaminated surfaces.

It’s ethical

We care about where our ingredients come from, and finding ethical food sources are a top priority for us.

The commercial kangaroo harvest is thought to be one of the world’s best harvesting operations, and our roo is sourced from a supplier that follows the most stringent national code of practice for ethical and humane harvesting.

Humane measures used by our supplier that helps to ensure the suitability of the kangaroos and continual reproduction of the species, include:

• Not buying female kangaroos for processing

• Not buying kangaroos under 15kg

• Only sourcing male kangaroos and leaving females in the paddock

• Using culling methods that are pain-free

No more than 20 percent of the kangaroo population can be used for commercial purposes, and this quota changes annually to make sure that the population is consistently maintained.

It’s sustainable

Sustainability is also key for us at Lyka. Our ingredient list is full of fresh produce that have a low impact on the environment, and this now includes kangaroo.

• Wild-caught meats are the holy grail when it comes to sustainability. Kangaroos graze on wild land, which doesn’t need fertilising or additional feeding.

• The kangaroo supply chain is quite short compared with other protein sources, and as it’s sourced right here in Australia, there is less travel time and less likelihood of contamination.

• Kangaroos emit significantly less polluting methane than other protein, because of their size and the way in which they consume food.

• Kangaroos also emit less nitrous oxide compared with traditional livestock. This is because of the way livestock waste is stored and treated.

• Kangaroos drink much less water, making them perfectly suited to the harsh Australian weather conditions.

As the kangaroo population remains overly high, commercial harvesting for food makes sense from a sustainability point of view:

Research suggests that kangaroos need to be culled, as their large population prevents other animals finding shelter and that the kangaroo population has not been negatively impacted by harvesting. Kangaroos are also detrimental to Australia’s ecosystem due to overgrazing and have even contributed to erosion in some areas, so letting the kangaroo population continue to grow unchecked poses significant environmental concerns.

Lyka: caring for pets and our planet

At Lyka, we love to feed your puppers with ethical and sustainable produce, and we are proud to support local Aussie farmers on our mission to provide dogs with the highest quality human-grade food to help them live happier, healthier, longer lives.