In response to an explosion in the population of wild kangaroos in Australia, environmental experts believe there may be only one solution: people need to eat them.
The strange call to action comes as the number of kangaroos in the country has reached nearly 50 million, meaning that there are now almost two of the creatures for every human living in Australia, which boasts a population of around 27 million.
An increased amount of available food for the animals, due to favorable weather conditions, is being blamed for the skyrocketing number of kangaroos, which increased by an astounding 23 million in just seven years.
In turn, ecologists say that the most sensible and pragmatic way to stop the country from being overrun by kangaroos is for Australians to begin incorporating the animal into their menu at home.
However, getting people in Australia to eat kangaroos is easier said than done as the animal is seen a a beloved icon of the country and, therefore, to feast on the creature would be rather taboo.
Additionally, eating kangaroo meat is perceived by residents as something tourists visiting the country do for thrills and not something that 'real' Australians partake in at dinner time.
Nonetheless, experts warn that the growing number of kangaroos in the country threaten to seriously disrupt farmlands and potentially pose a threat to people in suburban areas who may encounter the wild animals.
Meanwhile, some Australians claim that the creatures have simply had a lucky break these last few years and that the population will likely plummet by the millions when Australia has drought-like conditions in the future.
To that end, they note that the kangaroo population was a mere seven million just ten years ago and so any drastic attempt to cull the creatures could prove to be an ill-conceived idea in the future.
While that may be the case, residents of the island nation may want to consider changing their eating habits for now. l
Otherwise, should the kangaroo population grow even larger, we're guessing that the multitude of marsupials will have less qualms about eating humans than people do about eating them.
Source: BBC News / abc.net.au