Most kangaroos have no set breeding cycle and are able to breed all year round. Because they are such prolific breeders, a kangaroo population can increase fourfold in five years if it has continuous access to plentiful supplies of food and water. Kangaroo management and use Kangaroos have long been important to the survival of Australia's Indigenous people. Aborigines have hunted kangaroos for tens of thousands of years, for both the meat and the skins. When Europeans arrived in Australia in the late eighteenth century, they too hunted kangaroos for survival.
Kangaroos continue to be used as a resource but only under strict government controls.
All Australian States and Territories have legislation to protect kangaroos. Only the four most abundant species of kangaroo and small numbers of three common wallaby species can be harvested, and then only by licensed hunters. The Australian rangeland environment is very fragile and is easily degraded. Kangaroo populations have increased dramatically in these areas due to the introduction of European farming methods, with water being supplied for domestic stock such as sheep and cattle. New water supplies have greatly increased kangaroo survival rates.