Wildlife

Last updated 20 December 2025

Australia is home to many animals, both native and introduced. While we proudly show off our native animals on our currency and in souvenirs, the reality for wild animals in Australia is one which is often dark and brutal. 

Dingos

The Dingo is Australia's only native canid and Australia's largest mammal carnivore. While considered a native species, dingos were actually introduced to Australia, probably by Asian seafarers, about 4,000 years ago. While the classic image of a dingo is sandy in colour, dingos actually come in a variety of coat colours including ginger, brown, brindle and black. As apex predators, dingos ...

Duck Shooting

The serenity of the Australian wetlands at dawn; a gentle breeze stirs the eucalypt leaves; the rising sunlight filters through the reeds, casting shadows into the dense earth; frog song and insect chatter set the picturesque scene as native birdlife glides overhead. Suddenly, the serenity is shattered by blistering gunfire; bodies drop to the ground, lives in their prime, taken down. This is the...

Kangaroos

Kangaroos – Introduction Kangaroos are hunted each year in Australia either for commercial gain (for their skin and flesh) or simply to be 'culled' to 'control their numbers'. Permits are issued to 'legally' kill Kangaroos – so the Government and the shooters all slaughter them in their millions. The Australian Government requires kangaroo management plans (approved under the Environment Pro...

Koalas

Koalas are a type of mammal called marsupials, which give birth to underdeveloped young. They are so different from any other marsupial, however, that they have been classified into their own family, called Phascolarctidae. They share a number of characteristics with wombats, who are their closest living relatives, including a backward-facing pouch (Source: Queensland Government). Photo: Farm T...

Rabbits

Wild rabbits in Australia European rabbit. Image: Andrew Patrick Photo. Wild Rabbits are deemed under the Australian law to be pests (vertebrae pests). They are mainly killed by methods that would be considered inhumane and illegal under anti-cruelty laws if they were applied to companion animals. It is lawful in Australia for rabbits to be poisoned, infected with disease, hunted, or c...

Wild buffalo

Water Buffalo Maleny Buffalo, 2022 (Maleny Buffalo) In the 19th century, a small number of water buffalo were brought to Australia as part of an experimental project to provide meat to remote settlements in the Northern Territory. By 1949, these settlements and the buffalo were abandoned, leading to the spread of wild herds across the top end of the Northern Territory which, with its swamps ...

Wild camels

Summerland Camels, 2017 (Farm Transparency Project) Although commonly associated with countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Australia is believed to have the largest population of wild camels in the world. These camels are descended from the 10,000 and 20,000 camels who were transported to Australia from India between 1840-1907, largely to be used for labour and transport. In the 1920s, ...

Wild Deer

In the 19th Century, deer were imported to Australia from Europe as 'game animals.' Species of deer are otherwise native to all other continents, except Antarctica. There are six known species of  wild deer in Australia: fallow, red, chital, hog, rusa and sambar. In 1995, only four populations of red deer were known in Australia but by 2007, 65 red deer populations had been&nb...

Wild goats

Rangeland Goats Wild goats were brought to Australia during early colonisation and wild herds are descended from these original goats, as well as others that have been brought over in subsequent years. Rangeland goats are considered a 'pest' animal in Australia, with wild herds estimated to cause $25 million worth of losses to farmers every year, due to grazing on land used for far...

Wild Pigs

Wild pigs were introduced to Australia with the First Fleet, and now occupy around 45 percent of the country, mainly in Queensland and New South Wales.  Wild pig distribution map. Source: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.   Feral pigs in Australia descend from domestic pigs, but have evolved to be better suited to living in the wild. The Pest Smart website, which ...

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