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Is Kangaroo Halal? The Animal, the Hunt and the Meat

Short answer Depends

Many Sunni scholars treat the kangaroo as a halal animal because it eats plants and does not prey on others [2]. The meat is halal only if the animal is killed the Islamic way [1]. Commercial kangaroo meat comes from animals shot by licensed harvesters [6]. Sistani's rulings advise against it [4]. If you're unsure, ask a scholar you trust.

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What the schools of thought say

SchoolViewSource
Hanafi Permissible as an animal. Land animals with flowing blood that eat plants and do not prey on others are lawful, and a Darul Ifta Birmingham answer applies this to the kangaroo. The meat still needs valid slaughter or hunting. [2][3]
Hunting rules (Hanafi) An animal shot with a gun can be halal only if God's name was said when firing, the bullet pierced the animal, the hunter pursued it at once, and it died from the wound. If it is found alive with time to slaughter, it must be slaughtered. [5]
Ja'fari Not permissible, as an obligatory precaution, according to the ruling of Ayatollah Sistani cited by the Al-Khoei Foundation. [4]

Is the kangaroo a halal animal?

The Qur'an names a short list of forbidden meats, such as carrion, blood and pork. It also forbids animals killed by strangling, a blow or a fall, unless they were properly slaughtered [1]. The kangaroo is not on that list.

Scholars also use general rules for animals the texts do not name. A Darul Ifta Birmingham answer, approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah, says land animals with flowing blood that eat grass and leaves and do not prey on others are lawful. It concludes that kangaroo meat is permissible [2]. SeekersGuidance lists the same Hanafi rule for plant-eating land animals such as deer and cattle [3].

The Ja'fari view is different. The Al-Khoei Foundation, citing the ruling of Ayatollah Sistani, says kangaroo meat is not permissible as an obligatory precaution [4].

The bigger issue: how kangaroo meat is produced

Even when the animal is halal, the meat is only halal if the animal was killed in a valid way. For a land animal, that means slaughter with God's name, or a hunt that meets Islamic conditions [1].

Kangaroo meat is not produced the way beef or lamb is. In New South Wales, for example, commercial kangaroo harvesting is done by licensed harvesters who hold firearm licences. They shoot the kangaroos and sell the carcasses to licensed dealers [6]. The shooting must follow Australia's national code of practice for the humane shooting of kangaroos and wallabies [6][7].

So the question becomes: is a kangaroo killed by a bullet halal?

What scholars say about animals killed by gunfire

A Hanafi answer by a student of Darul Iftaa, checked and approved by Mufti Ebrahim Desai, sets out conditions for game killed by a gun. The hunter must say God's name when firing. The bullet must be sharp enough to pierce the animal, and the animal must die from that wound. The hunter must also pursue the animal right away. If the animal is found alive and there is time to slaughter it, it must be slaughtered, or it is not halal [5].

Commercial kangaroo meat is not sold with any statement about these conditions. Unless a halal certifier vouches for the whole process, you have no way to know whether they were met. See our hunting page for more.

If you want to try kangaroo

  • Look for a certifier name. If a pack claims to be halal, check which body certified it and whether that body inspects the harvest, not only the processing plant.
  • Ask about the kill. A butcher should be able to tell you whether the animal was shot in the field.
  • Check processed products. Kangaroo sausages, burgers and jerky can contain other meats, casings or flavorings.

If you want a red meat with a clear halal supply, lamb, beef and camel are widely available from certified sources. For other wild game, see deer and venison.

Frequently asked questions

Is kangaroo meat halal in Australia?

The animal is permissible for many Sunni scholars [2]. But commercial kangaroo meat comes from animals shot by licensed harvesters [6], so it is halal only if the hunting conditions were met [5]. Look for a credible certifier.

Is kangaroo halal for Shia Muslims?

According to the ruling of Ayatollah Sistani cited by the Al-Khoei Foundation, kangaroo meat is not permissible as an obligatory precaution [4]. Followers of other marjas should check their own scholar's rulings.

Why do some scholars say kangaroo is halal?

Kangaroos eat plants, have flowing blood and do not hunt other animals. Hanafi scholars treat land animals like this as lawful unless a text forbids them, and none does for the kangaroo [2][3].

Is wallaby the same as kangaroo?

Wallabies are close relatives and are shot under the same national code in Australia [7]. The same questions apply: whether the animal is permissible for your school, and whether it was killed in a valid way [5].

Sources

  1. Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:3 · Quran.com · accessed
  2. Can Muslims eat kangaroo meat? · Darul Ifta Birmingham via IslamQA.org · accessed
  3. What Animals Are Halal and Haram to Eat in the Hanafi School? · SeekersGuidance · accessed
  4. Is kangaroo meat halal? · Al-Khoei Foundation · accessed
  5. Shooting an animal with a gun · Jamiatul Ulama (Darul Iftaa) · accessed
  6. Kangaroo management in New South Wales · NSW Government, Environment and Heritage · accessed
  7. National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes · AgriFutures Australia · accessed