Are Kangaroo Farms Coming to NH?

Some restaurants in the Granite State could be adding Orange-Rosemary Roast Kangaroo to their menus by next summer, and pet owners could be considering what color collar to buy for their marsupial pets if some NH legislators have their way.

Two bills being proposed would allow for private ownership of kangaroos, small-tailed monkeys, raccoons, foxes, otters and skunks. Another bill would allow for the farming of kangaroos and caribou.

Stephen Nass, one of the owners at Heartwood and Independence Inn in Strafford and founder of the Free State Food Network, wrote the bill being sponsored by Michael Granger, R-Milton Mills, that would expand the list of animals allowed to be farmed. “We added kangaroo and caribou, which are also known as reindeer,” Nass says, explaining that the sale of these animals opens another revenue source for farmers and another way for them to compete. “This is nothing too unusual. These animals are legal in some other states.”

The other bill involving pet ownership is being sponsored by Rep. Tom Mannion, R-Pelham. Only 13 states allow kangaroos to be owned as pets. “We think that you should have responsible pet ownership as long as you’re not bothering other people,” he says. “We see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to have these animals.” The state of Maine allows people to own kangaroos with a state-issued permit.

Both bills come on the heels of a homesteader bill last year that allows for the sale of meat from uninspected bison, elk or red deer. Nass says the Free State Food Network, which has about 50 members, wanted to push things a step further and add more animals to the list.

Despite kangaroos’ typical Mediterranean climate of hot and dry summers and cool mild winters, Nass challenges people to look for any issues people have had in Maine or Wisconsin where they are also legal. “The kangaroos can handle our cold weather,” Nass says. “They get a winter coat, and they’re good for farming places with a lot of scrub brush. And they don’t need all the space to graze that cattle do.”