Every night between 6pm and 6am, the Longreach local takes to the bush and returns with an average haul of up to 60 animals.

At sunrise he hands his load of 'roos - which he is adamant he shoots swiftly, causing little pain - to a field depot operator. They, in turn, pass the animals onto kangaroo processors such as the Wild Game Resources abattoir in Longreach.

It is a process repeated night after night across western Queensland. However, with Russia announcing a temporary ban on kangaroo meat in August due to hygiene issues Mr Moulds and others in the industry are now feeling the pinch.

"The company I've been loyal to for so long has lost a big market," Mr Moulds said.

"For a lot of fellas kangaroo shooting is their sole income and prices are now down from 85c to 70c a kilo.

"We've got to toe the line or we won't have an overseas market at all."

Mr Moulds is not alone in his fears for the future, with government bodies such as Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries (QPIF) estimating that 500 full-time jobs and 2000 part-time jobs have been affected by Russia's decision.

"Russia currently makes up about two-thirds of the market so this is a significant blow to the kangaroo industry and the communities it supports," said Tim Mulherin, the Minister for Primary Industries.

However, there is now some hope for western Queensland's kangaroo harvesters and processors with six forums recently held in Longreach, Goondiwindi, St George and Charleville to discuss the future of the industry.

Representatives from QPIF, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service and Safe Food Production Queensland as well as local mayors, kangaroo harvesters and processors gathered to discuss how to win back the Russians.

A Safe Production Queensland spokesman said the meetings were not a "blame game" but a strong commitment from the industry that something positive must be done about the ban.

"We discussed how get the Russian market back again and what hygiene practices to address," he said.

"We didn't dwell on the past but accepted that this is everyone's responsibility.

"It was also very encouraging to see people travel for hours to get to the meetings - they obviously cared about the issue and they were full of optimism in their response to this problem.

"We are now very hopeful that Russia will come back but we just need to make sure we cross all the t's and dot all the i's."