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| A red kangaroo. © iStock.com |
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by Natalie Ragan
Kangaroos are one of the world’s most recognizable and cherished animals. People travel to Australia from all over the globe to view these iconic marsupials. What many don’t know is that kangaroos are currently being slaughtered by the millions every year to supply the international trade in kangaroo leather and meat. This mass killing is the largest human massacre of terrestrial wildlife on the planet.
Shoe companies such as Adidas, Nike, and Reebok buy kangaroo skins to use the leather in their products and kangaroo meat is most commonly sold as pet food. These commercial killings have been drastically depleting populations of Red Kangaroos, Western and Eastern Kangaroos, Wallaroos and Euros all over Australia.
Declining Population
About three million kangaroos are killed commercially in Australia every year, which has led to a population reduction of 50 percent over the past five years. These statistics, however, do not include the joeys (baby kangaroos) who are left to die or are killed when their mothers are killed. It also does not include the number of illegal and non-commercial killings. Adding these numbers into the total greatly increases the scale of this slaughter.
According to www.StopKangarooKilling.org, kangaroo densities are thought to have declined so drastically in the states of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia that experts believe them to be “quasi-extinct“ in these areas, meaning that these populations are at serious risk of extinction.
A Brutal Death
On top of the overall threat of depletion of their populations, the way that the kangaroos are killed can be extremely inhumane. According to animal advocacy group Viva!, the Australian government tries to assure people that all of the hunters killing kangaroos are professional gunmen, but this is not always the case and the animals are often forced to succumb to undue stress. Hunters are obligated to comply with a Code of Practice to kill kangaroos humanely with a bullet to the head, but it is not uncommon for the bullet to land in the neck, throat, or jaw leaving the animal to die a slow, agonizing death.
Joeys are almost always killed or left to die since, whether they are in the pouch or at the foot of their mother, they cannot survive once their mother is killed. Joeys are killed by decapitation, a heavy blow to the head, or with a gunshot to the head. Or, they are left to die of starvation and cold without the warmth from their mothers to protect them at night.
Stopping the Slaughter
Humane Society International (HSI) opposes this senseless killing of kangaroos and is working to make the hunts more humane. HSI Australia, together with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Australia, has sent numerous comments on this issue to the Australian government.
You can state your opposition to the massacre of kangaroos by writing to Peter Garrett, Australia’s Federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, at:
Mailing Address
Peter Garrett
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
Email Address
Peter.Garrett.MP@aph.gov.au
Online Contact Form
www.aph.gov.au/house/members/memfeedback.asp?id=HV
Updated May 5, 2009
