Demand to pressure US senators out of kangaroo ban
Australian politicians and officials have been called on to pressure US senators to reject a bill banning the import of all kangaroo products.
Kangaroo leather has been under attack from animal activists for years, prompting Nike and Puma to recently cease using the product for their football boots.
Now, a bill before the US Senate backed by a former presidential aspirant aims to outlaw all kangaroo leather products.
But a group of Australian politicians and diplomats are mounting a campaign to dissuade senators against supporting the measure.
Every state and federal leader of the Nationals has contacted a US senate committee, while Australian diplomats have also addressed politicians in Washington and Brussels, where a European Union ban is also in train.
A group of 30 NSW MPs from Labor and the coalition recently stood together to call for Australia to formally encourage US senators to reject the bill.
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Ray Borda, owner of South Australia-based Macro Group and Wild Game Industry Council president, said stopping kangaroo leather exports would have ramifications outside harming the $200 million industry.
“It would hurt Australia more,” he said.
“The farming community, the pastoralists, road accidents, the environment – we’re just a tool of the management program to keep numbers under control.”
While meat is the most common kangaroo product, leather ensures more of the animal carcass is used.
Humane Society International Australia has criticised the commercial culls and disputed the level of transparency, regulation and compliance of kangaroo management in NSW.
“This commercial industry is the largest consumptive mammalian wildlife industry in the world, with a high cost to animal welfare, Australian society and animal populations,” it previously told MPs.
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Borda denied several claims by animal activists, saying the industry was among the most audited and inspected in the nation.
“They work very much not on science, not on facts – just emotion,” he said.
The US senate bill is co-sponsored by Cory Booker, who ran alongside Kamala Harris and Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary.
He has compared Australia’s kangaroo culls to Canada’s controversial annual seal hunts, which triggered the United States to ban the import of pelts in 1972.
Some proponents have claimed the culls will drive kangaroos to extinction.
About 36 million kangaroos live in commercial harvest areas in the five mainland states, with about 1.3 million killed in 2023.
Former wildlife biologist turned industry advocate Neal Finch, who conducted dozens of population surveys in Queensland, said it was frustrating to see extinction claims aired in Europe and North America.
“That’s criticism against my work as a scientist… (but) the science stacks up,” he said.
“There’s plenty of kangaroos. It’s a very sustainable industry and very heavily regulated.”
That position was backed by Penny Sharpe, the custodian of 9.5 million kangaroos in NSW.
“We support a strongly regulated industry, not just because of the jobs it supports in regional NSW but also because kangaroo meat – and the export of it – is far more sustainable than that of the hard-hoofed animals that we have,” the state environment minister told parliament.
The federal government said it supported the international trade of ethically and sustainably produced animal products, including meat, skins and hides.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the US bill and Australian diplomats “continue monitoring and advocacy as appropriate”.
