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Save Millions of Kangaroos From Being Killed to Make Athletic Shoes

Save Millions of Kangaroos From Being Killed to Make Athletic Shoes

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Kangaroos have been the victims of devastating wildfires, land development, and country-wide extermination. Despite dwindling populations, hunters brutally slaughter kangaroos and their babies for their skin, which is used to make athletic shoes for mega-companies, including Adidas and Nike. Please urge your U.S. representative to support the Kangaroo Protection Act to ban the sale of kangaroo products nationwide!

Kangaroos are herbivorous marsupials with powerful hind legs and large feet that allow hopping for movement. They are social animals and live in groups called mobs and often stomp their feet on the ground to alert their group-mates to danger. Kangaroo pairs raise one offspring at a time called a joey in the mother's pouch until fully developed and ready to enter the world as a fully autonomous individual.

Most kangaroos are indigenous to Australia, where they typically thrive in a variety of habitats. However, the climate crisis, deforestation, and land development, all driven by an ever-increasing human population, have made their survival increasingly challenging. As if that were not enough, they are also slaughtered for human and canine consumption. The tragic wildfires of 2020 scorched roughly 46 million acres of rural Australia, leaving the area unrecognizable and displacing millions of animals. The BBC reported that the fires “killed or harmed three billion animals,” which undoubtedly includes native kangaroos.

Despite this tragedy's unprecedented loss of life, hunters continue to slaughter two million innocent kangaroos every year in what is the largest commercial slaughter of terrestrial wildlife in the world.

In Australia, cattle and sheep ranchers view kangaroos in the same way that wild horses and burros are perceived in the United States. As a result, wild animals such as kangaroos are artificially forced into competition with other animals who are exploited for their meat, and all the animals lose, except the ranchers, who tidily profit.

Leather made from the skin of kangaroos, often referred to as “K-leather,” is used to produce athletic shoes and cleats by massive global companies including Adidas and Nike. Currently, a search for “K-leather” on Adidas' website reveals a total of 13 products available for purchase, including 12 styles of cleats and one style of sneakers. Likewise, Nike's website currently offers two types of cleats made with K-leather.

To steal their skins, hunters indiscriminately shoot kangaroos at dusk while the animals are grazing. Adult kangaroos' heads are hacked off, and their skins are ripped from their bodies to become K-leather. If the kangaroo is female and carrying her offspring in her pouch, the joey is torn away from her, and the tiny infant is smashed into the ground or against another object, or their head is bashed in with brutal clubbing. If they do not die immediately, the terrified joeys are left to starve, dehydrate, or fall prey to predators.

This brutal slaughter of kangaroos must end, and many legislators agree. The Kangaroo Protection Act (H.R. 917) would make it unlawful to bring any kangaroo body parts or kangaroo products into the U.S. for commercial purposes. The sale of kangaroo products is prohibited by law in California. However, investigations have shown that the ban has not been enforced. It is time for a nationwide ban on kangaroo products.

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