About 1.5 million kangaroos a year are shot, bludgeoned or left to starve to death or die of their injuries. This occurs because companies like Adidas and New Balance still pay hunters to head into the Australian wilderness to hunt the animals. The hunters make the kills, the kangaroos are skinned, and the skins are made into soccer shoes for affluent customers across the United States and other parts of the world.
That's right. The largest commercial slaughter of terrestrial wildlife is predicated on selling soccer shoes, or cleats, to pros, amateurs and kids who are willing to pay extra merely for the "luxury" of wearing leather from dead kangaroos.
Worse, the slain kangaroos often have joeys in their pouches. The policy for joeys is that they are immediately to be killed, usually by bludgeoning them against the bumper of the hunter's truck. Those who don't meet this fate often escape back into the wild, where they, too, face starvation, dehydration, or being attacked and eaten by other wild animals.
It's a brutal kill for what seems to us to be an absolutely frivolous purpose
The campaign to stop this horror show is called Kangaroos Are Not Shoes, and here to talk about is Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. He'll tell us about progress the campaign has made and what comes next. Also on the show are Emma Hurst and Louise Ward. Hurst is a member of the Australian parliament, representing the Animal Justice Party, and Ward is a state director for it. We had the chance to visit them during a break from their whirlwind visits with U.S. congressmen and senators on Capitol Hill.
Listeners can take action for kangaroos by visiting www.kangaroosarenotshoes.org, where you’ll find links to congressional Action Alerts and a petition for the Don’t Be a Dick’s campaign, which intends to pressure the nation’s largest sporting-goods retailer to stop trafficking in the skins of slaughtered kangaroos.
The Animal Wellness podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and by influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove. Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Podbean offer subscriptions to the free show.
www.animalwellnessaction.org
www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/animal-wellness-action/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI_6FxM4hD6oS5VSUwsCnNQ
Good intentions with a tragic result for a bear--Episode 27
David Brooks on his new book, "Animal Dreams"--Episode 26
Kangaroos are NOT shoes! Episode 25
Animal Wellness: What's Ahead in 2021--Episode 24
Are Mink Farms about to Undo the Work toward a COVID Vaccine?--Episode 23
PAST Act Faces Challenges, Featuring Guest Clant Seay--Episode 22
Bad News for Big-Lickers and Part II of Monty Roberts--Episode 21
Part I: Monty Roberts on Violence-Free Training and Horse Protection--Episode 20
Henry Bergh: A Traitor to His Species--Episode 19
Kentucky: Why Is Such a Beautiful State So Horrible to Its Animals and Children?--Episode 18
What Humans Can Learn from Animals with Carl Safina--Episode 17
The Bloodbath of Killing Contests--Episode 16
COVID-19, the Shortage of Meat and Animal Husbandry--Episode 15
Priscilla Presley on Horses, Elvis and Animal Advocacy--Episode 14
How One Small Team Took Down Greyhound Racing--Episode 13
Saving Lives--Human and Animal--with better FDA testing--Episode 12
Caged Hunts and the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease--Episode 11
Pets and the Corona Virus--Episode 10
The Ongoing Horrors of Trapping--Episode 9
Corona Virus and Horse Racing Integrity Act Update--Episode 8
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Jim & Bill (It‘s Another Day)
HauntingLive
Dr. Paul’s Worldviews
The Ben Shapiro Show
The Tucker Carlson Show