Looks like I may soon be taking down one of SPA's policies for the first time due to it being enacted. There is a bill in California to remove the ban on Kangaroo skins. Of course, PETA is in action and is lying to the ignorant Americans, who still seem to think Kangaroos are almost extinct, even though there are far more of them now than when Europeans first arrived and the government strictly controls the harvest. I have been promoting this change on American forums for some time, but have never come across anyone else promoting it. I thought the law was very entrenched and didn't have a hope of being rescinded. I'm glad I was wrong.
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/kanga_petition
Allowing kangaroo skins to be sold in California would threaten the species' existence. Australian government statistics show that kangaroo populations have been dwindling and are now the lowest that they have been in more than a decade.Less than ten years ago, when they were seriously overpopulated?
Mentioned in the whaling thread:
http://ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1168478179/0SPA policy:
http://www.ozpolitic.com/articles/sustainability-party.html
Calls for investigation into 'Roo meathttp://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking-news/calls-for-investigation-into-roo-meat/2007/05/23/1179601475605.html
Animal rights groups have renewed their campaign for the kangaroo meat industry to be shut down, saying the meat can carry a potentially dangerous disease.
Animal Liberation and the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia want the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) to urgently act on the issue.
Ninety per cent of kangaroo meat in the $200 million-a-year industry is exported.
Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia executive officer John Kelly said toxoplasmosis is a risk in all undercooked meat.
"Kangaroos can have significantly lower levels of toxoplasmosis than the sheep population," Mr Kelly said.
"It presents a minimal risk to humans."
Apparently police officers in the US wear boots made from kangaroo skin.
Terminator, Becks in US roo skin rowhttp://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Terminator-Becks-in-US-roo-skin-row/2007/06/01/1180205480067.html
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and soccer glamour boy David Beckham have become central figures in an Australian kangaroo cruelty campaign in the US.
At stake is a potential export market worth tens of millions of dollars for the Australian kangaroo export industry and the right for Californian sports stars to wear shoes made from soft, lightweight kangaroo skin.
It is illegal to import kangaroo skins and meat to California, but Schwarzenegger is likely rule in September whether to keep the ban.
California is the only US state to have the ban.
The prospect of Schwarzenegger legalising the importation of kangaroo has angered US animal rights activists, who have responded by launching a state-wide campaign.
It has been adidas, which has spent more than $US435,000 ($A526,000) lobbying the California legislature, and the LA Galaxy, that have led the fight to have the ban overturned.
The LA Galaxy argues its players are at a disadvantage as other clubs outside California playing in America's Major League Soccer competition can wear kangaroo leather shoes, which are light and soft.
On Tuesday, after four years of failed attempts, adidas and the LA Galaxy were successful when the Senate passed a bill that would allow kangaroo product to be imported and sold in California if the species was not protected by laws in the US and abroad.
There are 55 species of kangaroo and six, including red, eastern and western, that can be commercially harvested in Australia.
The next hurdle for adidas and the LA Galaxy is California's Assembly.
If the assembly approves the bill it will then go to Schwarzenegger who could sign it and make it law or veto it.
"If the bill does pass the assembly we will ask Governor Schwarzenegger to veto the bill," Karpel said.
California to allow roo saleshttp://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21643150-5001021,00.html
CALIFORNIA is poised to overturn a 35-year ban on kangaroo imports.
But Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia executive officer John Kelly said kangaroo products were already legally sold in the US under federal laws and three separate court challenges had found the national rules override any state bans.
If the Californian law was passed it would be welcome but would not have a major impact on Australia's $200 million-a-year roo industry.