<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>332113</docID> <postdate>2024-10-31 07:27:26</postdate> <headline>Demand to pressure US senators out of kangaroo ban</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-332114" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20170802001313324701-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="598" /></p> <caption>Australian politicians are fighting to dissuade US senators from banning kangaroo products. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Luke Costin</strong> in Sydney</span></p> <p><strong>Influential US senators are being urged to reject a kangaroo import ban that has fostered a rare bipartisan movement Down Under.</strong></p> <p>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.</p> <p>Now, a bill before the US Senate backed by a former presidential aspirant aims to outlaw all kangaroo leather products.</p> <p>But a group of Australian politicians and diplomats are mounting a campaign to dissuade senators against supporting the measure.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Wild Game Industry Council president Ray Borda said stopping kangaroo leather exports would have ramifications outside harming the $200 million industry.</p> <p>"It would hurt Australia more," he told AAP.</p> <p>"The farming community, the pastoralists, road accidents, the environment - we're just a tool of the management program to keep numbers under control."</p> <p>While meat is the most common kangaroo product, leather ensures more of the animal carcass is used.</p> <p>Humane Society International Australia has criticised the commercial culls and disputed the level of transparency, regulation and compliance of kangaroo management in NSW.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p>Mr Borda denied several claims put forward by animal activists, saying the industry was among the most audited and inspected in the nation.</p> <p>"They work very much not on science, not on facts - just emotion," he said.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>He has compared Australia's kangaroo culls to Canada's controversial annual seal hunts, which triggered the US to ban the import of pelts in 1972.</p> <p>Some proponents have claimed the culls will drive kangaroos to extinction.</p> <p>About 36 million kangaroos live in commercial harvest areas in the five mainland states, with about 1.3 million killed in 2023.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>"That's criticism against my work as a scientist ... (but) the science stacks up," he said.</p> <p>"There's plenty of kangaroos. It's a very sustainable industry and very heavily regulated."</p> <p>That position was backed by Penny Sharpe, the custodian of 9.5 million kangaroos in NSW.</p> <p>"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.</p> <p>The federal government said it supported the international trade of ethically and sustainably produced animal products, including meat, skins and hides.</p> <p>The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the US bill and Australian diplomats "continue monitoring and advocacy as appropriate".</p> </body>