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Watch the DVD movie
 BackgroundAfter being contacted by a whistleblower within the kangaroo industry, Animal protection groups from around Australia rallied together to expose the cruelty, contamination & dwindling numbers of certain kangaroo species who are slaughtered for a niche export market where profits are earnt by a select few. The groups, including Animal Liberation, Wildlife Protection Association of Australia, Australian Wildlife Protection Council Inc., Animals Australia & others have been investigating the industry for the last 2 years and have found damning evidence which will more than likely halt this brutal trade. Note the whistleblower will remain anonymous for safety reasons. InvestigationOver 24 chillers around NSW and Southern QLD were inspected and swabs of Kangaroo carcasses taken. In summary, the findings suggest:
Female Kangaroos hanging in chiller
This means that there is a population imbalance between males and females. Obviously there are more females than males now as most of the big males have already been shot which leaves the females to be shot.
2. Many of the carcasses were only just above the minimum 'human consumption' weight (NSW) of 13kg, some actually weighed less. Females at this weight would be unlikely to even have had their first joey. The kangaroos allowed to be killed in NSW and QLD are Reds, Eastern Greys and Western Greys. Obviously there were male carcasses in the chillers, however none of them were even close to what would be considered a 'big red' which would have a carcass weight of around 45kg.
Carcass contaminated with faecal matter
The results showed muscle tissue having an active growth of these microbes from low to heavy growth.
4. The Australian Government approved method of killing a joey at foot is to either bash it over the head with a heavy object, or chop its head off with an axe. This is written into the 'Code of practice for the humane Killing of kangaroos'. This is essentially too brutal to think about, and the image lends itself to that of seal pups being brutally bashed to death on the ice of Canada.
Orphaned joey
ActionSeveral Australian wildlife groups have lodged an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with regards to several issues listed above. This is a Tribunal which decide on the legitimacy and legality of Government decisions - i.e. the decision to 'cull' kangaroos and what numbers to 'cull'. If the issues above are not addressed at the Tribunal, the wildlife groups will appeal to the Federal Court of Australia until this issue is looked into seriously and a real decision is made by a real Court of Law. For more information on the plight of Kangaroos, please go to:At the end of the investigation in March this year, knowing we needed to move with this information quickly, Animal Liberation and the WPAA sent a delegation overseas to Russia (biggest export country) and Europe to inform not only the public about these concerns, but the relevant health ministers in the various countries as well as EU representatives. So far there has been significant media attention in Russia and several restaurants have been visited in Berlin, as well as the Consular General, Foreign Affairs and Trade based in the Australian Embassy, Berlin. One of the main Russian TV stations recently visited the offices of Animal Liberation NSW to conduct interviews, this will hopefully be aired soon. The true outcome of any meetings will not be known for some time, immediately after this meeting took place however, we do know that the leading company which exports Kangaroo meat for human consumption closed all its chiller doors in NSW, which, as far as a discerning eye can tell, is as big an admission of guilt if ever there were one.
What can you do?If you come across any restaurant selling kangaroo meat, be it in Australia or overseas, please let us know. If you know of somewhere that has stopped selling kangaroo meat because of the cruelty involved, please also let us know. Below is a sample letter which you could use to contact the following people/companies to let them know what you think about killing of kangaroos. If you would like a copy of the Kangaroo campaign DVD to view and/or to post with your letter, please contact our office and we will send one out. National Parks and Wildlife Service, responsible for NSW quotasThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it QLD Minister responsible for quotas in that stateThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it German restaurants serving or distributing Kangaroo meatCorroboree:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Austrian Restaurants selling or distributing Kangaroo meatBillabong: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Koala: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it German food- monitoring company:Foodwatch: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it French restaurant serving Kangaroo meat:L'Epicerie, 30 rue Montorgueil, 75001 Paris, France. (No email sorry, however after several conversations with the owner of this restaurant he is refusing to move on the issue, he also believes that Kangaroos are 'farmed'. However we're in the process of dispelling this myth. Please post your letters to this restaurant so they know what we really feel.) Kiwi Corner: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it French Kangaroo meat distributorsThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it France - Health ministry contacts:General email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Didier Houssin : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Russian restaurant serving Kangaroo meatAustralian Open: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Russian Customs responsible for the importation and inspection of Kangaroo meatThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Sample LetterDear ......, Re: Commercial Kangaroo Industry I am writing to you concerning the plight of Kangaroos in Australia. It has been brought to my attention that there are at least 5 serious problems with the current legal killing of kangaroos for commercial purposes in Australia.
I along with many other Australians am calling on you to cease your involvement in the commercial harvesting of kangaroos immediately. This will have virtually no effect on Australia's economy, or that of overseas economies which import kangaroo meat. The Russian National Meat Association spokesperson has already stated that kangaroo meat is not a relevant contributor to their economy. I have enclosed a 7 minute DVD which outlines the findings of the above investigation. I await your response. Yours Sincerely, Name, Address Press clippings to dateRussia
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