Off the menu? An animal rights campaign is calling on the EU to stop importing kangaroo meat from Australia.
A campaign calling on the European Union to boycott the import of all kangaroo products has the potential to destroy Australia’s A$270 million a year kangaroo meat industry as well as the country’s fragile ecosystem.
Opposition spokesman for regional development and emerging trade markets Mark Coulton says he’s very disturbed by the campaign conducted by a small group of ill-informed and emotive animal rights activists who are very selective with their facts.
“I receive very regular emails from people all over the world calling on me and the Australian government to ban the culling of kangaroos on the basis that is barbaric and is threatening to endanger the species,” he says.
“The groups behind these campaigns are very selective with their facts and conveniently ignore the problems being caused to Australia’s fragile ecosystem by the abundance of kangaroos in this country. It is very misguided, and with the nation’s kangaroo export industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, it is also potentially very damaging.”
Coulton says the industry employs 4000 regional Australians and many of these jobs would be immediately threatened if such a ban were to be imposed.
He says a ban on the importation of kangaroo products into Europe could potentially see a further explosion in kangaroo numbers and increase the risk of erosion of many of the nation’s most vulnerable ecosystems.
“The simple fact is that there are far too many kangaroos in Australia and they need to be harvested to keep the population under control,” he says.
“To suggest that somehow because of its standing as an international symbol of this country the kangaroo should be protected is a ludicrous and emotive argument that ignores the damage that unchecked kangaroo populations do to properties and natural environments throughout regional Australia.”
Coulton hopes the EU objectively analyses the facts surrounding the harvesting of kangaroos before making any changes to the import arrangements of kangaroo products.
“The kangaroo industry is heavily regulated and great efforts are made to ensure that it is sustainable and humane,” he says. “I sincerely hope common sense prevails.”
