A delegation representing the Aboriginal community in Australia visited the Brussels and Flemish Parliaments in Brussels ahead of the World Kangaroo Day on 24 October and called on an EU-wide ban on import of kangaroo meat and leather into the EU.
The visit was organized by GAIA, Belgium’s leading animal welfare and rights organisation, which has organized campaigns against import of kangaroo products. Belgium is the main European importer and the second largest globally. The annual import amounts to around 280 tonnes of kangaroo meat from 80,000 killed animals.
However, the import has decreased in recent years. According to Australian export data, Belgium in 2019 imported 775 tonnes of meat, valued to €3,3 million or ca one third of the total export from Australia.
Part of the import to the port of Antwerp is redistributed to other EU Member States. In Belgium, supermarkets have stopped selling kangaroo meat since 2020 thanks to GAIA’s campaigns and it is mainly used for animal feed for pets. Kangaroo meat is fit for human consumption only if it is based on selective killings,
"Now that the Belgian parliamentarians have been made aware of what constitutes the largest massacre of wild land animals in the world, we expect a strong reaction from them and the introduction of legislation banning the commercialisation of kangaroo meat and skins,” said Sébastien de Jonge, Director of Operations at GAIA.
GAIA however regretted that the Animal Welfare Committee of the Walloon Parliament declined to organized a hearing on the issue. From Brussels the Aboriginal delegation continued to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to be heard by MEPs of the Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals.
According to GAIA, commercial hunting of kangaroos represents the largest killing of wild land animals in the world, with a hunting quota set at 7.5 million individuals in 2024. The hunting takes place at night with reduced visibility which complicates shooting. Around 40% of kangaroos are not killed immediately and are killed in a cruel way.
As previously reported, the increase in the number of kangaroos in Australia because of weather conditions has sparked a debate about allowing massive hunting of the animals to manage the number of the population and save the remaining animals from starving to death.
“Europeans have no idea about the droughts which beset us for years after years,” an Australian who emigrated from Brussels commented. “Kangaroos leave their bush habitat when depleted of verdure and take over pastoral land, they rip out the tufts of grass to the inclusion of the roots, thus no future fodder when the rain does eventually come. That explains culling expeditions by farmers.”
But wild life experts disagree with this approach. “There is no proof that there are more kangaroos today than in the past,” Dr Dror Ben-Ami, an Israeli-Australian zoologist and co-founder and associate researcher at the Centre for Compassionate Conservation, University of Technology Sydney, told The Brussels Times.
“Kangaroo populations typically oscillate in boom-and-bust cycles in response to rainfall events,” he explains. “In fact, rainfall and subsequent available food is known to be the primary determinant of kangaroo populations, not predation (killing by other animals) or commercial killing.”
A symbol of Aboriginal culture
“The kangaroo is a symbol that is deeply rooted in our culture,” commented Peter Hewitt and Ricky Buchanan of the Back To Country association in Australia. “The commercial hunting has a destructive impact on our spiritual and cultural identity.”
“The industry believes that hunting is necessary to regulate the population but this is a 200 old story which isn’t based on scientific data," they told The Brussels Times. “We as Aboriginal people, the indigenous population, knows that there is no need for hunting on such a large scale as is taking place now.”
“In our culture, we are allowed to kill kangaroos, but only for our own needs of traditional food, tools and medicine. We don’t kill many, only a few old animals at the end of their life and at the right time of the year. We feel a responsibility for them because they are part of our ancient culture. Kangaroos are important for us but not for the commercial reasons and interests of the industry.”
“The stories that hunting is necessary for controlling the population are simply not true. It’s not possible for the population to increase to such an extent that its survival would be threatened,” they explained.
“As local communities, we have been observing kangaroos for centuries or thousands of years. We know what is best for the kangaroos. We have learned in our culture to live with the land. We believe in healing the land and healing people and the connection between them.”
Can they influence the kangaroo policy in Australia and prevent excessive hunting? In recent years, the Aboriginal community has become more empowered and can claim land rights based on traditional occupation but they still only control ca 5 % of the land. “We don’t have the influence we would like to have. We can try to talk with farmers, but that’s it.”
Australia does have national parks for all wildlife, inclusive of kangaroos, but they cover only approximately 3% of what was once an un-colonised landscape.
Some major brands like Nike and Puma have announced that they are phasing out production of shoes made of kangaroo leather in response to public ethical concerns about the killing of kangaroos and the availability of suitable alternative material. “It makes a difference but is far from enough. Other companies should follow them.”
Are you in favor of a total ban on import of kangaroo products to Europe or could the import be allowed if certain animal welfare standards were met? Their message to the European Parliament is clear.
“We don’t believe that the hunting can be regulated. For that we would have to monitor and control the current inhuman killing methods and that’s simply not possible. The only way to reduce the demand for kangaroo products is by banning them totally in Europe, to which most of the products are exported.”
A survey in September 2024 showed that 77% of Walloons and 74% of residents in Brussels are in favour of banning the import of kangaroo meat. A majority of respondents believes that the commercial hunt of kangaroos should be stopped because of a number of concerns (animal welfare, environment, public health and protection of indigenous culture).
M. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
