Kangaroo industry 'not concerned' at New Balance plan to stop using kangaroo leather

The KIAA says it isn't concerned by news that US-based athletic wear giant New Balance is joining Nike and Puma in stopping production of football boots made from kangaroo leather.

The latest announcement was applauded by the Center for a Humane Economy, which has had a Kangaroos are not Shoes campaign running for more than three years.

"New Balance deserves our praise for pledging to disassociate itself from the wildlife-skin trade," the group's president, Wayne Pacelle said.

"The two biggest athletic shoe sellers based in the United States have announced in 2023 that they will rapidly phase out sourcing kangaroo skins for soccer shoes, and there's no question that the decisions will diminish the financing of the commercial massacres of kangaroos in their native habitats in Australia."

Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia executive assistant Dennis King said the organisation was construing a business decision to suit its narrative.

"That was the same for Nike and Puma - they were quite adamant they were trialling new products they'd developed," he said. "Overall, we see it as a corporate decision that's been in the winds for a couple of years."

Mr King said if the new synthetic material was as good for the welfare of players as kangaroo leather was, they'd be content, but he expected the shoe manufacturers would return to kangaroo for its uniform fibre qualities.

"People are also realising microplastics are going into the environment - that doesn't happen with leather," he said.

A federal Agriculture Department spokesperson said they were aware of the decision by New Balance to phase out the use of kangaroo leather in their products, by December 2024, and was "working to dispel the myth, which persists both in Australia and overseas, that commercial kangaroo harvesting is a threat to the species".

"Australia's management of the kangaroo population is firmly underpinned by science and is conducted first and foremost to achieve conservation outcomes," the spokesperson said.

"Australia's commercial kangaroo industry operates under close government oversight and must adhere to a mandatory humane code of practice which was developed in consultation with animal welfare scientists.

"Importantly, no adverse long-term impacts on kangaroo populations have been identified after more than forty years of harvesting under commercial management plans."

The spokesperson said senior officials from the department had met with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Office of the United States Trade Representative to convey directly to the US administration, the details, and arrangements that Australia has in place with respect to the commercial kangaroo industry, including the regulations, National (Commercial) Code of Practice, sustainability, quality, and welfare standards.

"Australian officials based in the US are working with state representatives and industry groups to continue to emphasise the regulatory credentials and sustainability and conservation standards of our kangaroo industry to legislators in states where bills are proposing to ban the import of kangaroo products, including kangaroo leather," they said.

"Australian officials based in the European Union also continue to undertake coordinated advocacy with the European Commission and European Parliament alongside industry representatives to explain the sustainability and present accurate accounts of the kangaroo industry in Australia."

US politicians Brian Fitzpatrick and Jan Schakowsky introduced a bipartisan bill earlier this year, aimed at banning the US sale of kangaroo products. A federal kangaroo products ban proposed in 2021 didn't move forward.

The US state of California banned the sale of kangaroo products in 1971, and a similar bill was introduced in the Oregon legislature earlier this year.

Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy have assisted in the introduction of both federal and state legislation banning the import and sale of kangaroo products in Arizona, Connecticut, New Jersey, Oregon and Vermont.

"It's unconscionable that millions of native wild animals in Australia have been killed for the sake of high-end soccer cleats worn by a subset of elite soccer players," Democratic Oregon Senator Floyd Prozanski said.

KIAA's Dennis King said there was still strong demand for kangaroo leather worldwide, as there was for kangaroo meat.

"There's more meat in Coles stores around Australia than there has been for ages," he said.

"We're back on sales in Europe, due to its exceptionally long and hot summer, but we're working hard on new market opportunities.

"We're working closely with the department to get audits done so that imports into new countries in the Asian region can be approved.

"We expect mid-next year we might have an answer."

Mr King said the reality of the debate was that harvesting of kangaroos had to happen to maintain biodiversity, otherwise millions of small animals would be killed off by overgrazing.