Kangaroo Massacre in Australia!!

Imagine this. A mother kangaroo, grooming her beautiful joey at night in the vast wild outback, hears the sound of a four wheel drive and stands transfixed, sensing danger. Searchlights are shone at her. A man takes aim, supposedly to shoot her in the head - but blows a hole in her neck. She falls in pain, helpless to save her joey who retreats into her pouch. But there’s no escape. The hunter pulls the joey out of his mother's blood spattered body, tosses him to the ground and stamps on his head. He writhes in agony and is left to die. (Older joeys who frantically hop away when their mothers are shot, have no chance of survival. They die a slow, lonely death from starvation or cold.)

The shot mother does not die instantly. She struggles as the hunter slits her leg open, thrusts a hook through it and hangs her upside down on a truck. She is knifed, gutted, her head, tail and legs tossed aside. This is the fate of Australia’s national emblem.

The official number of kangaroos set to be killed for export in 2006 is 3.8 million, slaughtered mainly for their skin and meat. Official statistics ignore the millions of joeys (young kangaroos) who also die when their mothers are shot, which vastly increases the true scale of the slaughter. When non-commercial and illegal kills are included, together with the large number of road kills, the figure could be doubled.

Kangaroos are killed commercially for their meat and skin. Traditionally, their skin has been used to make football boots and their meat used in pet food. John Kelly of the Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia says: “Many people don’t realise that most of the goals kicked in world class soccer are kicked with kangaroo leather.”

World's leading sports material manufacturer Adidas and their "Predator" boot, worn and promoted by well-known football players is being reportedly manufactured from Kangaroo leather. Adidas is far and away the leader in "premier football boots," holding 70 per cent of the market worldwide. Adidas is a driving force behind an industry that bludgeons millions of young joeys to death every year.

The following can be done to prevent Kangaroo massacre:

• Do not buy kangaroo leather! Choose football boots, baseball gloves and handbags that are made from modern synthetic materials instead.
• Write "letters to the editor" to daily and weekly newspapers, and to radio and TV stations. Contact relevant talk shows and raise this question.
• Support Animal Friends Croatia and VIVA.
• Please don't buy any Adidas products until they stop taking part in the largest wildlife massacre in the world. Please join the fight to save these magnificent animals.

For further details visit:
http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=60
http://www.savethekangaroo.com/resources/KangarooReport.shtml