Kangaroo industry takes aim at its critics in the US

Australia is launching a media campaign in the US to promote kangaroo as "one of the world's most beautiful, lightest, and strongest leathers".

This social media push orchestrated by the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia also aims to promote kangaroo leather as sustainably and responsibly sourced.

Only in the past week US animal activists launched legal action against a sports shoe manufacturer for selling soccer boots made from kangaroo leather.

They claim these sales are against Californian law..

These activists, and others in Europe, have taken aim at the industry because of Australia's nation-wide culling programs.

The activists claim those government-sponsored programs amount to a mass slaughter.

About two million kangaroos are harvested in Australia each year depending in state quotas, from a total population estimated by the industry to be close to 50 million.

The KIAA wants designers of fashion, footwear and apparel to embrace kangaroo leather with the launch of its campaign.

The US is the second biggest buyer of kangaroo products behind Europe, and the US trade alone is worth about $80 million annually.

The campaign - the first in its KIAA's history - showcases one of the world's most beautiful, lightest and strongest leathers.

KIAA president Ray Borda said not only do people expect beautiful products, they're looking for exceptional performance.

"Kangaroo leather is unique as it has an ultra-thin fibre structure which provides greater strength and longevity," Mr Borda said.

"Today, with domestic and international certification schemes allowing consumers to determine whether the source of their leather is sustainable and ethical, it has become a natural choice for leading designers."

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The commercial industry employs more than 3000 people across Australia, predominantly from rural and remote areas, and supports local farmers.

Mr Borda said commercial kangaroo harvesting is considered by the scientific community, government, animal welfare experts, indigenous groups, and the agricultural industry as a responsible way to manage kangaroo numbers while boosting the economy.

"All KIAA kangaroo leather is a by-product of the meat industry which would otherwise end up in landfill. Our priority is to use ethical and sustainable practices to turn a by-product into a valuable, premium product," he said.

To view the social campaign As an Artisan and for more information about how kangaroo leather is made, visit www.kangarooindustry.com/performanceleather.

Australia last year launched a diplomatic campaign in the US to try and better explain the kangaroo leather and meat industries.

Diplomats were charged with rebuffing "a myth that persists that commercial kangaroo harvesting is a threat to the species".