News

1 Oct 1997

Bistros Encouraging 'Roo Slaughter

Shocked by Viva!’s national expose of brutal kangaroo killing (News of the World, Sep 21), people all over Britain are being asked to boycott trendy bistros who sell ‘exotic’ meats such as kangaroo. Four species have already been made extinct and as Australians refuse to eat kangaroo meat it is the export trade which is responsible for the biggest wildlife massacre in the world.

“Kangaroo meat, being sold as an expensive delicacy here in Britain, is a product of acute suffering. Its unpleasant taste is a masked with heavy sauces and the brutal way in which it is obtained is masked with resounding silence”, says Juliet Gellatley, director of Viva! “This slaughter of wild animals is a disgrace, with over 10 million killed in Australia every year. four million of them are baby kangaroos. Those in pouch are wrenched out, stamped on, decapitated or hit against a tree. Juveniles flee in terror and hide in the bush from predation or starvation,” adds Ms Gellatley. Viva! is so concerned that it has produced a major report - The Killing of Kangaroos for Meat.

Many of those selling the meat claim the killing is humane and done by licensed shooters under a strict Code of Practice. This is strongly denied - by the man who wrote the Code, vet Dr. John Auty BVSc: “Shooters often have a thorough contempt of the law and Code and commit cruelty on a regular basis. The Code is voluntary and unenforceable.” Viva! has chilling video footage of ‘legal’ slaughter which supports Dr Auty’s view.

“It seems that anything can be justified with the excuse ‘choice’”, says Ms Gellatley. “Some people would eat live monkey brains if they were given the opportunity. We live in a country awash with meat and to add wild animals to the list gives real meaning to the word ‘decadent’. What next? Tigers or elephants - perhaps even gorillas?

“This new fad is contributing to the profitability of a killing industry which is in real danger of making the kangaroo extinct. We are asking anyone who sells the meat to show some compassion and take it off the menu; we are asking everyone else to reject it and to complain loudly to those who insist on putting profit before pain. The stupid thing is, those who eat it are also risking their health. The meat has to be undercooked to be palatable the perfect breeding ground for its many parasites, bacteria and viruses.”

Other stockists of Kangaroo meat include Tesco and Sainsbury. The Co-op and Safeway have refuse to sell it for reasons of animal welfare.