About 100 Viva! supporters dressed as CROCODILE DUNDEE and KANGAROOS will be picketing the Sainsbury's store in London Road, Brighton on Saturday, 25 July at 10.50am. They will be handing out leaflets to Sainsbury's customers and highlighting the plight of millions of kangaroos and their babies which are killed every year for meat and leather. (Many other Sainsbury's stores will also be targeted in the Sussex region by Viva!'s local groups.)

Viva! director in Brighton, Juliet Gellatley, said: "The Australian Government is sanctioning the greatest wildlife massacre in the world and, through Sainsbury's, is selling the results of this carnage to a gullible British public as part of its promotion of 'exotic' meats. Every excuse offered by Sainsbury's for the extermination of kangaroos is scientifically unsupportable - it is being done simply for profit. Customers have no way of knowing this unless we tell them. This is local consumer choice in practice."

As a result of a recent fact finding visit to Australia, Viva! has authored a detailed report on the kangaroo killing industry. Called Under Fire, it challenges every one of the claims made by Sainsbury's in defence of its trade in kangaroo meat. It accuses the store of over-estimating the kangaroo population and underestimating the numbers killed. Through scientific studies it also challenges Sainsbury's claims that kangaroos damage crops, compete with sheep for grazing and destroy the environment.

"Most disturbing of all is the blatant cruelty involved in the trade", adds Juliet Gellatley, "particularly the destruction of millions of babies - 'joeys' - who are either wrenched from their mothers pouches and clubbed to death or are left to die from exposure.

"We have extraordinary video footage of the killing taking place, including kangaroos being shot in the throat and one having its leg sliced open to take a meat hook before being hauled up on to a truck while still conscious. Each female that is shot has her pouch searched for a joey. In one instance, the video shows a tiny, terrified joey being hauled out, thrown to the ground and the shooter grinding his heel on its head. His son then does the same and the little creature is left writhing in agony on the ground. This is the reality of Sainsbury's 'exotic' meats."
Sainsbury's is now the last national chain store selling kangaroo meat. Safeway, Marks & Spencer and the Co-op have refused to stock it for moral reasons. Due to a previous Viva! campaign, Tesco withdrew the meat from sale while Somerfield cancelled plans to introduce it.
"Six species of kangaroo have already been made extinct and with over 9 million being killed every year others will follow as Australia accelerates the exploitation of its wildlife", concludes Ms Gellatley. "It's no good us crying crocodile tears over animals such as tigers and rhinos once they have been virtually destroyed. In the case of kangaroos, the time to act is now, while we can still save them. With 75 per cent of the world's species in decline or facing extinction it is vital that our supermarkets develop some morality and stop acting as Trojan horses for the destruction of the world's wildlife. We hope the public will respond by hitting Sainsbury's in the only place which seems to matter to them - their wallet."