Starvation in drought
But recent droughts in some areas may cause kangaroos to starve, foraging near towns and getting closer and closer to people. Evidenced by all the dead bodies that litter the edges of Australian roads. A new period of prolonged drought will lead to a real massacre. For environmental societies, slaughtering kangaroos for their meat or skins would spare them suffering from starvation and regulate the population.
“This limits the number of animals so that in the event of a drought, there are no welfare issues,” Australian ecologist Catherine Mosby, who specializes in reintroducing the species, told AFP. “If we view them as a resource and manage them that way, we won’t have the catastrophic deaths that we see,” she continues. If the message seems contradictory to the values of ecologists, she believes the challenge remains to conserve species. Reducing their number will allow them to feed themselves better and better resist drought.
“slaughter for commercial purposes”
But not all environmental organizations are on the same page. Some emphasize the lack of ethics in the mass slaughter of these animals, especially on the part of major brands such as Nike or Puma, which use kangaroo skin in their clothing. In Australia, hunting is permitted in much of the territory as this species is not in danger of extinction. “These endemic animals are being slaughtered for commercial profit,” laments Animal Australia, which condemns the “cruel slaughter.”
