Groups rally for ‘roo awareness

LOCAL members of Australia’s animal ethics groups convened at the front of Ballarat’s Town Hall in support of a Melbourne-based protest taking place at the same time.

The action was coordinated by members of the Animal Justice Party and Victorian Kangaroo Alliance and aimed to raising awareness about what protesters claim is industry cruelty towards Australia’s signature animal.

Holly Sitters, leader of the Animal Justice Party’s Ballarat Regional Group said a key aim of the event was to support the goals behind the Melbourne-based protest.

“In Melbourne the focus is on Adidas because recently Nike and Puma agreed to stop using kangaroo leather in production of their sports shoes,” she said. “Adidas have yet to do the same.

“We’re trying to put some pressure on them to follow in their steps. We haven’t had a protest in Ballarat since before COVID so we wanted to make a clear message to stop shooting kangaroos.

“Currently, it’s legal to kill more than 200,000 kangaroos across the state. That level of shooting is unsustainable.”

Diane Roberts, a member of the Victorian Kangaroo Alliance and Animal Justice Party said it’s important their message is heard.

“We’re losing our native species,” she said. “They say there’s millions of kangaroos, there aren’t.

“If you look around now, there’s barely any kangaroos so if we don’t stop soon, another species will be headed towards extinction.”

The protest was also supported by members of the Collective Fashion Justice, Defend the Wild, and Kangaroos Alive groups.