exports

"Meeting a friend out walking one morning." Photo by Wildlife Carer, Anne-Marie.

"Russia has just announced a ban on all kangaroo products from the 1st August, citing consistent contamination. For those that are unaware, the kangaroo meat exported to Russia is manufacturing meat. This is forequarter bones with meat attached, offal, trimmings and bruising, all put through a grinder and turned into slush, then boxed, snap frozen and exported. The Russians use it for salami and sausage mostly. They add chopped root vegetables and fat, fill the slush into sausage casings, and smoke them. Its then hung for some weeks until cured, then eaten. This is what our politicians have been doing in China lately, trying to convince the Chinese to buy the rejected Russian export kangaroo slush." Pat O'Brien

Perhaps our politicians think that, because China already has world attention due to contaminates in material used for baby formula and pet food, where babies died and pets died, that it won't matter if we push contaminated roo meat on them. Let us hope that is not the case.

Film and Interviews

For more from Pat O'Brien, President of Wildlife Protection Association of Australia, on the problems attached to preparing and exporting kangaroo meat, see these films:
"Meatworks", at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY1UD7GpYsw
"Lay Reports on Kangaroo Numbers"

See also, "Urgent Need for Wildlife Corridors in Australia" from the Australian Wildlife Protection Council.

Petition against kangaroo shoots and other resources

A petition is also available, calling for a moratorium on commercial and non-commercial kangaroo killing.

For an extraordinary series of photographs documenting the behaviour and interaction of wildlife with each other and carers click here

Kangaroos are being killed in areas where they are quasi extinct. Learn more at http://www.stopkangarookilling.org

Picture of protected young orphans by Wildlife Carer, Anne-Marie.

Russia blames food safety for Australian kangaroo meat ban

Thursday, 09/07/2009

On the ABC it was reported that Russia has banned all kangaroo meat from being imported to the country.
It has been claimed that the news "is a massive blow to the Australian kangaroo harvesting industry as Russia takes up to 70 per cent of supply and that the industry contributes up to $270 million to the Australian economy per year and employs over 4000 people." LiveExportShame queries these figures.

Peas are 'harvested'; Kangaroos are 'slaughtered'

People who disapprove of the way that Kangaroos are hunted or that they are hunted at all query the sanitising terminology of 'harvesting'. This comment appeared at LiveExportShame: "The kangaroos are SLAUGHTERED not 'harvested'. Thats what is done with peas."

Project officer with the Queensland Macropod and Wild Game Harvesters Association, Tom Garrett, said that "They're saying that there's a systemic problem with the import of Kangaroo meat into Russia and their quoting E-coli in one shipment so I believe it's a little bit to do with politics as well," he says. Mr Garrett says the ban come in on the 1st of August this year and it will see the price of kangaroo meat become worthless.ABC original source

Peter Garret and Law (EPBC) Policy & the System

Pat O'Brien was very disappointed with Mr Garrett's failure to carry through with pre-election committments to reform the EPBC Act. See "Law (EPBC), Policy & the System" interview here about those promises and contrast with Garrett and his government's conduct towards our wildlife. This film also gives a very commonsense appraisal of the ideal of maintaining kangaroos in the wild by making them our national dish when we have 21.6 million people here and growing rapidly, and looks at the history of 'wild life for food scams'.

ZOONOSIS: (zo"o-no'sis) pl. zoono'ses - a disease of animals that may be transmitted to man under natural conditions.

The simplest definition of a zoonosis is a disease that can be transmitted from other vertebrate animals to humans. A slightly more technical definition is a disease that normally infects other animals, but can also infect humans. It is hard to be certain which diseases jumped from other animals to humans, but there is good evidence that measles, smallpox, influenza, HIV, and diphtheria came to us this way. The common cold, and tuberculosis, may also have started in other species.

The majority of pathogen species causing disease in humans are zoonotic - estimated at 75% of all human diseases in Australia.

Zoonotic diseases can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.

Wildlife

Diseases of wildlife can cause significant illness and death to individual animals and can significantly affect wildlife populations. Wildlife species can also serve as natural hosts for certain diseases that affect humans (zoonoses).

Many rare species are being pushed towards extinction by exposure to human illnesses, scientists say.

New diseases threaten humans and wildlife

Scientists believe human encroachment into wild areas is hastening the emergence of new viruses that are passing from animals to people.

According to David Obendorf, Wildlife Veterinary Pathologist, there have been several new and emerging diseases in Australian wildlife that warrant greater research investment.
Some novel disease processes or exotic pathogens have the potential to threaten the long-term survival of native species (for example, the chytrid fungus infection in frogs and the facial tumour disease of Tasmanian devils). As wildlife populations become increasing separated through habitat degradation, the threat of extinction through disease or other health impacts caused by man-made influences grows.

Livestock

Zoonotic diseases also have increased over the years because of human and animal populations living in closer proximity. Farming practices in Southeast Asia as an example.

H1N1 influenza is just one more example of a zoonosis that can "jump" from one species to another and may begin to act differently in a new host.

Human behavior was a key factor driving the emergence of the diseases, the scientists said in a statement which listed pet ownership, global air travel, "food preference" (meat) and poverty.

Animal-to-human diseases increasing expert warns

Kangaroo exports as an emerging trade

Kangaroos and wallabies can harbour a wide range of parasitic, bacterial, fungal and viral diseases and the majority of infections are unapparent.

Dr David Obendorf: Suffice to say issues such as poor killing practices, delays in gutting carcasses, delays in refrigerating carcasses, inappropriate sanitation and effluent management, the inadequate long-term chilling of carcasses, and failure to use of potable water are the most obvious causes of bacterial contamination of meat product that can lead to human health risks from bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter.

Diseases in Kangaroo Meat

It is possible that the weakened genetic pool due to continually shooting the healthiest, strongest animals is responsible for increased disease levels in kangaroos. Kangaroos harbour a vast range of parasites - many increase with stress and crowding.

Australian doctors in 1997 warned of a new threat to human health from eating kangaroo meat. Dr Erika Cox, clinical microbiologist at Launceston General Hospital, said: "Laboratory tests suggest a new species of microscopic worm is responsible." She added: "People who eat kangaroos and wallabies are at risk of all kinds of parasites that are not normally studied because they don't occur in livestock."

A Viva report on the killing of kangaroos for meat and skin

If this trade becomes further established, no wild animal will be safe and it would further threat the safety and existence of kangaroos- the animals that Australia has betrayed! It is no coincidence that in our “Bush Capital”, Canberra, so-called “experts” have degraded Eastern Grey Kangaroos as an environmental “threat” and a “pest” species just when the meat trade to China was quietly revealed! Their kangaroos are being “culled” in the name of conservation, while the real threats to native species, such as livestock, feral rabbits, urban sprawl, continue unabated!

It is time for those with vision and compassion to work within Australia and in the countries that import kangaroo meat and skin on a concerted consumer campaign to stop this evil trade for good.