Speak Out for the Kangaroos

Posted 06/22/2006 

California Residents: Speak Out for Kangaroos

Please take action today to protect kangaroos from falling victim to commercial interests. If passed, AB 734 would remove the existing ban on the importation and sale of any part or product made of kangaroo.

Existing law prohibits the importation or commercial trade in the bodies and body parts of certain animals. The list of animals includes kangaroos, tigers, polar bears, and other rare wild animals. However, AB 734 would require that, of the animals on this list, kangaroos be listed as endangered before receiving these protections under state law. In other words, it
would require that certain species of kangaroos be driven to the brink of extinction before being afforded protection from commercial exploitation by fashion and sporting wear industries.

This bill, AB 734, has been introduced in an attempt to eliminate longstanding protections for kangaroos.

The commercial use and sale of wildlife often results in over-exploitation and abuse because financial incentive can override responsible management. For these reasons, California for many years has strongly restricted or prohibited the commercial use of its own native wildlife species.

Likewise, we should continue to extend the same responsibility and consideration to the wildlife of other countries.

What You Can Do

Please do the following to help protect animals the kangaroos:

1. Please contact your state Senator and urge him/her to oppose AB 734. Letters, calls, faxes, and emails are requested. Talking points are listed below.

If you do not know the name of your Senator, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html. Enter your zip code and press “search” and you will be given the name and contact information of your Senator. Or you can call the Government Information Hotline at 916-322-9900 and give
the operator your address — the operator will tell you the name of your Senator and you can leave your message for him/her through the operator.

Please address letter(s) to:

The Honorable [full name of Senator]
California State Senate
Sacramento, CA 95814

2. This bill will be heard before the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on June 20. If your Senator is a member of this committee (members listed below), it is even more important that you write/email/fax and urge him/her to oppose AB 734.

NOTE: The committee will not be accepting public testimony; it will be a vote only as this committee heard this bill before.

You can make the following points when you contact your Senator:

We need this bill to "go away" AGAIN - this is the FOURTH attempt to delist
kangaroos from penal code 6530!  (The case against Adidas regarding its selling
of soccer cleats made from kangaroo skins  in California is really what started
this whole thing.  That case is now awaiting trial in California's Supreme Court.)