Kangaroo leather ban introduced in US Senate

Dive Brief:

• The Kangaroo Protection Act of 2024 was introduced to the U.S. Senate on Thursday, according to a release posted by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., one of the bill’s sponsors.
• Co-sponsored by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., the bill would ban the sale and manufacturing of products made from kangaroo skin, as well as the sale of kangaroo skin itself, in the U.S. The legislation is designed to prevent the use of kangaroo leather, also known as k-leather, in commercial products, notably when it comes to “certain models of soccer cleats,” per the release.
• If passed, the legislation would empower the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with other agencies “to issue civil and criminal penalties of fines up to $10,000 and other regulations,” per the release.

Dive Insight:

In 2023, a bipartisan group of six congresspeople, led by U.S. Rep. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., introduced a similar bill in the House of Representatives, also called the Kangaroo Protection Act, which is still in committee. A previous version of the Kangaroo Protection Act was introduced to Congress in 2021 but died in committee.

An estimated 2 million wild kangaroos are killed each year for their leather, per the release, which called the practice “the largest commercial slaughter of mammals worldwide.”

This new bill would help prevent the exploitation of kangaroos as well as help promote the use of more humane alternatives to k-leather, Duckworth said in the press release.

“The mass killing of millions of kangaroos to make commercial products is needless and inhumane — and we must do better,” Duckworth said.

The press release called commercial slaughter of kangaroos widespread and cruel, adding that it uses “similar killing methods and is ten times larger than the infamously brutal Canadian seal hunt, which prompted the United States to ban the import of seal pelts in 1972.”

The U.S. is “the second largest commercial market for k-leather products in the world,” per the release. Meanwhile, the country already bans the import of certain other animals, animal skins and specific products or articles made from fish or wildlife, such as most ivory products.

“We must take action to conserve the kangaroo species and end their inhumane exploitation,” Booker said in the release. “This legislation will ensure that no one in the United States can distribute kangaroo products for commercial benefits.”

More than 150 organizations have signed on to support the bill, per the release, including U.S.-based nonprofits Global Coalition of Farm Sanctuaries, SPCA International and the Center for a Humane Economy, as well as the Australia-based Victorian Kangaroo Alliance.

“Commercial shooters slay perhaps 1.5 million kangaroos a year in their native habitats for parts, mainly used in soccer cleats, sold across the world,” Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, said in the release. “Senator Duckworth’s bill puts a stop to that commerce in the United States.”

Brands including Puma, Nike and New Balance announced in 2023 that they’d be discontinuing the use of k-leather in their footwear. However, other brands including Adidas, Mizuno, L.L. Bean and Lucchese still use the controversial material, according to Pacelle’s organization, which tracks brands using kangaroo skin.