Eating kangaroo meat is a high health risk

Thieme: ban the import of kangaroo meat

Marianne Thieme wants kangaroo products to be banned from the Netherlands and Europe. The production of kangaroo meat in Australia goes with serious violation of animal welfare, like clubbing young animals to death and leaving heavily injured animals for dead. In addition, the meat imposes serious health risks. That is why the Party for the Animals has asked for an import ban in parliamentary questions.

The killing of kangaroos for meat goes with severe welfare problems. Young kangaroos are being clubbed to death, since the Australian government considers this to be the most humane method. Parent animals are being shot, leaving young kangaroos to fall prey to predators or to die of starvation. Also kangaroos are being left heavily injured when being shot elsewhere then in the head. The meat can only be sold when a kangaroo is killed by a head shot.

E-coli and Salmonella
Next to the serious violation of animal welfare, the kangaroo meat also imposes a huge threat on public health. Several studies show that the meat can be infected with relatively high numbers of E-coli, Salmonella and Toxoplasma gondii.

The Australian kangaroo meat industry flouts the most basic hygiene rules, as research of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand shows. Carcasses are being hung on rusty hooks, living and dead animals reside in the same spaces, there’s a lack of water and hygiene and an increased risk of cross-contamination.

Import ban California and Russia
While countries like Russia and the state of California have already applied an import ban, the Netherlands are still importing nearly 800,000 tons of kangaroo products. This is an increase of 400% since 2007 and concerns about 17% of the total Australian production. The Netherlands are among the world’s main importers of kangaroo meat.

Marianne Thieme, the leader of the Party for the Animals in the Netherlands, pleads in parliamentary questins to ban the import of kangaroo products. Thieme: “The clubbing to death of seals has already led to in import ban for seal fur.
Now that we see the same horrific methods with kangaroos, the Netherlands and Europe need to say no to kangaroo meat. Furthermore it has been established that eating kangaroo meat comes with big health threats like dangerous bacteria.”

The Party for the Animals cooperates with the Animal Justice Party in Australia.