While Australian politicians call for the Chinese live animal markets to be closed for good following the newest coronavirus outbreak, trading and consumption of wild animal meat is still going on right on our doorstep.
Kangaroos continue to be slaughtered by commercial industry with little oversight or regulation. These animals are shot in the bush, with their dead bodies then transported for hours hanging from the backs of trucks through the dusty Australian outback. It is not only a cruel but incredibly unsanitary industry, and it comes as no surprise that Russia has already banned kangaroo meat due to the risk it poses to human health.
Aside from kangaroos, animals including crocodiles, emu, goannas, snakes, stingrays, turtles and camels are also all available for consumption here in Australia. Often slaughtered in the wild, the treatment and consumption of these wild animals put us at further risk of zoonotic (animal carried) diseases including coronaviruses and animal borne flu.
We already know from the recent covid-19 outbreak that direct action must be taken to end the global wildlife trade to protect animals and to protect our health. It’s time our government acknowledged that Australia’s legal wildlife trade is putting each and every one of us at risk.
The NSW government must stop financially supporting, promoting and actively participating in the brutal killing of tens of thousands of kangaroos across our state, and ban our wildlife trade for good. The health of our communities and our environment is under threat, and unless action is taken, Australia could be the next source of a killer zoonotic disease.
Together with our MPs, we’re fighting to end Australia’s wildlife trade, improve failing legislation, and keep our animals and communities safe.