Supporting the Kangaroo Protection Act of 2025

SUMMARY

The Animal Law Committee (Martha L. Golar and Sherry L. Ramsey, Co-Chairs) issued a report in support of the Kangaroo Protection Act of 2025, H.R. 1992/S.2162. The Act prohibits, among other things, the sale, trade, and transportation of kangaroos and kangaroo products. Currently, kangaroo leather is used in the United States to produce high-end goods, and kangaroo meat is used for human and animal consumption.  

The Committee’s support for the legislation is rooted in concerns about kangaroo welfare, which are shared by animal welfare groups in Australia, Europe, and the United States. Several animal welfare organizations are campaigning to stop the commercial hunt and significant issues arise from the commercial shooting of kangaroos, including high wounding rates of kangaroos, killing females with dependent young, inhumane methods used to kill young kangaroos , and the damage that shooting causes kangaroo culture and society. The bill which only affects businesses in the United States regarding kangaroos does not seek to legislate a ban on the commercial slaughter of kangaroos in Australia. Therefore, the Committee supports the Kangaroo Protection Act of 2025. 

BILL INFORMATION

H.R.1992 (Rep. Fitzpatrick) / S.2162 (Sen. Duckworth)- AN ACT to prohibit certain activities involving kangaroos and kangaroo products, and for other purposes.

REPORT

REPORT ON LEGISLATION
BY THE ANIMAL LAW COMMITTEE

H.R. 1992 (Rep. Fitzpatrick)
S.2162 (Sen. Duckworth)

AN ACT to prohibit certain activities involving kangaroos and kangaroo products, and for other purposes. (2025-2026)

The Kangaroo Protection Act of 2025

THIS LEGISLATION IS APPROVED

I. SUMMARY

The commercial kangaroo industry in Australia allows for the largest commercial kill of terrestrial wildlife in the world.[1] The United States is an importer of kangaroo meat and hides for use in the food (human and pet) and leather industries. Many goods made with kangaroo leather are sold in most states. Legislation introduced in the 119^th Congress (2025-2026), H.R. 1992/S.2162 (the “bill”) makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly bring into the United States for commercial purposes, possess with the intent to sell, or sell a kangaroo; or introduce or manufacture for introduction into, sell or offer to sell, trade, advertise, transport, or distribute in interstate commerce a kangaroo product.[2]

The bill defines “kangaroo” as a dead animal in whole or a part of the western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), common wallaroo (Osphranter robustus), or red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus).

The proposed legislation imposes a fine of not more than $10,000, or imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both. Each violation of this section shall be a separate offense, and the offense is deemed to have been committed in the district in which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the kangaroo or kangaroo product. The proposed legislation also empowers the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with other agencies, to issue regulations necessary to implement the Act.

II. BACKGROUND

Kangaroo leather (also called “K-Leather”) is used in different products, one of its most popular being soccer cleats. Other merchandise includes footwear, wallets, hides, laces, and gloves.[3] In addition, kangaroo meat is sold in the United States for human and non-human consumption.[4]

For decades, the world’s leading manufacturers of high-end leather cleats have used kangaroo leather because of the suppleness and strength of the leather. Over the past few years and as recently as June 2025, in response to consumer opposition, these global sportswear brands have ended or are in the process of ending the use of kangaroo skins for soccer cleats. In 2021, Diadora, an Italian based sports brand phased out the use of kangaroo leather, having announced its intention to do so in 2019.[5] In 2023, Nike, Puma, and New Balance announced policies to stop using kangaroo skin for athletic shoes.[6] In 2024, Sokito stopped using kangaroo leather.[7] Then adidas,[8] Asics, Mizuno,[9] and Umbro[10] followed suit in pledging to discontinue sourcing kangaroo skins for soccer cleats. As of January 1, 2026, adidas, ASICS and New Balance have officially ceased using kangaroo leather in shoes. Instead, cleats can be made from synthetic materials.[11]

III. ABOUT KANGAROOS

There are over 65 species of macropods within the family of marsupials (pouched animals). The four species commonly referred to as kangaroos are: the western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), and antilopine kangaroo (Osphranter antilopinus).[12]

Kangaroos are social animals and live in extended matriarchal family groups of 50 or more members called “mobs.”[13] Female kangaroos have a gestational period of about 28 days and have a forward-opening pouch on their bellies to hold baby kangaroos called “joeys.” The joey lives in the pouch for about four months and then begins to leave the pouch for short grazing trips and by 10 months the joey leaves the pouch for good.[14] A female kangaroo has three separate vaginal canals and two uteruses; she is almost perpetually pregnant.[15] She can care for three children at once: one in the fetal stage, one in the pouch, and one being weaned out of the pouch.[16] Because of this, female kangaroos are almost always accompanied by one or more joeys. Males remain with their mothers for about three or four years; females stay with their mothers for life. Kangaroos are herbivores and typically eat young green shoots, which are high in protein. They are most active at night, dusk, and dawn.[17]

IV. ANIMAL WELFARE CONCERNS ABOUT THE COMMERCIAL HUNTING OF KANGAROOS

Kangaroos are not farmed in Australia. Rather, wild kangaroos that are hunted (mostly at night) under Australia’s national environment laws for meat and skins export are the source for the leather and meat.[18] This commercial hunt is the cause of a great deal of controversy.[19]

Various governmental bodies in Australia have embraced the commercial hunting of kangaroos as a source of income and jobs as well as a means of limiting the population growth of so-called “pests” that interfere with agriculture. One estimate suggests that the export of kangaroo meat and hide provides 200 million Australian dollars in annual revenue to Australia, with exports to approximately 60 countries.[20] The United States is the second largest market after the EU, valued at about 80 million Australian dollars each year.[21] This is a small fraction of Australia’s GDP.[22]

Agrifutures Australia (a corporation established by the Australian government) provides guidelines for shooting kangaroos and wallabies in the National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Commercial Purposes, 2020.[23] For instance, the Code requires that commercial kangaroo shooters  be correctly licensed and kill each kangaroo with a single shot to the head.[24]

The National Code’s stated objective is, “The shooting of kangaroos and wallabies for commercial purposes is conducted in a humane and effective manner that minimizes animal pain, suffering and distress. [T]he objective is to achieve instantaneous loss of consciousness and rapid death without regaining consciousness.”[25] The Code describes “humane” as “an absence of (or minimal) pain, suffering and distress; in the case of killing or euthanasia, humane methods are those which minimize pain, suffering and distress.”[26] Given the prevalence of joeys who are in or near a mother kangaroo’s side and the suffering that results from a mother’s death, the National Code requires that joeys be euthanized immediately upon the killing of a mother.[27] According to the National Code, the most suitable method of killing joeys varies depending on the age and stage of development, as well as the circumstances.[28] Methods can include bludgeoning baby kangaroos, shooting the young-at-foot joey in the head, and other methods, such as decapitation.[29]

Numerous animal welfare groups in Australia, Europe, and the United States believe that the commercial hunting of kangaroos is inhumane, that there is no kangaroo over-population problem, and that kangaroos are not pests.[30] They assert that the Australian government is doing too little to protect kangaroos and monitor compliance with the National Code. In addition, some Aboriginal Elders object to the commercial hunting of kangaroos.[31]

Several animal welfare organizations are campaigning to stop the commercial hunt, arguing that the commercial hunting of kangaroos is inhumane.[32] Significant welfare issues arise from the commercial shooting of kangaroos, including high wounding rates of kangaroos, killing females with dependent young, inhumane methods used to kill young kangaroos (blunt force trauma aimed at joeys), and the damage that shooting causes kangaroo culture and society (mob).”[33] In addition, since kangaroos are hunted and shot at night and in remote areas, it is difficult to track whether the commercial hunters conform to the Code.

Kangaroos are “victims of the largest commercial slaughter of land-based wildlife in the world.”[34] The Australian government bases commercial killing quotas on population estimates that show kangaroos to be abundant.[35] Some researchers have argued that the government’s population assessments of kangaroos are based on incorrect methods and, therefore, quotas are wrong and threaten the survival of kangaroos.[36] Some also challenge the notion that kangaroos are pests, claiming that there is an exaggeration of the harm allegedly caused by kangaroos.[37]

Critics have argued that the National Code is not sufficiently enforced and that inspections are inadequate.[38] In 2021, a committee of the New South Wales Parliament published a report that criticized the hunting of kangaroos and subsequent sale of their skins. The Parliament’s Committee found several problems, among them:

• A lack of transparency with respect to the killing of joeys (young kangaroos) as well as “inhumane, disrespectful practices.”[39]
• There are no counts of the number of joeys killed or the number of joeys that fled after their mothers were killed by hunters.[40]

The response by the Government of New South Wales to these concerns was lacking. The Parliament’s Committee recommended that the Department of Planning, Industry, and Environmental (DPIE) collect and publicly release data on all joey deaths occurring in the commercial kangaroo industry. The DPIE responded, “Collection of additional data on dependent young will not add any value to the calculation of a sustainable harvest quota.”[41] This response completely ignores the animal welfare concern that the government is not sufficiently monitoring commercial killing to ensure the welfare of the joeys.

V. CONCLUSION

The Animal Law Committee believes that the commercial hunting of kangaroos for athletic shoes, food for pets and humans, and other purposes is cruel and unjustified. We are particularly troubled by claims that the killing of joeys is inadequately monitored and that there are high wound rates. We acknowledge that there is a significant controversy within Australia about the commercial killing of kangaroos, with some arguing that it is no more inhumane than killing domesticated animals for food, etc. The Committee notes that the bill does not (and cannot) seek to legislate a ban on the commercial slaughter of kangaroos in Australia. The bill simply affects law as to businesses and those conducting business in the United States regarding kangaroos and any parts thereof.

For all of the above-stated reasons, the Animal Law Committee supports The Kangaroo Protection Act of 2025.

Animal Law Committee
Martha L. Golar, Co-Chair
Sherry L. Ramsey, Co-Chair

June 2026