I read in the local newspaper today that an Australian kangaroo cruelty campaign has launched in the US and the main players in this campaign are none other than LA Galaxy recruit David Beckham and Californian Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now I’m all for the campaign here, but all 10R boots are made with kangaroo leather as I have pointed out before and this means that these two are putting both the Australian kangaroo leather exportation industry, worth tens of millions, at risk. Plus the right for Californian footballers and sports stars to wear shoes made from kangaroo leather/skin, that is in our case, the 10R boots.
What Does That Mean In The Long Run?
It just means that the readers in California won’t be able to import kangaroo leather and meat. I understand that if you live in California, there is a good chance that you can import these boots and in that case, there is no problem. It all depends on two things:
- Whether sports stars and future sports stars (you) will be allowed to wear shoes made of kangaroo leather
- And how Governor Schwarzenegger rules in September to keep the ban or not
Conflicts Of InterestÂ
Something that may come of interest is the fact that David Beckham no longer wears Adidas Predators made with the leather, but rather, the synthetic versions. On the other hand, LA Galaxy and Adidas want the ban overturned and so far they have been successful, with a bill being passed allowing some kangaroo products to be used. This is ultimately a moral issue and how you feel about animal cruelty. If Nike and Adidas come up with a synthetic version that has the same touch as the leather version then I’m in. How do you feel towards this issue?
