British animal liberationist returns to Australia
A march took place in July in Sydney, Australia, to protest against the trade in kangaroo meat as the official start of an international campaign called: 'The Kangaroo Coalition against Kangaroo Slaughter'. Juliet Gellately from Britain was one of those in the middle of a group of protestors outside the Australian Museum to campaign against its director, Mike Archer, who is a big supporter of the kangaroo meat industry.
Gellately came to Australia to protest against kangaroo culling three years ago and is blamed for almost destroying the export trade in the meat. After her campaign over 1500 supermarkets removed the meat from their shelves. She characterizes the ‘roo industry as 'genocide' and says that the Australian icon faces extinction.
Farmers in Australia disagree, claiming that kangaroos are in plague proportions over wide areas of the country. Experts would seem to concur with most estimating there are around 50 million kangaroos in Australia. Ian Donges, the National Farmers’ Federation President, says that Juliet Gellately doesn't understand the industry, but he is concerned that people in the UK and Europe will be persuaded by her arguments.
