Dear John,

Since we launched our “Kangaroos Are Not Shoes” campaign in 2020, we’ve been telling the world about how a few hundred commercial shooters annually massacre an extraordinary number of kangaroos in Australia for global trade in their skins and meat.

Until our campaign upended the routine slaughter and trade in kangaroo skins, nearly all of the big global athletic wear brands used the parts of the marsupials, slaughtered in their native habitats in Australia, for several models of soccer cleats. We’ve reported to you that our “Kangaroos Are Not Shoes” campaign is winning the day, most recently with Puma and Nike swearing off kangaroo skins for all their shoe models.

Now, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the continent’s major national news network, is blowing the lid off the ugly underside of the industry.

ABC has broadcast a 9-minute TV story and also radio and digital stories with enormous reach that highlight the massacre of as many as 500,000 joeys who are in the pouches of their mothers or at their foot. When the mother is shot, the joey is doomed.

ABC talked to us and highlighted the progress of our campaign. But it also highlighted Australian homeowners and ecologists who have seen the carnage firsthand and know something is deeply wrong with the execution of this commercial kill. They discuss how the shooters kill lactating mothers, orphaning the dependent young, whom they then bludgeon to death. If they don’t, the poor creatures will starve or succumb quickly to a predator. It’s a horror.

We are targeting Adidas, the Germany-based brand, for continuing to source kangaroo skins for its shoes. Our ally TheirTurn.net has been holding protests at Adidas flagship stores in recent weeks in New York City and working with us to draw attention to the largest commercial kill of wildlife in the world.

Adidas makes a big deal of its commitment to “social responsibility.” But how can it be socially responsible when it plays a central role in the largest commercial slaughter of terrestrial wildlife in the world? How can it say it’s a responsible company when it has plenty of alternatives already developed and which are immensely popular with soccer players?

We are asking YOU to demand Adidas’s leadership take action and announce a policy to halt the use of kangaroo skins in its supply chain. You can do so here, with a simple form that sends a letter on your behalf.

Within days, U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators will introduce national legislation to ban any trade in kangaroo skins, largely because of the mass orphaning of the joeys along with the availability of sustainable and humane alternatives to kangaroo.

We’ve previously reported that the vast majority of elite soccer players have little to do with kangaroo skins. They use shoes made of human-made fabrics that perform better and don’t come with the high cost of cruelty.

Please write your federal lawmakers and ask them to cosponsor the Kangaroo Protection Act. Use our fast and simple form here to do so.

Our campaign is being seen throughout Australia right now, and it’s being felt from Beijing to New York. Please join us today so together we can end the largest wildlife slaughter in the world.

Please take these actions today!

Thank you,

For the animals,

Wayne Pacelle President Animal Wellness Action