<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Court upholds ban on kangaroo-hide sneaks]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Whiskerfish http://www.grist.org/article/roo-shoe-diaries/ Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:24:30 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/roo-shoe-diaries/1 Absurd & The Missing Questions

I'll guess that synthetic roo boots are more eco-unfriendly that the real ones. How much pollution goes out form the plastics manufacturing process? That said, leather tanning isn't great either.

If you're going to shoot the roos you may as well make boots - and steaks - out of them. But why isn't anyone doing a proper comparison of the enviro impacts of synthetic vs real leather? The animal rights groups make too much money, I suspect, and it's not in their interest.

Whiskerfish

]]> Absurd & The Missing Questions

I'll guess that synthetic roo boots are more eco-unfriendly that the real ones. How much pollution goes out form the plastics manufacturing process? That said, leather tanning isn't great either.

If you're going to shoot the roos you may as well make boots - and steaks - out of them. But why isn't anyone doing a proper comparison of the enviro impacts of synthetic vs real leather? The animal rights groups make too much money, I suspect, and it's not in their interest.

Whiskerfish

]]> Comment #2 by GreenEngineer http://www.grist.org/article/roo-shoe-diaries/ Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:38:34 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/roo-shoe-diaries/2 this is good, even if it's silly

The decision was hailed by animal rights groups for setting a precedent allowing states to protect species that the federal government no longer deems in peril.

This is a victory for state's rights, and the ability of the state to pass laws regulating things that the feds don't see fit to address.  Like, say, GMO foods, for example.

The particular issue at hand seems pretty goofy, but the legal precedent is probably good news.  (But IANAL so YMMV.)

]]> this is good, even if it's silly

The decision was hailed by animal rights groups for setting a precedent allowing states to protect species that the federal government no longer deems in peril.

This is a victory for state's rights, and the ability of the state to pass laws regulating things that the feds don't see fit to address.  Like, say, GMO foods, for example.

The particular issue at hand seems pretty goofy, but the legal precedent is probably good news.  (But IANAL so YMMV.)

]]> Comment #3 by amc89 http://www.grist.org/article/roo-shoe-diaries/ Thu, 26 Jul 2007 05:17:43 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/roo-shoe-diaries/3 Kangaroos don't need to be massively slaughtered

Leather is not an "eco-friendly" product by any means. You've got the environmental damage done by factory farming and you've got all those carcinogenic chemicals used in the processing, tanning, and dying of leather.

I wish Grist had gone more in depth on this and examined the issues behind the slaughter of millions of kangaroos for fashion in Australia.  Since they didn't, I'll refer readers to:

http://www.savethekangaroo.com

Here's some interesting info on the damage the slaughter is doing:

"Other justifications for the kill are that kangaroos are pests who destroy wheat crops and compete with livestock for grazing. The largest study of kangaroos ever conducted, carried out by the University of New South Wales, found that the presence of kangaroos has no negative effects on sheep farms whatsoever. A study carried out by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation found that 95 per cent of wheat crops are never visited by kangaroos and furthermore, Gordon Grigg, one of the most avid supporters of kangaroo slaughter and author of Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, the kangaroo industry's bible, recently stated that kangaroos' grazing requirements may have been over-estimated by as much as 500 per cent.

In some areas kangaroo populations may build up in order to withstand the regular droughts which can wipe out half the population. The kangaroo massacre destroys the process of natural selection as the largest and fittest animals, the `alpha' males, are targeted. These animals are the ones who, ordinarily, would be the most likely to survive a drought. As they have been repeatedly picked off, the kangaroos who are left to breed are smaller and younger animals, causing the gene pool to be weakened. According to Dr Ian Gunn of the Animal Gene Storage Resource Centre of Australia, "...the continued slaughter of kangaroos has the potential to cause the extinction of a number of remaining species".

Six species of kangaroo are already extinct, with four more species extinct on the Australian mainland and 17 species listed as endangered or vulnerable. Red kangaroos are particulary at risk. They are now being killed at a rate three times higher than they are reproducing. In the 1960s their average age was 12, today it is two.

Despite a big drive by the industry to popularise kangaroo meat for human consumption, most of it is still used for pet food."

]]> Kangaroos don't need to be massively slaughtered

Leather is not an "eco-friendly" product by any means. You've got the environmental damage done by factory farming and you've got all those carcinogenic chemicals used in the processing, tanning, and dying of leather.

I wish Grist had gone more in depth on this and examined the issues behind the slaughter of millions of kangaroos for fashion in Australia.  Since they didn't, I'll refer readers to:

http://www.savethekangaroo.com

Here's some interesting info on the damage the slaughter is doing:

"Other justifications for the kill are that kangaroos are pests who destroy wheat crops and compete with livestock for grazing. The largest study of kangaroos ever conducted, carried out by the University of New South Wales, found that the presence of kangaroos has no negative effects on sheep farms whatsoever. A study carried out by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation found that 95 per cent of wheat crops are never visited by kangaroos and furthermore, Gordon Grigg, one of the most avid supporters of kangaroo slaughter and author of Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, the kangaroo industry's bible, recently stated that kangaroos' grazing requirements may have been over-estimated by as much as 500 per cent.

In some areas kangaroo populations may build up in order to withstand the regular droughts which can wipe out half the population. The kangaroo massacre destroys the process of natural selection as the largest and fittest animals, the `alpha' males, are targeted. These animals are the ones who, ordinarily, would be the most likely to survive a drought. As they have been repeatedly picked off, the kangaroos who are left to breed are smaller and younger animals, causing the gene pool to be weakened. According to Dr Ian Gunn of the Animal Gene Storage Resource Centre of Australia, "...the continued slaughter of kangaroos has the potential to cause the extinction of a number of remaining species".

Six species of kangaroo are already extinct, with four more species extinct on the Australian mainland and 17 species listed as endangered or vulnerable. Red kangaroos are particulary at risk. They are now being killed at a rate three times higher than they are reproducing. In the 1960s their average age was 12, today it is two.

Despite a big drive by the industry to popularise kangaroo meat for human consumption, most of it is still used for pet food."

]]> Comment #4 by Craig Allen http://www.grist.org/article/roo-shoe-diaries/ Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:40:31 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/roo-shoe-diaries/4 Pro(ish) kangaroo harvest point-of-view from Oz

I see kangaroo harvesting as a means of improving nature conservation & land management in Australian landscapes. But as currently implemented the industry is flawed.

I grew up in a pioneer family on the

]]> Pro(ish) kangaroo harvest point-of-view from Oz

I see kangaroo harvesting as a means of improving nature conservation & land management in Australian landscapes. But as currently implemented the industry is flawed.

I grew up in a pioneer family on the

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