Another Dutch brand stops using kangaroo leather
Thanks to your support another Dutch retail brand has committed to immediately stop using kangaroo leather. Famous skate brand, Viking joins a growing number of retailers moving away from kangaroo leather by joining our kangaroo campaign, in which we highlight the horrors of kangaroo hunting in Australia.
Millions of wild kangaroos are killed so that their skin can be used in sporting products and as pet food.
The ice skate manufacturer supplies undercarriages, protection articles and skating shoes to both Olympic athletes and hobbyists. Until this commitment they used kangaroo leather in most of the skate boots. But thanks to your continued support this will now change.
Hiddo Visser, director of Viking said;
The existing stock of the skate brand will still be sold, but no new skates will be made from kangaroo leather.
Synthetic materials such as imitation leather and plastic are on the rise. You can also make top skates with that, so the need to use kangaroo leather has disappeared.
Their new collection to be presented in the summer will already be free of kangaroo leather. As a result, the company will no longer contribute to the enormous import of kangaroo products into the country. The Netherlands is one of the largest importers of kangaroo leather and meat, which are used to make ice skates, football boots and pet food.
Millions of wild kangaroos are killed so that their skin can be used in sporting products. Kangaroo hunting often takes place at night, with virtually no supervision. Up to 40% of shots are not immediately fatal, causing many kangaroos to die a slow, painful death. Young joeys in their mothers' pouches yield nothing, so they are left to die of their own devices or violently killed.
About 31.5 million kangaroos have been killed in 10 years, making it the largest commercial killing of land-based wildlife in the world.
Dennis Vink, World Animal Protection Wildlife Campaign Manager said:
'It is fantastic that Viking is taking this important step in response to our kangaroo campaign. Hopefully many companies will soon follow their lead, because kangaroos are not products but wild animals. There are many good synthetic materials these days and we want to see the sports retail industry fully commit to these alternatives. Hopefully, the use of kangaroo leather will soon be a thing of the past.
Thanks to your support, online retailer Bol.com was also convinced to stop selling kangaroo products. Together we can move more companies to follow the example of Viking and Bol.com by removing kangaroo products from their range.
