Schwarzenegger, Beckham in US kangaroo skin row
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and soccer glamour boy David Beckham have become central figures in an Australian kangaroo cruelty campaign in the US.
At stake is a potential export market worth tens of millions of dollars for the Australian kangaroo export industry and the right for Californian sports stars to wear shoes made from soft, lightweight kangaroo skin.
It is illegal to import kangaroo skins and meat to California, but Schwarzenegger is likely rule in September whether to keep the ban.
California is the only US state to have the ban.
The prospect of Schwarzenegger legalising the importation of kangaroo has angered US animal rights activists, who have responded by launching a state-wide campaign.
"People are opposed to kangaroo slaughter and are opposed to wearing kangaroo skin on their feet," People for Ethical Treatment of Animals campaign co-ordinator Melissa Karpel told AAP today.
PETA has recently campaigned against the Australian wool industry over blowfly prevention techniques.
"We'll be letting people know how to contact the governor," she said.
Beckham, the former English captain and the face of Adidas' soccer shoe line, finds himself in a precarious position just weeks before joining his new American club, Los Angeles Galaxy.
Last year he announced he would wear a synthetic version of Adidas' Predator soccer boots, instead of styles made from kangaroo skin.
Beckham, whose Spice Girl wife Victoria is a devout vegetarian, made the decision after viewing graphic videos of the culling of kangaroos in Australia, including a joey being cut out of its mother's pouch and battered with a blunt instrument.
It has been Adidas, which has spent more than $US435,000 ($NZ597,938) lobbying the California legislature, and the LA Galaxy, that have led the fight to have the ban overturned.
The LA Galaxy argues its players are at a disadvantage as other clubs outside California playing in America's Major League Soccer competition can wear kangaroo leather shoes, which are light and soft.
"It is unfair to have these products freely available for commercial purchase in all of the other 49 states and not here," Alexi Lalas, president of the LA Galaxy, wrote in testimony filed with the California Senate.
On Tuesday, after four years of failed attempts, Adidas and the LA Galaxy were successful when the Senate passed a bill that would allow kangaroo product to be imported and sold in California if the species was not protected by laws in the US and abroad.
There are 55 species of kangaroo and six, including red, eastern and western, that can be commercially harvested in Australia.
The next hurdle for Adidas and the LA Galaxy is California's Assembly.
If the assembly approves the bill it will then go to Schwarzenegger who could sign it and make it law or veto it.
"If the bill does pass the assembly we will ask Governor Schwarzenegger to veto the bill," Karpel said.
At stake is a potential export market worth tens of millions of dollars for the Australian kangaroo export industry and the right for Californian sports stars to wear shoes made from soft, lightweight kangaroo skin.
It is illegal to import kangaroo skins and meat to California, but Schwarzenegger is likely rule in September whether to keep the ban.
California is the only US state to have the ban.
The prospect of Schwarzenegger legalising the importation of kangaroo has angered US animal rights activists, who have responded by launching a state-wide campaign.
"People are opposed to kangaroo slaughter and are opposed to wearing kangaroo skin on their feet," People for Ethical Treatment of Animals campaign co-ordinator Melissa Karpel told AAP today.
PETA has recently campaigned against the Australian wool industry over blowfly prevention techniques.
"We'll be letting people know how to contact the governor," she said.
Beckham, the former English captain and the face of Adidas' soccer shoe line, finds himself in a precarious position just weeks before joining his new American club, Los Angeles Galaxy.
Last year he announced he would wear a synthetic version of Adidas' Predator soccer boots, instead of styles made from kangaroo skin.
Beckham, whose Spice Girl wife Victoria is a devout vegetarian, made the decision after viewing graphic videos of the culling of kangaroos in Australia, including a joey being cut out of its mother's pouch and battered with a blunt instrument.
It has been Adidas, which has spent more than $US435,000 ($NZ597,938) lobbying the California legislature, and the LA Galaxy, that have led the fight to have the ban overturned.
The LA Galaxy argues its players are at a disadvantage as other clubs outside California playing in America's Major League Soccer competition can wear kangaroo leather shoes, which are light and soft.
"It is unfair to have these products freely available for commercial purchase in all of the other 49 states and not here," Alexi Lalas, president of the LA Galaxy, wrote in testimony filed with the California Senate.
On Tuesday, after four years of failed attempts, Adidas and the LA Galaxy were successful when the Senate passed a bill that would allow kangaroo product to be imported and sold in California if the species was not protected by laws in the US and abroad.
There are 55 species of kangaroo and six, including red, eastern and western, that can be commercially harvested in Australia.
The next hurdle for Adidas and the LA Galaxy is California's Assembly.
If the assembly approves the bill it will then go to Schwarzenegger who could sign it and make it law or veto it.
"If the bill does pass the assembly we will ask Governor Schwarzenegger to veto the bill," Karpel said.
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