Beckham vs. Boomers

Kangaroos are the iconic images of Australia, yet kangaroo leather is used for handbags, baseball  mitts, and soccer cleats — including the aptly named Adidas Predator line endorsed by David Beckham.

Beckham's own custom Predators aren't made with kangaroo leather because the soccer star made the switch to synthetic four years ago following pressure from Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (or due to his wife's influence, depending who you ask). But most of the other Predators are still made with "k-leather." Beckham's well-known and well-funded endorsement deal has made him synonymous with Adidas Predator, essentially creating a warped "Do as I Say, Not as I Do" scenario.

In response to the 2007 California Supreme Court ruling that made it illegal to sell kangaroo leather shoes in the state, Adidas spokeswoman Andrea Corso said, "Although Adidas makes some shoes using kangaroo leather, a common practice in our industry, Adidas does not make shoes from any endangered or threatened kangaroo species."

So it's okay to subject the more populous kangaroo species to being shot in the head — which is a tricky lethal shot that many hunters miss, leaving the kangaroos to escape and die slow, painful deaths from injuries or starvation? Is it okay that some 440,000 joeys each year become collateral damage after their mothers are shot for their skins? If the babies are lucky, they're out of the pouch and left to starve or be killed by predators. The unlucky ones are still in-pouch, and brutally killed by being stomped on, bashed against a vehicle, or beaten to death with a stick.

The population of "non-threatened species" is questionable, too. Leather suppliers have picked off the large red male kangaroos (a.k.a. boomers) -- whose big skins are preferred in the shoe industry -- leaving the population threatened and the gene pool weakened. Now the suppliers are complaining that large red male kangaroos are becoming scarce. Instead of taking the hint that they might be doing something wrong, they settle for smaller skins yielded by juveniles, which clearly won't do much to restore the population.

Adidas knows the cruelty of the kangaroo industry, and they can't claim that players need kangaroo on their feet to perform. Not with Beckham wearing synthetic shoes. Nor with star player Ronaldo also donning synthetic materials. Even the original designer of the Predator, ex-Liverpool player Craig Johnston, has publicly stated that the original shoe was all synthetic. "I don't agree with killing kangaroos." He believes the future of cleats is in synthetics.

Yet Adidas continues to use kangaroo leather in their shoes.

Adidas is one of the top supporters of the kangaroo industry. According to the Australian Wildlife Protection Council, the millions of kangaroos that will be shot this year add up the biggest wildlife massacre in the world.

Photo credit: Photo Denbow