Viva! Down Under

On September 26 1997, Tesco faxed the British media to say that it was pulling out of the ,exotic' meats trade but the effects reverberated around the world. Australian conservation and animal rights groups literally jumped for joy at the first real victory for the persecuted kangaroo. When Somerfield and Booker also withdrew from the trade shortly afterwards, Viva! became extremely big news down under. Rheya Linden of Animal Liberation, Victoria said: 'Viva!'s efforts to stop the sale and consumption of kangaroo meat in the UK are of utmost importance to the success of our campaigns here.' 'The industry is bent on exploiting and killing our kangaroos into extinction. It cannot succeed, however, unless it is assured of a thriving export market, since kangaroo meat at home is neither popular nor profitable. No wonder industry representatives are seeing red and reacting with indignant defensiveness at Viva!'s success with Tesco and Somerfield. We fully support Viva!. Together we can make our voices heard across national boundaries for the preservation of indigenous wildlife is a global issue." Other groups also issued press statements followed by invitations for me to visit Australia. Animal Liberation, Victoria kindly sponsored me, with support from the Vegan Society New South Wales, Australian's national magazine, New Vegetarian and Natural Health and Sydney based supporter, Richard Tenser. This was my first trip to Australia. Naturally I was excited but determined to focus as much media attention as I could on the plight of the kangaroo and the global impact of meat consumption. The meat industry was equally determined to attack my visit in the hope of stopping it. They issued a string of press statements before and during my tour. The first ensured I didn't wear my best gear on the flight over! The President of the Australian Game Meat Producers Association told the Sydney Sun Herald: ,,We will be right at the airport with buckets of green paint to meet her". And Dubbo farmer Mike Wilson campaigned to have the Department of Immigration refuse my entry ,,on the basis of the damage she could cause to Australian agriculture". However, I made it through Melbourne airport without needing white spirit and my speaking and media tour began even before I had chance to unpack! Rheya Linden and all at Animal Liberation Victoria had done a brilliant job in arranging interviews with the whole Australian media it seemed -everything from the Murdoch University Newspaper to national TV's biggest current affairs show, A Current Affair and Australia's world News, syndicated to countries all over Asia. I was in the highly unusual position of having TV programmes ,fight' over me! In between TV I did more than 40 radio interviews in my three and a half week stay. My interviews for A Current Affair were bizarre. I was persuading Aussies to go veggie while they tucked into the traditional barbie but I also had the delight of debating with John Kelly, director of Lenah Game Meats, Tasmania. Apart from killing kangaroos, Mr Kelly's company is also responsible for trapping and killing possums for meat. Not popular in Australia as there is a special affection for this little wild mammal there, so he slaughters them for export to China. Possums are marsupials catsized with foxy faces and bushy tails. They are agile climbers and sit upright holding their food of leaves, flowers and fruit in their paws. The female carries her young for four to five months in her pouch and then on her back. I discovered that the Tasmanian executive of Animals Australia, Jenny Sielhorst, had inspected Lenah Game Meats. She was extremely concerned that possums were being trapped in cages and left without food or water for up to 22 hours. The mesh size on the bottom of the cages was too large and nearly every possum had its legs or tail protruding, many tangled up. Most animals had wounds and all looked 'very stressed' when they arrived at the abattoir. Jenny says: ,,After the captive bolt pistol was used, possums were flung into plastic crates. The crates were full of blood with animals writhing around before they were shoved into the processing room. They were transferred to a stainless steel trough where once again they were left to thrash around. Their throats were cut, a hole made in their hind leg and put on a hook. Only then did slaughterers check the females' pouches for young. The orphans were covered in blood... Many of the possums were alive for eight minutes after the bolt pistol had been used." I used this evidence with all the force I could against the lovely Mr Kelly and the man began to shake. He didn't try to excuse his killing of possums, preferring to change the subject to the less controversial (in Australia) kangaroo massacre. Sadly, the TV crew were clearly biased and omitted the possum sequence and many other telling shots with which I embarrassed the man. Despite this, the final report was still excellent publicity for our work. Animal Liberation and Senator Andrew Bartlett national politician and defender of animals. Although nervous at giving my first speech in Australia, it was extremely well received and Peter Singer was kind enough to write in a newspaper column that it was his ,best evening of the year' (no, it wasn't January 1st!). After five days in Melbourne, I stayed with a remarkable woman, Maryland Wilson, President of the Australian Wildlife Protection Council. She has worked to save the kangaroo for many years and has provided Viva! with essential ammunition in our fight for Australia's wildlife. I questioned her for hours. When I first started campaigning on these issues I wasn't familiar with the time differences between the UK and Australia. In the frantic work up to our victory against Tesco I called her at 3am Aussie time and she didn't complain. That's dedication! Apart from a couple of flights to other parts of this vast continent, the rest of my stay was in Sydney. Lynda Stoner of Animal Liberation New South Wales, organised another hectic schedule, including an appearance on Australia's biggest day time programme, The Midday Show with Kerri-Anne Kennerly. My opposition was a middle aged, not too healthy-looking politician, Peter Cochran -oh yes, and an audience full of kangaroo shooters. It wasn't a debate you could enjoy but it was more than worth-while. As it was live, no one could cut or twist my contribution. Even strangers came up to me in the following few days offering support. The most challenging part of my stay was flying to Australia's capital, Canberra, to hold a press conference at the Houses of Parliament. Live national TV news and regional TV news crews were waiting for me, after which I was ushered into the press conference to face a battery of cameras, radio and press. I was literally on my own so swallowed hard and went for it. It had been organised by Senator Andrew Bartlett, a committed vegetarian and a lovely, quietly spoken politician with principles. And here I would like to say ,thank you Andrew'. I met with kangaroos several times on my trip but the high point was a visit to a sanctuary owned by the Kangaroo Co-operative. There I bad the immense privilege of feeding an orphaned joey with a bottle and saw both Eastern and Western Greys and Red kangaroos just feet away all in a haven where they can never be shot by a brutal and callous industry. My thanks to the Vegan Society in New South Wales for organising this lovely day. My most rewarding talk was at the Sydney State Library with the Vegan and Vegetarian Societies, Animal Liberation and stalwart campaigner Richard Jones, Member of the Legislative Council, New South Wales. Packed with more than 400 people, the atmosphere was electric. We felt that together we can save the wildlife of Australia; that we can expose the lies of a sick and unscrupulous industry; that the victory in Britain was only the start. So, Viva! Australia and its many good people! © European Vegetarian Union - http://www.ivu.org/evu