Kangaroo meat skips into Britain

In a bid to sustain a meat diet during the beef and lamb crisis, Britain is turning towards a new source of protein - Australia's national icon "Skippy". Exporters of kangaroo meat in Australia are reporting an increase in sales of up to 40 per cent on the Continent and similar gains in the UK as a result of BSE and the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Having only been legalised eight years ago in Australia, harvesters of the marsupial are struggling to meet demand. The appetite for the animal, which is described as tasting similar to beef, is four times higher in Europe than it is in Australia, where people largely refuse to eat it.

However, the growing desire of the northern hemisphere to consume one of Australia's best known television characters has infuriated animal welfare groups which are planning a protest this week in London.

Giant billboards claiming that Australian hunters use clubs to beat joeys - baby kangaroos - will be erected across the capital, they claim.

Nevertheless, a major marketing drive by kangaroo farmers is under way, partly financed by the Australian government, to establish kangaroo as a viable alternative food product in the UK. Lovers of the meat point out that it is less than two per cent fat - lower than most other red meats - and high in protein and iron.

"Every time there is a meat scare in Europe this happens,'' said John Kelly of the Kangaroo Industry Association. "Sales are definitely well up. At the moment the industry is flat-out keeping up with demand.

"The UK has never been a big market for us - it seems to be the hotbed of world animal liberation groups. But we are seeing sales well up there now. The industry has never really put a lot of effort into the UK but interest is definitely growing."

Last year sales in Europe were up 30 per cent. In the past quarter, sales have jumped again by up to 40 per cent. More than 40,000kgs of kangaroo and wallaby - a smaller species of kangaroo - enters super-market shelves and restaurants in the UK each year.

The largest European market is still the Netherlands which imports 500,000kgs a year. France imports around 280,000kgs and Germany is buying it in increasing amounts, with recent figures putting sales at 200,000kgs.

The World League for the Protection of Animals says its billboards will warn of the "health dangers" associated with eating kangaroo. Its posters will also claim that the animals are killed with unnecessary cruelty.

WLPA spokesperson Halina Thompson said: "In its commercially-driven agenda the kangaroo industry sees fear of mad cow and foot-and-mouth diseases as a commercial opportunity.

"European diners might be eager to turn to kangaroo steaks but the meat is unhygienic and unfit for human consumption. Kangaroos are not large animals, are slow to grow and have little meat on their bones. "They could never replace sheep or cattle.The only Big Red kangaroo we'll be seeing soon will be the one on the tail of a Qantas jet."

Around three million kangaroos are slaughtered every year for human consumption and pet food. Farmers often claim the animal is a pest. There are 48 species of kangaroos in Australia, of which five are commercially harvested.

Between 15 and 20 per cent of the entire population is harvested every year. The industry claims that kangaroos are the "clean and green" meat and that they are healthy, disease-free animals. Because they are native animals, the industry maintains, they have no environmental impact either.