BILL ANALYSIS
SB 880
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 3, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Lois Wolk, Chair
SB 880 (Calderon) - As Amended: June 20, 2007
SENATE VOTE : 27-8
SUBJECT : Kangaroo Products
SUMMARY : Repeals, until January 1, 2011, the state prohibition
and criminal penalty on the importation or sale of kangaroo
parts or products in California. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that it shall be lawful to import or sell in
California products made from kangaroos harvested lawfully
under Australian national and state law, the federal
Endangered Species Act, and applicable international
conventions, provided that the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) is annually informed by the Australian government that
the commercial harvest of kangaroos in any future year will
not exceed the official quota established for 2007 and what
the lawful take of kangaroos is in each subsequent year.
2)Requires DFG, if it fails to receive the annual report
referred to in paragraph 1) above, to inform the Australian
government that future importation of kangaroos into
California shall be halted and their importation or sale in
this state shall be unlawful and subject to criminal penalty.
3)Provides that the provisions allowing for importation and sale
of kangaroo parts or products in California shall sunset on
January 1, 2011.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Makes it unlawful to import into this state for commercial
purposes, to possess with intent to sell, or to sell within
the state, the dead body or any part or product thereof, of
any polar bear, leopard, ocelot, tiger, cheetah, jaguar, sable
antelope, wolf, zebra, whale, cobra, python, sea turtle,
colobus monkey, kangaroo, vicuna, sea otter, free-roaming
feral horse, dolphin or porpoise, Spanish lynx, or elephant.
2)Allows the sale of crocodile or alligator parts or products
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until January 1, 2010, after which date it shall be unlawful
to import or sell the parts or products of these animals in
California.
3)Makes a violation of this section a misdemeanor, punishable by
a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 and/or six months in county jail.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is not tagged for referral
to fiscal committee.
COMMENTS :
1)Background : Kangaroos are members of the Macropodidae family,
meaning "great footed," and are native to Australia and New
Guinea. Kangaroos have long been important to the survival of
Australia's indigenous people as a source of meat and skins.
There are 55 species of kangaroos in Australia, only the four
most abundant of which may be commercially harvested on the
Australian mainland. The four species commercially harvested
include the Red, Eastern Gray, Western Gray, and Euro
(Wallaroo) kangaroo. Two species of wallabies are also
commercially harvested, the Tasmanian Pademelon and Bennett's
Wallaby, but only on certain islands of Tasmania.
According to the Australian government, the combined population
size of kangaroos has fluctuated between 15 and 50 million
animals over the past twenty years, depending on climatic
conditions, including cyclical droughts. The kangaroo
population is currently in decline, due to an extended
drought. According to statistics maintained by the Australian
Department of Environment and Heritage, kangaroo populations
in Australia are currently less than half what they were in
2001.
Harvest quotas are set on an annual basis based on aerial
population surveys. The goal of the quotas is to determine a
scientifically estimated sustained yield based on a proportion
of the previous year's population. Commercial harvest quotas
have been reduced over the past few years, due primarily to
reductions in kangaroo populations as a result of the drought.
The quota for 2007 is 3.6 million, compared to 3.8 million in
2006, 3.9 million in 2005, 4.4 million in 2004, 6.5 million in
2003, and 6.9 million in 2002. The 2007 quota represents
about 15.3% of the estimated population of the four
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commercially harvested kangaroos. In the last five years, the
number of kangaroos actually harvested has also averaged 30 to
50% below the quota allowed.
According to recent media reports, the Australian government is
proposing to cull several thousand kangaroos near Canberra,
claiming the kangaroos are near starving due to the drought,
and are causing overgrazing and habitat loss for other native
species. Animal rights groups have protested the culling as
inhumane.
2)Purpose : The author has introduced this bill to make
importation and sale of products made from kangaroo hides
legal in California. Currently, these products may be legally
imported and sold in the other 49 states, and can be purchased
by Californians over the internet. The author contends this
bill is needed to allow California retailers to sell products
made from kangaroo leather, such as soccer cleats and track
shoe spikes, and asserts that the ban on these products puts
California sporting good stores and other retailers selling
athletic shoes at a competitive disadvantage vis-?-vis
out-of-state retailers. The author believes that this bill
will still allow California to prohibit the sale of products
made from threatened or endangered kangaroos.
3)Pending Litigation : Last month the California Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in Viva! International Voice for Animals
v. Adidas, a pending case challenging the provision of law
this bill would repeal on federal preemption grounds. The
Court of Appeal in the case held that the statute was
preempted because the federal Endangered Species Act allows
the importation of kangaroo species. The Animal Legal
Defense Fund, the California Department of Fish and Game, and
the Humane Society of the United States filed amicus briefs in
support of Viva!. The Animal Legal Defense Fund brief argues
that the methods by which kangaroos are killed violates animal
cruelty laws. The Humane Society argues that the global trade
in illegal wildlife threatens survival of many species. The
Department of Fish and Game argues that the ruling is
excessively broad and could hurt California's ability to
protect species. Opponents argue that the Legislature should
postpone action on this bill until after the California
Supreme Court has issued its ruling, which will likely come
later this year.
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4)Support : The California Chamber of Commerce in support argues
that this bill will help to eliminate a competitive
disadvantage to California businesses caused by the
prohibition on sales of kangaroo products in California, since
the products are available for purchase from other states
through mail order and Internet sales. The Chamber notes that
small businesses are affected the most since they operate on
slim profit margins. The Australian government supports this
bill and asserts that there have been no adverse impacts on
kangaroo populations in over twenty years from commercial
harvesting. They also emphasize that kangaroo harvesting is
important for both kangaroo population management and
sustainable land care in Australia's rangelands, including
protection of habitat for other native animals. The
Australian government also disputes the claim that endangered
species are being mistaken for those that are legal to
harvest. According to the government, there are currently no
endangered kangaroos on the Australian mainland, and although
there are several species of endangered wallabies, these
species are considerably smaller and easily distinguished. In
addition, supporters claim that while there is some overlap in
southwest Queensland between the territories of the Western
gray, which is protected in Queensland, and the Eastern gray
which may legally be taken, these two species are
distinguishable when viewed at close range and in good light,
and neither is endangered. The Australian government also
asserts that the requirements for tagging and processing of
skins makes it unlikely that endangered kangaroos are being
processed for export, since only kangaroos with tags may be
processed.
Major league soccer teams, soccer clubs, and coaches'
associations support this bill because they believe it will
provide greater access to high quality soccer shoes that will
help improve performance. Several sporting goods
manufacturers and retailers support this bill because it will
allow for the sale of athletic products made from kangaroo
leather.
5)Opposition : Opponents, primarily organizations devoted to
animal protection, argue that Australia's regulation of
kangaroo hunting does not ensure that only abundant species of
kangaroo are being killed. Since kangaroo harvesting occurs
primarily at night, opponents claim that many endangered
species continue to be killed by hunters who cannot
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differentiate between endangered species and the abundant
species that can legally be harvested. In addition to the
difficulty in distinguishing between endangered and
non-endangered kangaroos, the opposition expresses a lack of
confidence in the Australian government's management of the
species and claims that some species of kangaroos are being
shot at a rate which exceeds their reproduction rate.
The main argument raised by opponents is their objection to what
are perceived as inhumane methods of killing kangaroos,
particularly joeys (baby kangaroos) found in the pouches of
mother kangaroos which are shot. The Australian Code of
Practice for humane shooting of kangaroos provides that "Shot
females must be examined for pouch young and if one is present
it must also be killed. Decapitation with a sharp instrument
in very small hairless young or a properly executed heavy blow
to destroy the brain in larger young are effective means of
causing sudden and painless death." The Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has recommended that the Code
of Practice be amended to prohibit the shooting of female
kangaroos carrying large pouch young.
6)Technical Amendment : In recent years, due to the decline in
the population of kangaroos caused by the drought, the quota
for kangaroos has been reduced. In the Senate policy
committee an amendment was taken to ensure kangaroos may be
harvested and sold in California only if the commercial
harvest of kangaroos in future years does not exceed the
official quota established for 2007 and what the lawful take
is for kangaroos in each subsequent year. The intent was for
the 2007 quota to serve as a ceiling. To clarify this intent,
the words ", whichever is less" should be added at the end of
the sentence on page 2, line 20.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Adidas America
American GI Forum of California
Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
California Black Chamber of Commerce
California Chamber of Commerce
California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
California Retailers Association
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Chick's Sporting Goods
Commission of Major League Soccer
Congress of California Seniors
5.11 Tactical Series
Los Angeles Galaxy
National Soccer Coaches Association of America
National Sporting Goods Association
Soccer Pro
Sport Chalet
Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association
Opposition
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Animal Place
Animal Protection Institute
Animal Switchboard
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights
California Animal Association
California Federation for Animal Legislation
Farm Sanctuary
Paw PAC
The Humane Society of the United States
United Animal Nations
Viva!
Numerous individuals
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096