Oh that's just great, I still can't bring kangaroo meat packed in alligator luggage to California. [V]


http://dailybreeze.com/content/regstate/nmkanga28.html

By Michael Gardner
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

SACRAMENTO — California will remain the only state in the nation that bans the sale of kangaroo meat, crocodile purses or alligator belts.


A state Senate panel Tuesday rejected a bid to overturn a 33-year-old law that prohibits imports of products made from kangaroo, alligator or crocodile.


“You can’t put a price tag on wildlife,” said Virginia Handley, one of a dozen representatives of animal rights groups that converged on the Capitol.


South Bay Sen. Debra Bowen voted to uphold the ban, saying there is “no compelling reason” to change the law.


Californians can legally buy the banned animal products in other states and return home, but kangaroo, crocodile or alligator products cannot be sold here.


“The fact that some stores don’t know about the law and are illegally selling items made from kangaroos, alligators and crocodiles isn’t a reason to change the law,” said Bowen, D-Redondo Beach.


But Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, a La Mesa Republican who carried SB 233, said the opposition was driven by misguided emotion more than facts.


The state imposed the ban in 1970 — long before endangered species laws swept the nation and world. Under international treaties, rare species generally cannot be slaughtered for commercial purposes, Hollingsworth said.


“We can have regulated trade that benefits the species,” said Hollingsworth, who was wearing a pair of alligator boots.


To support his claim, Hollingsworth offered witnesses from Louisiana and the University of Florida who testified in favor of his measure.


“Our (crocodile and alligator) population is continuing to expand despite harvesting,” said Ruth Elsey, a wildlife biologist for the state of Louisiana.


James Ross, a crocodile expert at the University of Florida, said California’s ban actually hurts preservation.


Permit revenues and profits from sales are used to promote conservation of the species and encourage landowners to preserve wetlands that are home to other rare wildlife. Economies of developing countries also are helped by sales, he said.


“You’re not contributing much at this stage,” Ross told lawmakers.


In a concession to defuse the emotional appeal of cuddly kangaroos, Hollingsworth amended the measure at the last minute to permit imports of only crocodile or alligator products. In Australia, some kangaroo species are considered pests. The move did not sway opponents, who described alligator and crocodile facilities as “factory farms” that most Californians could never support.


The committee rejected the measure 3-3 on a party-line vote.


Publish Date:May 28, 2003

damn, I may have committed a crime when I was in Californistan back in September!

Grandmother gave me a bullwhip that was handwoven by Aborigines in Australia... made of kangaroo leather!  

Glad I smuggled it out to Texas!

Some of that is a reaction to a minor faux pas commited by a supplier to a certain major fast food company hq'd in San Diego.  I won't mention their name but right after they started the "There's Something new at the Box" ad campaign.  The Australian equivalent to the FDA made a major announcement that they had broken up a ring supplying groundmeat to a company headquartered in San Diego.  They proudly confirmed that contrary to the rumors the meat that was not beef was not kangaroo.  I guess from Australia that leaves camel, water buffalo, horse and ???  Be just about the right time period to generate a feel good law in Sacramento.

I bought PRE-BAN kangaroo meat at Jurgensen's upscale grocery store in downtown La Jolla back in 1968 so my buddy and I could make a batch of kangaroo spaghetti sauce.  We got the recipe from [i]The Galloping Gourmet[/i] TV show.

[img]http://www.livinglightnews.org/images/vgourmet.gif[/img]

It was very tasty!