The Flemish Parliament has told the EU that it plans to ban the sale and production of kangaroo meat and leather, with violations punishable by hefty fines and prison sentences of up to five years.
Belgium is the world’s second-largest importer of kangaroo products, particularly through Flanders, according to the parliamentary proposal banning manufacturing and sales. In 2017, Belgium imported 632,000 kilograms of kangaroo meat – or 27% of Australia’s total exports that year, the proposal reads.
Under EU law, member states must notify the European Commission of measures that restrict the sale of certain products, as these can affect the functioning of the single market.
The Flemish decree notes that Belgium’s main supermarket chains – including Delhaize, Colruyt, Aldi, Lidl, and Carrefour – have already removed kangaroo meat from their shelves. However, the meat is still used in pet food and sold in some restaurants and speciality butchers.
“Flanders contributes disproportionately to animal suffering in Australia,” the text states.
Representatives from an Australian animal welfare group and members of the Aboriginal community visited the Flemish Parliament in October 2024 to call for a halt in the trade of such products.
If approved, and after the Commission gives its greenlight, the Flemish decree would enter into force in July 2026.
An ongoing debate
Critics have long raised concerns over methods used while hunting kangaroos, including nighttime shootings, the killing of females with joeys – which means baby kangaroos die alongside their mothers – and non-lethal shots that leave animals injured.
But kangaroo populations fluctuate sharply depending on climate conditions, and debate continues in Australia over whether human intervention is needed to prevent overgrazing or starvation.
In 2024, Australian authorities set a quota of 1.4 million kangaroos for commercial killing – but only 532,000 were actually shot, around 36% of the quota.
In 2023, Brussels rejected calls for an EU-wide ban on kangaroo imports, stating that while food safety checks apply, animal welfare rules do not as kangaroos are classed as wild animals.
Talks on a free-trade agreement with Australia also collapsed in 2023, primarily due to disagreement over agricultural market access.
(adm, jp)
