Lessons for Animal Law Fromthe Environmental Law Governing the Kangaroo and Whaling Industries: Australian Successes and Failures

• Author: Dr. Keely Boom
• Pages: 311-331

311

Chapter 13:

Lessons for Animal Law

From the Environmental Law

Governing the Kangaroo and

Whaling Industries: Australian

Successes and Failures

Dr. Keely Boom

I. Australia’s Kangaroo Industry .............................................................. 313

A. Legal Framework Governing the Australian Kangaroo Industry ....315

B. Environmental Concerns and an Administrative Challenge in

Relation to the Kangaroo Industry ...............................................316

C. Animal Welfare Concerns and a Further Administrative

Challenge to the Kangaroo Industry .............................................318

II. e International Whaling Industry .................................................... 320

A. Conservation Concerns in Relation to Whaling ...........................321

B. Welfare Concerns in Relation to Whaling .................................... 323

C. International Whaling Regime .....................................................324

D. Whaling Case at the International Court of Justice ...................... 326

III. Lessons for Animal Law ......................................................................329

Conclusion ................................................................................................... 330

Despite increasing public concern about animal welfare and the envi-

ronmental impacts of commercially kil ling wildlife, such killing is

still commonplace. Products derived from the commercial k illing

of wildlife are bought and sold in domestic and international ma rkets.1 is

chapter considers two such industries: the kangaroo industry and the whal-

ing industry.

1. Although wild animals are commercially killed in Africa, there is no single commercial free-ranging

wildlife industry in Africa at the same scale as the kangaroo industry or whaling industry.

312 What Can Animal Law Learn From Environmental Law?

With average annual killings of approximately 3 million adults2 and

800,000 dependent young,3 the kangaroo industry of Austra lia represents

the largest commercial ki lling of land-based wildli fe in the world. Kangaroo

products are sold across Australia, and have been exported to international

markets, including Russia, the United States, and the European Union.

Moreover, unti l recently, Japan, Norway, and Iceland engaged in kil l-

ing whales. In 2005-2006, Japan caught 1,243 whales,4 principally in its

scientic whaling program. One of the most vocal critics of the whaling

industry has been Aust ralia, which recently brought a case against Japan in

the Internationa l Court of Justice challenging the legal ity of its “scientic”

whaling program.5

Both industries raise questions of anima l welfa re. e hunting and kill-

ing of wild animals, such as kangaroos and whales, involves conditions and

methods that are completely unlike the modern slaug hterhouse. In particu-

lar, an instantaneous death is much more dicult to achieve. ese indus-

tries also provide a cha llenge to sust ainability; commercial industries have

the potential to kill these wild animals at a far greater level than their popu-

lations can renew, and such decimation of these species can have other fa r-

reaching environmental consequences.

In this c ontext , the role of Austral ia in suppor ting and facilitating the

kang aroo industr y, w hile simultane ously opposing and seeking the end

of commercial whaling, i s curiou s. e method s of hunti ng and ki lling

both species ra ise similar issues of a nimal welfa re and questions of anima l

rights. It i s arguable that ka ngaroos a nd whales have rights to exist, irre-

spective of any human interests i n their exploitation. Aus tral ia has t aken

a s trong protectionist st ance ag ainst t he whaling industry, yet it fails to

accord this protection to k anga roos. is c hapter will explore the d ichot-

omy of Aust ralia’s role as protec tor and e xploiter in relation to whales and

kang aroos, respec tively.

Part I of this chapter examines the commercial kangaroo industry that

operates in Australia. It provides an overview of the kangaroo industry,

including historical background and policy context. It also explains the main

2. See A. G’ D’  E’, 2010 K Q  H  S (May 1,

2012), available at http://www.environment.gov.au/system/les/pages/d3f58a89-4fdf-43ca-8763-

bbfd6048c303/les/kangaroo-statistics.pdf.

3. Dror Ben-Ami et al., e Welfare Ethics of the Commercial Killing of Free Ranging Kangaroos: An Evalu-

ation of the Benets and Costs of the Industry, 23 A W 1 (2014).

4. J M, W  J: P, P  D 45 (2009).

5. I C  J, W   A (A . J: N Z

I), J (Mar. 31, 2014), available at www.icj-cij.org/docket/les/148/18136.pdf

[hereinafter Decision].