In a major win for kangaroos, Nike has announced it will stop using their skins in any of its products this year. The news follows a similar announcement from Puma and means two major buyers of kangaroo leather will stop supporting the mass slaughter of these iconic animals in Australia.

It’s estimated that 2 million kangaroos are killed every year in what is the largest commercial slaughter of land-based animals on Earth, but that’s likely a conservative estimate because it doesn’t include joeys.

They’re killed by commercial shooters under the cover of darkness, and their joeys, who have no commercial value, are ruthlessly disposed of. Shooters are supposed to follow a “Code of Practice” that requires them to kill kangaroos with a single shot to the head, but the government has had to admit this isn’t being monitored in New South Wales, and no one keeps track of how many are just wounded.

In-pouch joeys who are killed by having their necks broken, being decapitated, or being bludgeoned to death — per the code — after their mothers are killed also aren’t counted, making the death toll much higher. Young who are on foot but still dependent on their mothers will also be shot or bludgeoned. If they manage to escape, they’ll most likely die of starvation or predation.

On top of the cruelty involved in the commercial slaughter, this industry poses a serious threat to kangaroos, who are also facing a host of other problems ranging from habitat loss, drought, and bushfires to the climate crisis and being killed by landowners, while some numbers used to estimate their population and justify commercial killing have been called into question.

Some meat and skins, which are used to produce kangaroo leather, or k-leather, will be used domestically, but the rest is exported. According to lawmakers who introduced the Kangaroo Protection Act in 2021, the U.S. is the second largest market.

K-leather is used by companies like Nike, Puma, Adidas, and others to produce soccer cleats, and in fashion. However, there’s an increasing interest in ending its use and public opposition continues to mount. Some major designers like Prada and Versace, among others, have stopped using it, while California has had a state ban on kangaroo products for decades, although there was a nine-year moratorium. Our staff has been to Sacramento to oppose challenges to the ban. More recently other states including Arizona, Connecticut, New Jersey, Oregon (where Nike’s headquarters are based), and Vermont have introduced bans.

Public pressure is playing an important role — more than 9,000 In Defense of Animals supporters signed our alert supporting federal legislation — and companies are listening. Earlier this month Puma announced it would stop using k-leather this year, and will switch to K-BETTER, a new, non-animal-based upper material.

Nike followed suit shortly after, announcing it had already divested from its supplier and will be switching to a proprietary synthetic alternative this year.

We’re thrilled with this news and hope other companies like Adidas do the same.