Animal Rights Activists Disrupt Nike’s Flagship Store in NYC over Sale of Kangaroo Skin

Animal rights activists staged a disruption inside of Nike’s flagship store in New York City as part of a “Global Protest Day” against the company’s support of the mass slaughter of kangaroos for soccer shoes. Organized by the Center for A Humane Economy, a Washington-D.C.-based advocacy group leading a campaign to end the use of kangaroo leather, the protest called on Nike to stop hunting kangaroos and stealing their skin.

After chanting on megaphones for 30 minutes and distributing information to customers, the activists exited the store, with prodding by the NYPD, and unfurled a banner at the entrance – “NIKE PROFITS. KANGAROOS DIE.”  The protest continued on Fifth Avenue, where activists engaged with customers and pedestrians.

Animal rights activists with the Center for a Humane Economy, NYCLASS and TheirTurn protest Nike’s use of kangaroo skin at the company’s flagship store in Manhattan

As part of the Global Protest Day, animal rights groups also staged #KangaroosAreNotShoes disruptions in Portland, Oregon, where Nike is headquartered, and in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.

As part of the “Global Protest Day” against Nike’s support of the mass slaughter of kangaroos in Australia, animal rights activists in Portland staged a #KangaroosAreNotShoes protest at a Nike store near the company’s global headquarters.

The massacre of kangaroos in Australia represents the largest slaughter of land-based wildlife in the world. According to the Center for a Humane Economy, approximately two million kangaroos are killed each year for commercial purposes. Seventy percent of them are used to make soccer shoes.

Nike make soccer shoes from the skin of kangaroos in Australia who are hunted down at night and shot in the head

Animal rights groups argue that killing wild kangaroos is especially cruel because an estimated 40% of the victims don’t die instantly. In some cases, the wounded kangaroos escape and die slowly from the gunshot.

Each year, hunters in Australia kill an estimated approximately two million kangaroos for commercial purposes.

The mass killing has secondary victims. When mothers are shot, their babies (joeys) typically don’t die with them. In accordance with government guidelines, the hunters bludgeon them to death. Some of the babies escape, only to die slowly from exposure and predation. Each year, hundreds of thousands of joeys die during the nightly kangaroo hunt.

“Slaughtering mothers and their babies in the dark of night is an atrocity,” said Edita Birnkrant, the Executive Director the animal rights group NYCLASS and an organizer of the NYC disruption. “How do Nike executives sleep at night knowing how much pain and suffering they are causing?”

Nike supports the mass slaughter of wild kangaroos in order to use their skin to make soccer cleats

According to The Center for a Humane Economy, Nike rationalizes the mass slaughter of wild kangaroos by engaging in green washing and humane washing. Nike states, “Suppliers must source animal skins from processors that use sound animal husbandry and humane animal treatment/slaughtering practices whether farmed, domesticated or wild (managed) . . . If wild caught, [kangaroos] must be sourced from actively managed populations with government agency oversight.”

Animal rights activists, including young children and senior citizens, disrupted business in Nike’s flagship store in NYC over the company’s support of the mass slaughter of kangaroos to make soccer cleats

The sale of kangaroo parts is banned in California. The Kangaroo Protection Act, federal legislation introduced in 2021, would ban their sale nationwide. Several retailers, including Nordstrom, Gucci, Prada, and Versace, have stopped selling kangaroo skin products.