Promotional campaign by Australian tourism authority causes uproar
A stressed-out kangaroo on a street in Los Angeles has caused a stir in Australia. Even Prime Minister Kevin Rudd weighed in on Thursday on the discussion surrounding what appears to be a failed publicity stunt by the Australian Tourism Board.
According to SDA, the company had placed a cage with a kangaroo on a busy street in the celebrity district of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles in order to promote vacations Down Under in the USA. A video on the internet portal YouTube shows the animal staggering back and forth in the cage during the campaign in January. It is obviously completely confused and stressed.
He had not seen the video, but had heard reports about it, said Prime Minister Rudd. He was very concerned about it and thought it was quite wrong. The Australian national symbol must be protected. The father of animal welfare icon Steve Irwin also spoke out against the action. "It's a terrible image of Australia that goes around the world when a kangaroo is treated like this," explained Bob Irwin, whose son was killed by a ray while filming on the Great Barrier Reef in September 2006.
The tourism authority, on the other hand, defended itself by saying that the ten-year-old kangaroo Fesnick had only been on display for four hours.
He had not seen the video, but had heard reports about it, said Prime Minister Rudd. He was very concerned about it and thought it was quite wrong. The Australian national symbol must be protected. The father of animal welfare icon Steve Irwin also spoke out against the action. "It's a terrible image of Australia that goes around the world when a kangaroo is treated like this," explained Bob Irwin, whose son was killed by a ray while filming on the Great Barrier Reef in September 2006.
The tourism authority, on the other hand, defended itself by saying that the ten-year-old kangaroo Fesnick had only been on display for four hours.
