It was no longer justifiable in terms of environmental impact, according to them. Credit: Pxhere

The Carrefour supermarket chain will stop selling kangaroo meat in its Belgian stores, for environmental reasons, it announced.

According to Carrefour, the meat was bought mostly by a niche audience. “Kangaroo meat is known as tender, lean meat and objectively delicious,” said a spokesperson, reports Het Nieuwsblad. “However, it was no longer justifiable in terms of environmental impact,” she added.

Turnover from sales was around €200,000 on an annual basis.

GAIA, an animal rights organisation in Belgium, started a ‘Save the Kangaroo’ campaign in 2019. “The current forest fires make our hearts bleed,” said GAIA director Ann De Greef, reports De Standaard. “Despite everything, they continue to hunt kangaroos in Australia. The past few days, we have done everything we can to convince the remaining supermarkets to stop selling kangaroo meat,” she added.

Previously, Delhaize, Colruyt, Aldi and Lidl already removed kangaroo meat from their offer. GAIA calls on Nathalie Muylle, the Federal Minister of Economy, to (temporarily) ban the import of kangaroo meat as well.

Maïthé Chini

The Brussels Times