For many years, decades rather, kangaroo skin has been present in some of the most sophisticated and advanced suits not only in competition but also on the market. The reason is simple, the skin of this animal is resistant but also more flexible and lighter than that of cows. That is why it is common to see it in monkeys either composed entirely with it or as part and now they are at the center of a controversy. And the Italian organization LAV has launched a new campaign that seeks to restrict the use of kangaroo skin.
LAV is known for working for animals and taking advantage of the Italian Grand Prix, it has launched the “Ride Smart. Go K-Free!”, a campaign that seeks to promote the progressive abandonment of kangaroo skin in the technical clothing used by pilots.
To do this, he will have a well-known ambassador within the paddock, Marco Melandri. The one who was 250 cc world champion in 2002 and one of the most outstanding Italian riders of the first two decades in both MotoGP and WSBK, has decided to publicly support the initiative.
According to Marco in a video released by LAV, he himself used this type of jumpsuit without stopping to think about the origin of the materials with which it was created. But now, with the passage of time and the knowledge acquired, he thinks that there are advanced technologies that allow the development of alternatives that offer similar levels of security and, also, the same benefits.
Kangaroo skin is an ideal material for competition, but it is at the center of controversy
The campaign is based on an analysis carried out by the organization itself on the MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK grids. According to their data, the vast majority of pilots continue to use suits that incorporate kangaroo skin to a greater or lesser extent.
LAV states that the regulations of the International Motorcycle Federation do not require the use of materials of animal origin and recalls that the regulations expressly allow the use of equivalent materials as long as they meet the homologation requirements required for the competition.
The debate, however, goes beyond motorcycling. The skin used in this type of equipment comes from the regulated commercial hunting of several species of wild kangaroos in Australia. It is a legal activity and subject to quotas established by the Australian authorities, who defend this system as a population management tool and whose main product is the meat of the animal and the skins as a by-product. Animal rights organizations, on the other hand, question both their impact on animals and the need to continue using these materials when there are already advanced synthetic alternatives, even more so because more than four million of them are killed each year, affecting, according to LAV, also more than 300,000 offspring that are in the marsupia and cannot fend for themselves.
That is precisely where LAV focuses its message. The association believes that manufacturers, teams and organizers should accelerate the transition towards equipment completely free of materials of animal origin. Among their requests is the opening of a dialogue process with the main brands in the sector and greater involvement of both the FIM and Dorna to promote the use of alternative materials.
The campaign will continue over the next few months in several GPs, including San Marino and Australia, but its first big stop will be Mugello, where the organization will install different information points to bring this debate closer to the thousands of fans who will come to the Italian circuit.
