An animal rights activist places a placard on a man representing a dead kangaroo in...

An animal rights activist places a placard on a man representing a dead kangaroo in Sydney March 31, 2001, during a protest by the World League for the Protection of Animals to draw attention to the plight of the animals, which they say are being decimated by legal culling. Australia's kangaroo industry has been exporting meat to Europe for 35 years but had experienced a leap in demand since the recent spread of mad cow and foot-and-mouth disease. The animal rights group estimates that 15,000 of the marsupials die each night as hunters across the nation kill them for fur and meat, which they say is unhealthy. The Australian Kangaroo Association responded by saying the meat is free of all disease, extremely low in fat and is a healthy meat option.