Davis animal-rights group Viva USA on Wednesday sued athletic- shoemaker Adidas and three California retailers on claims that they violated state law by selling shoes made from kangaroo parts.
The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, names as defendants the U.S. subsidiary of Germany's Adidas-Salomon AG, based in Portland, Ore., as well as San Francisco's Lombardi Sports, Sport Chalet of Los Angeles County and Off-Side Soccer in Folsom (Sacramento County).
Viva said it wants to halt imports of products including soccer cleats and running shoes made of kangaroo leather. The lawsuit is part of the group's global campaign against the commercial use of kangaroo body parts, which it said is illegal in California. Adidas sets industry standards for athletic- shoe materials because of its dominance in the market, Viva said.
"They are showing the same disregard for California law that the hunters show the baby kangaroos whom they bludgeoned to death," Viva spokeswoman Lauren Ornelas said in a statement.
Ken Lombardi, co-owner of Lombardi Sports, and Off-Side Soccer manager Alan Farebrother said they were unaware of a law that specifically prohibits selling kangaroo products and said their stores expressly do not sell products made from endangered animals.
Lombardi said he followed Adidas' advice on Wednesday and pulled from his shelves one type of Adidas shoe named in the lawsuit.
Officials at Adidas and Sport Chalet could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.
E-mail Jenny Strasburg at jstrasburg@sfchronicle.com.
Source: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/05/08/BU248020.DTL
| Suits & Thugs & Rock & Roll | |
| Cockfighting, prescription-drug abuse and other pursuits that tiptoe over the line of legality; plus, we give a shout-out to Plaza Frontenac |
Letter of the Week
A July 7 missive from Anheuser-Busch International, Inc. vice president John Hanichak to Amy Rhodes of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA):
Dear Ms. Rhodes:
Thank you for expressing your concerns about cockfighting and the mistreatment of animals in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
As a company, we care about animals and do not condone cockfighting. We looked into the matter and found that while we did not sponsor these activities specifically, our sponsorship of the overall festival associated our brands with an activity that we do not condone. Therefore we have instructed our distributor to avoid such sponsorships in the future.
For more than 150 years, Anheuser-Busch has had a recognized reputation for treating animals with respect -- from animal protection to animal rescue and rehabilitation to wildlife habitat preservation. Our company is a major sponsor of various conservation organizations including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Conservation Fund, The Wildlife Habitat Council and Living Lands & Waters, to name a few. Throughout the years we have partnered with and contributed millions of dollars in support of conservation and wildlife programs.
Again, thank you for contacting Anheuser-Busch and giving us an opportunity to respond.
Source: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/issues/2003-07-30/unreal.html/1/index.html
Alex Foster, Assistant District Attorney
50 Maryland
Ave.
Rockville, MD 20850
alexander.foster@co.mo.md.us