World Animal Day 2026
Two Eastern Grey Kangaroos at Namadgi National Park for World Animal Day 2026
4 October is World Animal Day! A day to raise awareness about animal welfare, so as to make the world a better place for animals - which, I believe, will make the world a better place for us people as well. It is marked on 4 October because that is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. World Animal Day was first celebrated in Germany in 1925, when 5000 people attended and it has grown since then. The theme for this year is, “See the world through their eyes.” You can find out more about the day at https://www.worldanimalday.org/
I have chosen two Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) as my animal to see the world through their eyes, and these two seem to be looking at their world. For many people, the kangaroo is an animal readily identifiable with Australia. In 2024 the Australian Government estimated that there 35 million commercially harvested species of kangaroos, which includes Eastern Grey Kangaroos across NSW, QLD, SA, VIC and WA. The NSW Government noted that the reason why kangaroos are culled is because the arrival of Europeans in Australia changed the ecosystem, by removing predators and improving conditions for kangaroos:
Kangaroo populations in New South Wales have grown since European colonisation due to changes in land use. Land has been cleared for grazing domestic animals like sheep and cattle, and there are more man-made watering points and fewer dingoes. Kangaroo harvesting reduces grazing pressure and competition with other wildlife species.
So looking at the world through a kangaroo’s eyes, Europeans made Australia much better for kangaroos and now we are punishing the animal for the changes that we made. Maybe its time to reconsider how we balance the understandable needs of the agricultural sector with the welfare of our native animals. This will be a balancing act, and maybe its time to shift the balance, if even slightly, in favour of our native animals. Potentially, just because we have always done something doesn’t mean that we should continue doing it. We can’t remake our ecosystems back into the pre-1788 model but we can support those farmers and scientists who are trying new methods to farm in harmony with the natural world.
Happy World Animal Day 2026!
