You’ve probably heard about the horrible piece of legislation currently under consideration in California that, if passed, will make it legal to sell products made of kangaroo skins there. There has already been a huge public outcry against the bill, but just in case Cali lawmakers need another reason to kill it, here ya go.

It occurred to me the other day that this is no way for the Golden State to welcome David Beckham, and his wife Victoria, to the neighborhood. The Euro “it” couple is moving to LA this summer, where David will play for the LA Galaxy, in possibly the biggest money deal in professional sports history, reportedly worth several hundred million dollars over five years.

It’s no secret that Posh and Becks are big animal lovers. It’s been reported that Posh is a “devout vegetarian,” and just four years after signing a multi-million-pound contract with Adidas to wear and promote Adidas Predators shoes (made of kangaroo skins), David switched to a synthetic model after watching a video of baby kangaroos being ripped out of their mothers’ pouches and beaten to death. Last year in Australia, more than 3.9 million adult kangaroos were killed for the meat and leather industries, and baby kangaroos, or “joeys”, are considered useless by-products of this barbaric industry.

The couple clearly cares about animal welfare, so hopefully this bill will be killed before they arrive in California. Otherwise, who knows, maybe the new slogan for this campaign will become “Boycott Like Beckham” . . .

And finally, this horrible video is why the bill needs to be defeated, like ASAP:

First of all, Happy third day of Be Kind to Animals week! I hope your week has been as jam-packed with compassion for animals as mine has (mental note: don't ever say that again). In case you're casting about for some easy ways to help animals that will fit into your schedule, one great thing you can do is write to your legislators about pending bills that will affect animals in your area. The good news is that PETA keeps track of all these bills, and can keep you informed about what's going on and what it all means through our Activist Network, which you can sign up for here.

Conveniently enough, if you live in California, you can get started right away. The particular bill that's pending right now is a singularly unpleasant piece of legislation that seeks to undo an act that made it illegal in the state of California to sell kangaroo skin. As you might imagine, nobody bothered to ask the kangaroos how they felt about this bill, and various interests that stand to profit from their suffering—including the California Chamber of Commerce—are making an effort to push this one through. You can learn more by clicking here, and you can help out by using the form to write to the Chamber of Commerce about the bill, and the contact information provided to let the senator responsible for this bill know why it's such a lousy idea. For anyone who's not convinced that this bill needs to be firmly defeated, here's a short video (warning: this one's really graphic).