Florida’s Illegal Kangaroo Boxing.

The Rocky Show Circus travels all over the state of Florida holding boxing bouts with adult kangaroos but the group has to do plenty of maneuvering to avoid activists and the law.

Videos of the Rocky Show Circus show kangaroo boxing matches that seem somewhat staged but it’s clear that the human is actually punching the kangaroo in the face. Surprisingly, authorities have not been able to officially rule this as animal abuse and pictures and video are strictly prohibited. Since kangaroo boxing itself is not technically illegal, activists in Florida are trying to get the circus shut down for a slough of other offenses.

A quick search in the Florida business license database reveals that the Rocky Show Circus has no business license and are therefore operating illegally. Getting in the ring to slug it out with a kangaroo might not be considered illegal but not taking the animal to the vet would be. In fact, the Rocky Show Circus was cited by the USDA for not providing veterinary care their kangaroos for two years. In that time, at least two of the kangaroos in their care died from infections related to “lumpy jaw.”

Whether it’s by getting them blacklisted from even more events than they already are or by throwing the owners in jail for abuse and neglect, the Rocky Show Circus will eventually be shut down.

It’s funny, you’d think if you were operating an illegal kangaroo boxing league, the least you could do is take sick or injured animals to the vet.