Kangaroo left on street for Aussie promotion

Tourism Australia is facing accusations of animal cruelty for leaving a caged kangaroo on a busy Los Angeles street for hours at a time.

Do you think the stunt was inhumane? See what ninemsn readers said here.

The kangaroo was placed on the street as part of its "G’day USA" advertising campaign.

But the stunt has come under intense scrutiny after local woman Kylie Mackenzie filmed the kangaroo appearing to look anxious in the cage, the Daily Telegraph reports.

"I just couldn't believe that this is how they were trying to promote Australia," she said.

Ms Mackenzie said the kangaroo had been given only a limited supply of straw to survive its stint by the street.

But a spokeswoman for Tourism Australia said the stunt was humane and the kangaroo was only used for four hours at a time.

"It was an event for the public and obviously when you are doing things with Australia, people — particularly children — are really interested in seeing animals," the spokeswoman told the newspaper.