Hollywood star Kate Beckinsale comes under fire for kangaroos

Kate Beckinsale divides opinion by posing with an Australian kangaroo inside a house in Canada as she celebrates the Easter long weekend

Kate Beckinsale has divided opinion among fans for posing next to kangaroos and other Australian wildlife inside a house in Canada.  

Posting on Instagram on Monday, the UK film star, 47, shared several clips of herself petting and posing alongside a kangaroo, wallaby and sugar glider over the Easter long weekend.  

In one video, a small kangaroo is seen hopping around the wooden floor wearing a nappy.  

Not happy:  Kate Beckinsale, 47, divided opinion among fans on Monday  for posing next to kangaroos and other Australian wildlife inside a house in Canada.

In another, Kate is seen cuddling up to a grey wallaby on the couch. 

Elsewhere, the Pearl Harbor star was seen gazing inquisitively at a sugar glider which sat in the palm of her hand. 

Generally, Canadians are allowed to keep sugar gliders and wallabies as pets, while the rules surrounding kangaroo ownership varies between provinces. 

Hopping about! Posting on Instagram on Monday, the UK film star shared several clips of herself petting and posing alongside a kangaroo, wallaby and sugar glider over the Easter long weekend

Hopping about! Posting on Instagram on Monday, the UK film star shared several clips of herself petting and posing alongside a kangaroo, wallaby and sugar glider over the Easter long weekend 

While the animals looked well-cared for and loved, a number of the UK star’s fans questioned why the animals were inside the home and not outside. 

‘Pretty sure under Australian laws you can’t export them privately so this is pretty messed up,’ one fan wrote. 

Another fan added: ‘Seeing our native fauna being treated like a toy and wearing a nappy is also messed up.’   

Cosy: In another, Kate is seen cuddling up to a grey wallaby on the couch

Cosy: In another, Kate is seen cuddling up to a grey wallaby on the couch

Mrs Dolittle? Elsewhere, the Pearl Harbor star was seen gazing inquisitively at a sugar glider which sat in the palm of her hand

Mrs Dolittle? Elsewhere, the Pearl Harbor star was seen gazing inquisitively at a sugar glider which sat in the palm of her hand

Controversial: While the animals looked well-cared for and loved, a number of the UK star's fans questioned why the animals were inside the home and not outside

Controversial: While the animals looked well-cared for and loved, a number of the UK star’s fans questioned why the animals were inside the home and not outside

Someone else wrote: ‘I absolutely hate it. Obviously not anything to do with Kate but it upsets me so much to see things like wallabies and sugar gliders as pets when it’s illegal here.’  

However, a number of fans thought the animals could be ‘rescues’ from a local kangaroo farm, being cared for by rehabilitation services. 

‘Could be rescues from illegal wildlife trade or bred in captivity,’ one fan wrote.   

Perhaps? 'Could be rescues from illegal wildlife trade or bred in captivity,' one fan wrote

Perhaps? ‘Could be rescues from illegal wildlife trade or bred in captivity,’ one fan wrote