animal rights

Director of Alphadog AnimalArmy, Marcus Fillinger speaks about his research looking at multiphase kangaroo fertility control, undertaken in collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney. Marcus discusses remote delivery (darting) of contraceptives to kangaroos and the kinds of problems which have arisen where people with little training in marksmanship have targeted kangaroos. he also shows photos of clinical consequences of shooting that has failed to make a clear headshot. Marcus shows a number of rescues via tranquillizer dart and challenges as a myth the idea that you cannot relocate kangaroos because they die of stress etc. This talk was given at an event held by the Animal Justice Party on 5 April 2016 in Canberra. The purpose of the event was to look at government policy towards kangaroos.

On Friday the 13th of February I attended the “Great Debate: To Collapse or Not to Collapse,” hosted by the Sustainable Living Festival at the Deakin Auditorium. The following Wednesday I attended a screening on the movie Cowspiracy, hosted by Animal Liberation Victoria, which explored the impact of industrial animal agriculture on the environment and the resistance from environmental groups to address the issue in a meaningful way.

Both events painted a grim picture of the environment and society if we don’t make considerable changes, however as in most events that prescribe change, they did a good job of focusing on particular issues whilst ignoring others. I have reflected considerably over the past week, and after summarising the two events I will share three points that I feel get overlooked by the environmental and social change movements. I believe these points must be acknowledged if we are to sustain the planet for successive generations.

Fourteen activists from the hardline animal rights group Sea Shepherd, including an Australian, were arrested in Denmark’s Faroe Islands while trying to halt a dolphin "hunt".

For the first time ever right across Australia ( except NT and Tas) Australians will at this election have the opportunity to vote for a party dedicated to animals. At a recent presentation by the AJP in Victoria, I found out that their principle policy is 'kindness'.

There are a record number of 54 political parties represented in the Senate in these elections.
There are obviously glaring "gaps" in concerns and policies not being addressed by the mainstream parties, the ALP and the Coalition.
Each party below, and the list is not exhaustive, was searched for policies on:
wildlife
environment
population growth/immigration
animal rights
asylum seekers
(if any are absent it's because no policy was found)

Back in 2010, the Victorian Government made a pre-election promise to increase penalties for breeders found committing acts of cruelty and to eliminate illegal and/or poorly run puppy farms. Considering this, it is appalling that the Government is recommended "revisions" to its Code of Practice for the Operation of Breeding and Rearing Businesses. This code sets out the minimum standards of accommodation, management and care required by breeding and rearing establishments. This revision would legalise some of the abhorrent conditions and practices regularly seen by RSPCA Inspectors at puppy factories.
(images are the property of Oscar's Law)

The article below was published on 5  June 2013. That article, was, in turn, reprinted from CounterPunch of 12 January 2011. Since the article was first published, Washington has added the slaughter of Libyans, Yemeni, and Syrians along with that of wolves to its accomplishments. An addendum describes the wicked new "sport" of "canned hunting."

See also: Americas greatest affliction: the Presstitute media of 2 Jun 2013 by Paul Craig Roberts.

Dale Peterson begins his thesis with the execution of elephants for crimes of murder against humans. An unusual, well-argued and inspiring book. Peterson co-authored the famous Demonic Males, an anthropological study in their own environment of several kinds of apes, including humans. I expected him to come up with something new on the subject of animal morality, and I was not disappointed. This is a real thesis, a slow burning one that reaches a high temperature.

Magnificent, significant, relevant, a happy elephant ...

We wonder if Bob Carr, Australia's Foreign Minister, has any idea of the utter distress he has given to wildlife carers all over Australia in his endorsement of the kangaroo-meat industry for export? It has reduced to despair mature activists who normally soldier on impressively (where the rest of us dare not even look) despite constant exposure to brutality, cruelty and a useless legal system in their daily rounds. Carr's position is even odder in view of his patron status with Voiceless, the vegan fund for animals.

Did you know that the very last battery hen has been freed from her cage in the UK? Sadly, Australian Governments are still refusing to act. History was made on January 1st this year when barren battery cages were banned throughout the European Union. There are about 12 MILLION battery hens in Australia.

There is a move by a GoldCoast mayor to ban rodeos. Animal rights defenders want you to support this move. One way you might consider doing this is to vote on line for banning rodeos from Gold Coast City Council land and cutting funding for such events . You can vote here.

spiked online like nothing more than reporting on popular uprisings such as those seen recently in several northern African countries. Their revolutionist zeal however is repeatedly juxtaposed by mind-boggling support of multinational corporations and advocacy of unlimited population growth. No venom is spared when attacking what they describe as the “conservative” movement of environmentalism and the growing menace of neo-malthusianism. Animal rights activists are routinely dismissed as misanthropic and filed away with others who dare to challenge anything that stifles human advancement. More often than not, spiked aim to attack opponents such as the “green elite” before they tackle the issue being debated.

On Tuesday, 8 February 2011, Member for the Victorian Opposition, Martin Pakula (ALP) pointed to the effective cartel which a supermarket may form in its own right, in a bad situation for farmers which, to me is a danger signal that cows will suffer even more (although Mr Pakula did not mention the suffering of cows). "Anyone who has been to Coles or Woolworths in the last few weeks would know of the decision by the retailers to slash the price of their home brand dairy products, and it seems more of this is on the way in regard to baked goods. This has been described in some circles as a win for consumers, but in the longer term I am not sure that will be the case," said Mr Pakula.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5xdwrMRNXo
The cows whose milk we humans drink had their calves taken away from them. The male "bobby calves" are unwanted by dairies. The RSPCA estimates that there are 600,000 Bobby calves born per annum in Victoria. Many are induced prematurely in order to minimise disruption of milking schedules for human convenience. They are usually dragged screaming from their mothers when they are little more than a day old, fed milk from a bucket, and prepared for slaughter. In a new low ('standard') Department of Primary Industries wants to increase time calves may be starved prior to slaughter from 24 hours to 30 in all states and territories. The study they have commissioned does not support their aim - thank heavens.

Traditional Chinese Medicine should be made illegal in Australia. It relies on killing endangered animals and animal cruelty, as bad if not worse than scientific animal experimentation.

For example, Traditional Chinese Medicine relies on bile from the gall bladder of bears to supposedly treat fever. It involves extracting it from a live caged bear through the life of the bear. The practice is wicked.

The Animal Justice Party of Australia (AJPA) is close to the target number of members to be able to register with the Australian Electoral Commission. This is an indication of the importance the community gives to animal welfare. The party is now calling for more members so that it can begin to make an impact. See also "Political diversity" Gloria O'Possum says, "Please join! Since possums cannot vote, we rely on kind humans to represent us, until we acheive voting rights."

The flawed case put by many animal rights advocates fails to acknowledge that we are still in nature and never left. We are merely cocooned in a complex anthroecology that started with microbes and dogs and ended up including a vast number of other species as well.

See inside for the AJP's new charter. One of the clauses is "A population settlement and land use system that is truly sustainable for all its inhabitants and ecosystems." I know that the AJP has requested a paper on this subject. Animal activists tendn to be very aware of the impact of human population and activities on habitat and rights of other species. To join the Animal Justice Party, click here.

How about this! There is a new political party in Australia, just for the animals and people who care about their rights and want them to have happy lives and their own space!

This is a great film about corporate farming to pass on. It is not 'anti-farmer' per se. It talks about corporate farming impact on land-tenure and communities, our health, animals' living conditions, and peoples' rights. It will make you laugh. See also "How to make our agricultural sector sustainable"

The growth lobby appears in new guises every day, constantly trying to make itself out to be the good guy. Now a new alliance of religious groups pretends we can go on growing indefinitely, the same way that the Citizens Electoral Lobby, the Australian Property Council, and the Prime Minister of Australia do. But Tim Murray asks, "If each one of God’s 214,000 miracles born each day is precious, what of the tens or hundreds of thousands of non human life forms that are murdered that day by our expansion? Yes, 100 species are lost each day. But many more life forms are killed than that each day. How many? Who knows? Each and every day we are breeding our life support system into the ground."

Possum drawing by Chloe and Kathleen, Anderson's Creek Primary School, Victoria, Australia

Lanamania is a distributor for possum yarn from New Zealand.

Its website boasts: "Our passion for knitting, our love of nature and our New Zealand heritage all come together in one product...Possum handknit yarn of Zealand - the light and soft touch of New Zealand."
But this view of Australia's native animal is somewhat different to those of Anderson's Creek Primary School in rural Victoria, Australia.

American Republican politician Katherine Harris of Florida is shown here in August 2006 during her campaigning for the 2006 Florida United States Senate election, holding a native opossum by the tail.

Jumps racing in Victoria will cease at the end of 2010 but key stakeholders say they will fight the decision announced by Racing Victoria Ltd.  The fact that some will be condemned to the knackers if the "sport" is banned shows just how little the lives of the horses are valued, nothing but meat, outside the industry. It is a reflection of the exploitation of these fine and hard-working animals, and how little the owners,
trainers and jockeys bond with them.

Help End Factory-Farming at AnimalsAustralia.org
See also hereUPDATE 23 Nov 2009: The two biggest financial supporters of factory farming in Australia are Coles and Woolworths. They have the buying power to influence change by demanding ethically produced products and by not supporting producers that use cruel practices such as sow crates and battery cages. Animals Australia are suggesting that people ask Woolworths and Coles to use their purchasing power to improve the lives of animals. Your message need only be a few lines but it will provide an important call for change. Customers' views are considered important by Coles and Woolworths. Ed. Have you noticed that societies that treat domestic animals badly also treat their people badly. Standing up for other species is a way of standing up for yourself.

We publish and answer here pro-rally comments from "Jack," accusing "Greenies" of violence. Perhaps this is a classical case of "People in glass houses should not throw stones" - only who is in the glass house here? It is hard to deal with behaviour which has rightly been accused of causing threat to human life when you know that the situation which probably caused it left any protesters few if any legal or safe alternatives. Did Repco's and the NSW Government's actions place citizens in an untenable position by suspending environmental protection and democratic rights?

Animal lovers in New Zealand want the law to be changed to make it illegal for people to eat their pets. The move follows an incident in Auckland in which a Tongan family was caught barbequing their dog.

Defence has produced pseudo-science to justify a massive kangaroo slaughter at Majura in Canberra. It is clear that the government only protects human interests and is interested in "managing" wildlife such as kangaroos out of existence, and have their habitat replaced by housing and human structures!

If our governments have their way, kangaroos would be confined to sanctuaries and zoos. Maybe this is the only place our descendants will be able to see our “wildlife”.