Animals Australia

Animals Australia is an Australian animal protection organisation. Its aim is to investigate and expose animal cruelty,^[1] inspire kindness to animals through public awareness campaigns—particularly focused on farmed animals^[2]—and provide funding and support to other animal organisations where appropriate, for example in emergency response during the 2019/2020 Australian Black Summer bushfires^[3] and COVID-19 pandemic.^[4][5]

Animals Australia's organisational vision is "a world where kindness, compassion and respect extend to all living beings. We shine a light in the darkness and illuminate the pathway to a kinder world for all."^[6]

Sadly they were recently embroiled in a sabotage scandal involving cattle from Australia and a $100,000 payment to obtain distressing footage which they had facilitated by foreign workers. ^[7]

Animals Australia is a registered charity,^[8] funded entirely by members of the public,^[9] and was previously one of Animal Charity Evaluators Standout Charities.^[10]

History

Animals Australia formed in 1980, originally as the Australian Federation of Animal Societies, founded by Peter Singer and Christine Townend. Animal protection groups in New Zealand were invited to join in 1986 and the organisation became the Australian and New Zealand Federation of Animal Societies. This formal Australian-New Zealand association ceased in 2005 and the federation now only uses the name "Animals Australia"—the name adopted as an Australian trading name in the late 1990s. Animals Australia representatives have contributed to Government enquiries and animal welfare law reform since the 1980s, and currently serve on State 'Animal Welfare Advisory Committees' and the Australian Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AusAWAC).^[11]

Campaigns

Animals Australia conducts investigations and public awareness campaigns on a range of animal welfare issues, including

Their subsidiary group for young animal advocates between the ages 13–26 is Animals Australia Unleashed.[17]

Animals International is the global arm of Animals Australia.

Slaughter practices

Animals Australia's investigations in the Middle East in 2006 resulted in the first suspension of the

In 2020, Animals Australia again submitted video evidence to the Department of Agriulture showing Australian cattle being slaughtered in Indonesia using methods that breached live export standards (ESCAS)[26]

Heat stress on ships

Whistleblower footage provided to Animals Australia, and shown by the organisation to then-Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, depicted Australian sheep suffering severe heat stress on board the Awassi Express live export ship and several other live export voyages to the Middle East during 2017. Sheep were shown "dead and decaying", lying in excrement, panting and unable to reach food and water. Littleproud was quoted as saying the footage was "very disturbing,” and that he was “shocked and gutted".^[27]

This evidence, along with scientific review highlighting the inherent risk of heat stress during the Northern Hemisphere summer, led to the Australian Government prohibiting live sheep shipments from Australia during the highest-risk months of the year, being May to October.^[28]

The exporter responsible for the Awassi Express was also implicated in the deaths of 3000 Australian sheep from heat stress on board the Al Messilah in 2016,^[29] and the Federal Government has revoked the company's export licence.^[30]

Factory farming

In October 2012 Animals Australia launched its largest ever public awareness campaign initiative called "Make it Possible", with the goal of ending factory farming in Australia.

In December 2020, Animals Australia launched 'Somewhere', an evolution of the Make it Possible campaign, on behalf of all farmed animals.

Greyhound racing

Following joint investigations with Animal Liberation Queensland, in February 2015 Animals Australia exposed 'live baiting'^[35] training methods in the greyhound industry, reigniting the campaign to end greyhound racing. The campaign reveals some top figures within greyhound racing using live possums, rabbits and piglets as 'bait' to train their greyhounds. It also focuses on the widespread abuse of greyhounds in the industry, including the killing of thousands of young and healthy dogs every year.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2015, Animals Australia exposed the export of Australian greyhounds to China and Macau.^[36] At the Canidrome racetrack in Macau life-threatening injuries are a daily occurrence, and no Australian greyhound is on record as surviving for longer than three years.^[37] Canidrome has a 100% euthanasia rate of Australian greyhounds.^[38]

The Vietnamese greyhound racing industry, where investigation footage reveals unwanted dogs being injected with an insecticide and dying in agony, was set up by Australian industry interests.^[36]

'Somewhere'—legalised cruelty to farmed animals

In December 2020, Animals Australia launched 'Somewhere':

The name of the campaign comes from that of the Sondheim/Bernstein song, 'Somewhere', originally from the musical West Side Story, which plays in the campaign television ad.^[42] The song's lyrics of "Someday, somewhere/We'll find a new way of living" and "Peace and quiet and open air wait for us/Somewhere" are used to poignantly highlight the suffering of pigs and other animals in factory farms; and suggest that their "dreams" of freedom could come true.^[43]

People

Glenys Oogjes—Chief Executive Officer

Glenys Oogjes is one of Australia's longest serving animal advocates. She was raised on a Victorian dairy farm and has a degree in Behavioural Science. She has contributed to many national reviews of Codes of Practice and animal welfare laws in each Australian State and Territory. Oogjes has also worked to achieve greater protection for animals through representation on various committees including the Victorian Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, Institutional Animal Ethics committees, and on the Advisory Committee of the Animal Welfare Science Centre.^[44]

Oogjes was one of the instigators of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy^[45] and represents animal advocacy groups on the Australian Animal Welfare Advisory Committee^[46] which provides animal welfare advice to the Federal and State Australian Agriculture Ministers.

Lyn White AM—Campaign Director and Investigator

Formerly a South Australian police officer, White served as Australian Director of the Animals Asia Foundation on Southeast Asia animal cruelty issues before joining Animals Australia in 2003.^[47] Since 2003, White has conducted numerous investigations in the Middle East and Indonesia into the treatment of live exported animals from Australia.^[48]

Evidence gathered has resulted in a leading live export company being prosecuted for animal cruelty and three 60 Minutes

Animals Australia has been one of Animal Charity Evaluators' (ACE) Standout Charities in its annual recommendations since December 2015.[62] ACE designates as Standout Charities those organizations which they do not feel are as strong as their Top Charities, but which excel in at least one way and are exceptionally strong compared to animal charities in general.^[63]

In its December 2015 review of Animals Australia, ACE cites Animals Australia's strengths as their "ability to steer public conversation in Australia in a more animal friendly direction", concrete successes such as getting McDonald's to phase out battery eggs, a self-critical mindset, and significant growth in recent years. Their weaknesses, according to ACE, include significant spending to help much smaller populations of animals (e.g. those used in live export or puppy farming, as opposed to animal agriculture), and the fact that its activities are largely confined to Australia.^[62]

Note in the latest review (November 2018) Animals Australia declined to be reviewed stating that they were too busy.^[62]

See also

• Animal welfare and rights in Australia

References

External links

• Animals Australia Official Website
• Animals Australia - YouTube channel
• Animals International