Animal Law in Australasia: A New Dialogue

GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

website: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/

Griffith University, along with The University of Auckland, received a $15,000 grant for a project which brought together the growing number of academics and practitioners working on animal law scholarships across Australia and New Zealand. The project titled ‘Animal Law in Australasia: A New Dialogue’ had two components. The first of these was completed in September 2007, when an intensive animal law workshop was held bringing together both academics and practitioners, currently working on animal law scholarships to discuss the legal issues relating to how animals are treated in the region. The second component of the project involved the publication of a book of the same name, the first major academic publication in the Southern Hemisphere on animal law. Officially launched in 2009 by the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG, as part of the Voiceless 2009 Animal Law Lecture Series, it was hoped that Animal Law in Australasia would provide a useful starting point for those wishing to engage with the discipline. The 2nd edition of was published in 2013 and is available for purchased on the publisher’s website.

Humane Education: a compassionate ethic for animals

COMPASSION IN WORLD FARMING

Human Battery Cage Campaign

VEGETARIAN/VEGAN SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND

The Vegetarian/Vegan Society of Queensland received a $20,000 grant for their Human Battery Cage Campaign, which used installation art to illustrate the animal welfare implications of battery cages. This project saw the construction of oversize battery cages containing human occupants in public spaces around Australia, in order to illustrate the cramped and inhumane conditions that battery hens endure, and to encourage members of the public to take action against this cruelty. The campaign achieved notoriety across Australia in 2006, attracting the attention of members of the public in every location as well as receiving an extraordinary amount of media coverage. For more details see their website. To view an image of the project please click on the download icon below.

http://www.humanbatterycage.com/

Pro Bono Animal Law Service (PALS)

REDFERN LEGAL CENTRE

Redfern Legal Centre received a grant of $20,000 in 2006 for the establishment of the Pro Bono Animal Law Service (PALS), a legal referral service which linked animal protection organisations and individuals with lawyers who were willing to provide free legal services to promote better animal protection outcomes. Due to its initial success, PALS went on operate as a national service out of the Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) in Victoria. PALS at PILCH sought to improve laws to promote animal protection by engaging in strategic litigation, community education and law reform and policy work. To see the PALS logo, click the download link below.

Promoting Replacement of Animals in Education

THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR HUMANE EDUCATION (INTERNICHE)

interNICHE was granted $2,500 for a project promoting the replacement of the harmful use of animals in education by educating members of the scientific teaching community about alternatives to the use of animals in life science education. The first phase saw the distribution of two hundred copies of the book ‘From Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse: alternative methods for a progressive, humane education’ throughout Australia. The project was widely promoted to the scientific educational community through the ANZCCART email list and at the ANZCCART conferences in 2005 and 2006. It also received coverage in the email lists and newsletters of several Australian animal protection groups. The grant further funded the distribution of 30 copies of Helena Pedersen’s book ‘Humane Education in Laboratory Classes. Aspects, Attitudes and Implications’. To view the cover of this book, click on the download icon below.

http://www.amazon.com/From-Guinea-Pig-Computer-Mouse/dp/1904422004

Animal Radio

STUDENT YOUTH NETWORK INC (SYN)

Student Youth Network Inc (SYN) received a $5,000 grant aimed at encouraging young radio makers to engage and educate their audience, particularly youth, through the use of community media. The grant funded a series of radio documentaries and community service announcements based on animal protection issues, which were broadcast nationally on the community radio satellite over a period of 9 months. The broadcasts featured regular on-air interviews and segments, promoting animal protection issues aimed at young people across Australia.

Say No to Animals in Circuses

PROFESSOR BARRY SPURR

Dr Barry Spurr was granted $5,000 towards a campaign aimed at achieving local council bans on performing-animal circuses throughout NSW.  The ultimate goal of the campaign was to ban the practice of keeping animals in circuses nationally. Dr Spurr’s campaign aimed to increase public awareness of conditions affecting animals used for entertainment, in order to encourage the public to lobby for a ban. In 2006 and 2007 respectively, as a result of his efforts, and those of other dedicated activists who had been working on this issue independently, Parramatta City Council and Wingecarribee Shire Council (covering such towns as Bowral, Moss Vale and Mittagong), passed a unanimous motion to ban performing-animal circuses. To see the logo from the campaign, click the download icon below.

http://www.animalcircuses.com/

Lolita: Slave to Entertainment

RATTLE THE CAGE PRODUCTIONS

This grant was awarded to Timothy Gorski for his documentary film Lolita: A Slave to Entertainment. The film addresses the cruel practice of capturing and confining wild marine mammals for their use in human entertainment industries. This is an issue of international concern and is equally relevant for Australian audiences as it is for those in the United States. The film has received numerous accolades, including the award for Best Documentary at the New Jersey International Film Festival. To view the poster for this documentary please click on the download icon below.

http://www.slavetoentertainment.com

Cruelty Free Van Upkeep

Animal Liberation NSW was awarded a $5,000 grant to support the ongoing maintenance of the mobile video education van, originally funded by Voiceless in 2004. This grant allowed Animal Liberation NSW to upgrade their van with painting and shelving for display of T-shirts, badges, books, videos and other Animal Liberation merchandise.  The van has travelled throughout metropolitan and regional areas of NSW,  to promote awareness about a wide range of animal protection issues, including live export, sow stalls, vivisection, battery hens, the fur industry, pate de foie gras, rodeos and horse racing. To see the van itself, click the download icon below.

Farm Animals and Us

COMPASSION IN WORLD FARMING

Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) received a $5,000 grant for the development of teacher support materials for the DVD ‘Farm Animals and Us’ in Australia. The DVD was originally funded by a 2004 Voiceless Grant and will now be supplemented with teacher support materials, aimed at enabling better and more self-sufficient use, in order to encourage greater uptake of the DVD in classrooms. To read the corresponding article in The Age, click the download link below.

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0C…