Independent Office of Animal Welfare

Bahrain Feed lot – Sheep handlers with training handling sheep Photo courtesy of Animals Australia Further to our report (see below) of the appointment by the Federal Labor Caucus on 27 November 2012 of a Live Animal Export Working Group to develop a model for an Office of Animal Welfare, click here to read the House of…

Cruel treatment of bobby calves at Victorian abbatoir captured on video

Photo courtesy of Animals Australia.  New footage has emerged capturing the cruel treatment of bobby calves at a Victorian abbatoir. The footage was aired on Lateline on 1 February 2013. It has stirred debate regarding the treatment of bobby calves in Australia and the laws which govern how they may be treated. You can view the…

New photos emerge of cattle cruelty in Indonesia

Photo courtesy of ABC Online. Original photo from Juni Kriswanto, AFP. ABC Online: ‘Workers unload cattle using ropes hanging around their necks in Surabaya, East Java.’ New photographs have been taken of cattle being treated cruelly in Indonesia. One photo depicts cattle being lifted off a boat by a crane with rope tied around their heads.…

Japanese whaling vessels reported to have departed for yearly hunt

Photo courtesy of the ABC article reproduced below, and sourced from Australian Customs Service Japanese whaling vessels reported to have departed for yearly hunt It has been reported that three Japanese vessels have left port for the annual whale hunt, and that a fourth is soon to join. You can read the details in this ABC…

Pepe’s Ducks fined for misleading claims

Photo courtesy of Animals Australia Crowded … ducks on a farm that supplies Pepe’s Ducks (Photo: Steve Siewert) Pepe’s Ducks has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $400,000 following misleading claims that its ducks were raised in an “open range” environment and “grown nature’s way”. You can read the full story here. You can read…

Live animal exports: Panel writes to all government MPs

Photo courtesy of ABC TV: 7.30 Report. A cow is poked with a cattle prod in the Israeli abattoir. The ABC1 4 Corners program, Another Bloody Business, screened on 5 November 20, exposed the circumstances of the brutal Pakistani sheep slaughter where sheep rejected by Bahrain (for alleged disease) were re-routed to Pakistan, an unapproved destination when the shipment left Fremantle. The ABC 1 7.30 program, Israeli…

Anastasia Smietanka – New National Co-ordinator

With her appointment as legal counsel for Animals Australia, Shatha Hamade has been succeeded as National Co-ordinator by Anastasia Smietanka, previously her Deputy. The Panel will continue to work closely with Shatha in her new role with Animals Australia. Anastasia has been with the Panel for over 3 years. Prior to her role as National…

Office of Animal Welfare

At its meeting on 27 November 2012, the Federal Labor Caucus appointed a Live Animal Export Working Group to develop a model for an Office of Animal Welfare and to report back to the Caucus with recommendations by February 2012. Amongst the Working Group’s aims, it will consider the role an Office would play in…

Macquarie Animal Law Symposium – Speeches by BAWP Members

On 18 October 2012, Panel Barristers Graeme McEwen and Melissa Perry QC and BAWP Secretriat member Jed Goodfellow spoke at the Animal Law Symposium titled ‘Animal Law: Tomorrow’s Law: The Future of Animal Law.’ The Symposium was co-hosted by Macquarie University and RSPCA Australia. You can view Graeme McEwen’s speech on strategic litigation here. Unfortunately, only about…

New Zealand to Phase Out Battery Hens

New Zealand is to phase out battery hens by 2022. The new Code of Conduct will allow hens to be kept in colony cages – a larger cage – or in barns. Whilst greater freedom for hens is to be welcomed, the Panel favours free range egg hens. In Australia, the dramatic increase in market…