Further to our post of 29 August 2014, yesterday death row dog “Sadie” was released into the care of Brightside Farm Sanctuary in Tasmania. Sadie is a Council declared dangerous dog subject to a destruction order. Since August, the Panel has been working to appeal the declaration, stay her destruction, and have Sadie released from…
Earlier this month in Wodonga, Victoria American Staffordshire Sonny was impounded by Wodonga City Council and declared a restricted breed. The Panel has intervened to appeal the declaration, which is due to be filed in VCAT by 16 October. The Panel extends it’s grateful thanks to Daniel Beecher of Phoenix Legal Solutions and barrister Simone Bailey for their assistance in preparing the VCAT appeal application.
Live export cruelty has again been revealed at a time when preparations for religious festivals are occurring. 174 Australian sheep meant for Korban ritual did not survive their flight to Singapore. Read more at http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/174-australian-sheep-meant-korban-ritual-did-not-survive For the fifth time, Animals Australia has provided the Department of Agriculture with evidence of recurring live export breaches at the…
The Federal Court this week fined Pirovic Enterprises Pty Ltd $300,000 for misleading consumers that their eggs were free-range. The decision was reported in various media outlets, including ABC News. The ACCC believes this decision will set a precedent for future cases as the court has effectively defined what constitutes a free-range claim, being that…
The Panel yesterday filed a submission to the Federal Labor parliamentary party sub-committee examining ways to implement a legislative ban on animal testing for cosmetics. Our chair, Graeme McEwen, today appeared before the sub-committee at a meeting in Melbourne on how such a legislative ban may be implemented and took questions from committee.
A handful of celebrities are flocking to the Faroe Islands to join the fight against Denmark’s annual dolphin “grind”, a highly controversial mass slaughter of pilot whales. Actress Pamela Anderson, famed ballet dancer Sylvie Guillem and sailor Florence Arthaud, both of France, are just a few joining 500 volunteers who are part of “Operation Grindstop.”…
Today VCAT President, Garde J, granted leave to the owner of Mylo to file a fresh application out of time challenging the City of Brimbank’s declaration on 17 May 2012 that he is a restricted breed dog. The fresh application was directed to be filed by 29 July: it was in fact filed today soon…
INDUSTRY and the public have been invited to have their say on whether that should happen, how bans could be enforced and its implications. The Panel will make a submission before the consultation period ends in August. Click here for the full story.
Wool producers are “shocked and appalled” by graphic footage allegedly showing Australian shearers beating, kicking and stomping on sheep. To read the full story click here.
The Panel intervened this week to arrange for RSPCA (SA) to offer to take the dogs Charlie and Sharni from the Frankston City Council. The Frankston City Council has resolved that the dogs be put down for killing a cat or cats. RSCPA (SA) made the offer in writing but it was rejected by the Council…
Concerned at misleading claims by egg producers that 20,000 hens per hectare ( two birds to a front doormat) and by Coles’ claim that 10,000 hens per hectare ( one bird to a front doormat) could be characterised as ‘free range’, the Panel last year made a lengthy submission to the ACCC. The ACCC in…
Further to our FB posts of 18 April and 12 May 2014 where we reported on the plight of Brutus, Coco and 9 puppies seized on 23 August 2013 by Hume City Council, Brutus went home to his owner on 10 June. Brutus’ owner had lost at VCAT, Judge Harbison affirming on 11 May the…
The ABC 1 TV 7.30 program last night screened a story on jumps racing, and how its days are numbered . The program video and ABC news report may be accessed here.
“In Victoria, some dogs are more equal than others. Depending on a dog’s postcode and the tenacity of its owner, a dog that bites might get off scot-free or it might be put down. Meanwhile, it can spend months in a pound awaiting its fate, with its owners barred from visiting. Most of the media…
“In what’s being described as a major victory against abusive animal practices in China, a government-owned company that has bred bears for traditional medicines has agreed to convert itself into a sanctuary. Animal welfare advocates hope the agreement, signed on Tuesday at a news conference in Beijing, will prompt the government to phase out other…
For the past six months or so the Panel has been battling to save Brisbane dog Zeus from a destruction order. Today Zeus was finally released (pictured). Zeus was found “wandering at large” by the Brisbane City Council in August 2013 and classified as “substantially fitting the description of an American Pit Bull Terrier”,…
ALL Coles brand fresh chicken will be RSPCA approved from today, in a move the supermarket giant says is a win for consumers and animal welfare. Read the full story at The Land, 3 January 2014.
In debate in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, shadow minister for agriculture John Lenders moved a motion yesterday calling for a parliamentary review of breed specific legislation and whether there are more cost effective means of preventing and reducing dog attacks. In this last respect, Mr Lenders mentioned the Calgary model a number of times. This…
The Panel is delighted to announce that former High Court of Australia justice, Michael Kirby AC CMG, has been appointed as the Panel’s Patron. His advocacy on behalf of animals is well-known, and illustrates the gathering weight and momentum of the animal cause. A separate page on our website has been created for him as…
‘Consumer watchdog the ACCC has launched court proceedings against two of Australia’s biggest egg producers, claiming they falsely labelled product as “free range”. Read the article by Jared Lynch at The Age website.
The World Trade Organization has upheld Europe’s ban on imported seal products, ruling that it is justified on “public moral concerns” for animal welfare. This landmark decision will set a precedent which supports the rights of nations to ban the seal product trade. Read more here. For a summary of the WTO panel’s key findings, click…
Croucher J of the Supreme Court of Victoria at 10am today determined to allow Kerser’s appeal against the Associate Justices’s refusal to grant leave (permission) to appeal, and fixed an early date of 11 October 2013 for hearing the appeal itself. It will be recalled that at the first VCAT hearing Jade Applebee lost her…
‘BREAKING NEWS: Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California’s ban on the production and sale of foie gras, the cruel delicacy produced from the livers of force-fed ducks. The court held that the ban was constitutional, finding the foie gras lobby’s challenge failed to even “raise serious questions” about the law’s constitutionality, The…
The Queensland government has bowed to industry pressure and adopted Coles ‘free range’ definition of 10,000 chickens per hectare. The previous commonly accepted standard that applied under the Domestic Poultry Code (4th edn) was 1,500 birds per hectare. Purported ‘free range’ chickens are thus to be allotted one square metre or the size of your front…
After two days hearing, the appeal by Kerser’s owner, Jade Applebee, concluded late today. Judgement by Croucher J has been reserved. It will be known that that the appeal is from the decision of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria to refuse leave to appeal from the VCAT determination (affirming the declaration of the…