Freedom of Species

In Australia, the current review of the Poultry Code is underway. The last review was in 2001 and gained pitifully little for the life of a chicken born into the food production industry which is of no surprise. Birds don't belong in cages, let alone on our plate. Likewise, animal welfare does not belong in the Department of Primary Industries. Like the wings of a caged hen, welfare ain't going to 'fly' there.  Listen in to our chat with Karen Davis, a leading international animal rights activist for our treasured feathered friends.

How can a Hindu-majority country that recognises cows as sacred also be a major global producer of beef, leather and milk?Dr Yamini Narayanan shares her research into this most perplexing contradiction.Dr Yamini Narayanan is a Research Fellow at Deakin University's Australian Research Council. Her research explores trans-species feminist urban planning - examining the significant and yet invisible role of animals in city building, and the complicity of urban religion in enabling animal exploitation for urban development.Her book Religion, Heritage and the Sustainable City: Hinduism and Urbanisation in Jaipur (Routledge) was published in 2015.

On this week's show Elio Celotto from the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses discusses the group's plans for this year's sping racing carnival.www.horseracingkills.com

"MAY THE FOREST BE WITH YOU"  We chat with a true solutionary-Aviram Rozin, co-founder of Sadhana Forest . Sadhana has projects in India, Haiti & Kenya where they have been successfully introducing a growing number of people to sustainable living, food security through ecological transformation, wasteland reclamation, and veganism.http://sadhanaforest.org

A speech by Philip Wollen at the recent Animal Law Conference, hosted by New South Wales Young Lawyers.Philip Wollen is a former Vice-President of Citibank and was also General Manager at Citicorp. Wollen became a vegan following his departure from Citibank and is a prominent member of the animal rights movement. He conducts intervention programs to rescue abused animals and funds outreach programs that promote animal welfare and abstinence. At age 34, Australian Business Magazine named him in the top 40 headhunted executives in Australia. In 2005 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia  and in 2007 he won the Australian of the Year (Victoria) award. In 2012 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Centre of Animal Ethics, UK.

Emmanuel Giuffre, Legal Counsel for Voiceless, gives a presentation at the 2015 Animal Law Conference in Sydney that provides valuable insights into the animal welfare issues and legal framework of the Australian dairy industry.  The event was hosted by NSW Young Lawyers.  If you think the dairy industry is benign, you need to listen to this.https://www.voiceless.org.au/our-approach/research-and-publications/the-life-of-the-dairy-cow

This week's show present's highlights from the 2014 Animal Activists Forum, which was held in Sydney last October.We present excerpts from three talks: DANIEL BEECHER & DAVID RISSTROM Experienced Lawyer / Criminal Defence Barrister Legal Aspects of Animal Activism Legal practitioners Daniel Beecher and David Risstrom lead an informative and thought provoking discussion on how activists can prepare for encounters with the legal system, and why it’s important to do so.BEDE CARMODY Sustainable activism: How to avoid burn out Drawing on 21-years of personal experience in the animal rights movement, this workshop focuses on the stresses and strains an individual can face being part of the movement and shares strategies and tactics to avoid becoming “burntout”. Bede Carmody has been involved in social change campaigning since the start of 1994, campaigning on both animal right and human rights. In 2001 he established A poultry place animal sanctuary. Since 2003 he has worked as a community organiser with the human rights organisation Amnesty International, a role which sees him working on a day-to-day basis with volunteer activists.SENATOR LEE RHIANNON Australian greens Senator for NSW The point of lobbying MPs when parliament fails to act on animal cruelty people’s passion for animal welfare crosses all political persuasions but still progress is slow on ending cruelty to domestic and farm animals as well as Australian wildlife. Lee’s talk explores why MPs are dragging the chain on animal welfare, how animal activists can use parliament, and what history shows us are effective tools is winning change. Lee illustrates her talk with two campaigns - end live exports and ban the import of cosmetics tested on animals – to examine why these campaigns that have mobilised mass support have stalled in parliament.These three excerpts give just a taste of what is in store at this year's Animal Activists Forum, to be held at Melbourne Town Hall on 10th &11th October 2015. Tickets are now on sale! www.activistsforum.comDavid Risstrom, Daniel Beecher, Senator Lee Rhiannon, Bede Carmody

Can people in the developing world eat as much meat and dairy as people in the industrialized countries without destroying the planet? And do they really want to? Brighter Green is a public policy action tank based in  New York that works to raise awareness of and encourage policy action on issues that span the environment, animals, and sustainability and they explore these qs  in a short documentary  they have produced called WHAT’S FOR DINNER?

Each year, approximately 80 000 unweaned seal pups are clubbed to death on the beaches of Namibia.  It's regarded as one of the cruellest hunts on Earth and one Australian citizen profits hugely from it. We chat with South African activists Pat Dickens, founder of The Seals of Nam, and Nikki Botha who are campaigning against the slaughter.  We also hear from Peter Shaughnessy of the South Australian Museum and Phil Cornelius of Animal Liberation South Australia about the proposed seal cull in South Australia's Coorong.http://www.antifurcoalition.org/namibian-seal-hunt.htmlhttp://www.thesealsofnam.org/seal-hunt-petitions/

ARE ANIMALS OUR BEST FRIENDS IN COMBATTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?Phil Arkow from the Link Coalition tells us "Animal abuse is a human welfare issue"We discuss this with Lydia Tong, Veterinarian and Research Affiliate with the University of Sydney & we hear from CEO of RSPCA Victoria, Liz Walker about the RSPCA submission into the Royal Commission into Family Violence. WAIT>>>there's more!! We talk about the war on feral cats with Adam O'Neill ( an independent researcher specialised in animal behaviour & Australian ecology & a former feral animal eradicator himself...) We also unearth a bit about a new film titled, "Unity" with the acclaimed Director of Earthlings himself -Shaun Monson .For "Unity" screenings in Australia: http://www.specticast.com/en/titles/unityAs cats have made a scratching post of the media this week thought they wouldn't mind a little more attention by using one of Cat 'Artics beautiful pictures to decorate the webpage.. Thankyou Cat 'Artic!- See more at: http://www.freedomofspecies.org/show/are-animals-our-best-friends-combatting-domestic-violence#sthash.1oioQ2cX.dpuf