We still need an independent voice.

I have some good news and some bad news to share with you. Let's start with the good news...

Your voice is having an impact! The Labor Party clearly feel they need to respond to community concern about animal welfare.

If you've contacted the Labor Party about animal welfare, then you probably received the same email I did overnight. (If not you can read a copy of it here.) They are claiming a 'win' for animals. When we first got wind of this announcement we were excited too. And at first glance it looked good.

But as they say, the devil is in the detail.

The Minister of Agriculture has announced a new position: 'Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports'. It sure sounds impressive, but here's where I need to share the bad news with you. Despite the name, it turns out that this role is primarily about supporting live export :(

The new position's primary role will be reviewing what we already know is an inherently flawed live export system, but they will have no actual powers to change anything. They will report to the Agriculture Minister, whose primary interest is the profitability of the agriculture industry. Therefore the conflict of interest still exists and the voices of animals will continue to be overshadowed.

That's why an office for animal welfare -- independent of agriculture -- is so desperately needed.

And while the position itself is not the win for animals we were hoping for, there is still one very big positive. This announcement is a clear sign that our pollies are listening to us and they understand that animal welfare is a serious issue that they cannot ignore.

The other good news is that there is still a policy on the table that would address this properly -- an Independent Office of Animal Welfare. An IOAW is not only Labor policy but it is supported by most of the party.

Thanks to your tireless efforts, clearly Labor now know they need to take action on animal welfare. Now help us encourage them to take real action for animals.

TAKE ACTION by emailing Labor HQ: [email protected]. Thank them for representing your concerns but make sure they know that this is a position that primarily supports live export, that you oppose live export and that only an Independent Office of Animal Welfare will give you any confidence that the interests of animals are really being looked after.

Then head here for more ways to remind Kevin Rudd that animals need truly independent representation.

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