"If we don't do something now, when will we?" – Jasmine Roney, age 16
Can you remember when you first learned about the terrible things that happen to animals? I remember feeling disbelief and wondering what I could do to help. When Jasmine learned about cruelty, she felt empowered to act.
In 2012 Jasmine started making calico bags with original designs on them to raise funds to help animals in factory farms and in the live animal export trade. These might seem like big issues for a 15 year old to tackle but as Jasmine quickly learned, we are not alone in wanting to help animals :)
Fast forward to now – here is a picture of Jasmine and Costa from ABC's Gardening Australia at the launch party for her Bags for Change project in Richmond :)
Jasmine raised a whopping $1800 for animals by selling her fair-trade, reusable bags. (You can still purchase a bag for yourself at the Bags for Change Facebook page.)
There was also a raffle with donated prizes from companies who supported Jasmine's cause AND an art competition with an awesome 60 entrants!
It all started with the decision to make a difference. As Jasmine says, "for one second be bold enough to think that you can change the world because the ones who are brave enough to think that are the ones that do."
Is there an issue of cruelty that really gets to you? Do you have an idea to help change the world for animals? You can start your very own fundraising page by clicking here and filling out the details about your project. Or you can choose one of the challenges suggested :)
Jasmine wrote to us after her bag launch and said, "you all inspire me every day." Well Jasmine, I can speak for all of the Unleashed team when I say that you inspire us!
We were so moved by Jasmine's passion when we heard about her project. And we just can't get enough of hearing about the awesome things that people get up to to be a strong voice for animals. So if you're doing something awesome, get the credit for it you deserve by entering our Activist Challenge comp.
P.S. If you'd like to leave a message of support for Jasmine, you can do so in the comments below :)
Every Spring, large numbers of pregnant harp seals come together on the Canadian ice floes to give birth to their pups. Baby harp seals are born with soft white fluffy fur. This white coat will protect them for the first two weeks of their life ...
At around 12 days of age, a baby harp seal starts shedding his fuzzy white coat for a darker, sleeker one. However, he will still need to spend some time on the ice, saving his energy and losing his baby blubber before he can swim with the other seals. It's during this time that the annual Canadian seal hunt begins.
And I hate to be the one to tell you this, but that time is now.
Can you believe that as soon as baby seals start shedding their white coats, they can legally be killed by seal hunters? And as if killing helpless baby animals wasn't bad enough, the way they are killed is horrific. Seals are brutally beaten to death or shot by hunters. They will then be skinned for their furs.
We can do something to help stop this cruel seal hunt.Please sign the petition to show Canada what Aussies think of this horrific slaughter, and most importantly – spread the word. The more people that know about this, and speak out against it, the greater impact we can have for seals.
But seals are not the only animals to be killed for their skins. You might be shocked to learn that millions of animals you would consider to be loved family members – cats, dogs and rabbits for example – are killed for their fur. What's more, a cow needs her skin just as much as a dog, cat, rabbit or seal needs theirs. Leather costs lives too :(
ALL animals killed for their skins need us to step up and refuse to buy products that deal in cruelty and suffering. And with so many cruelty-free options out there, there's no reason not to! If you're with me on this, take the pledge to wear your own skin and let animals keep theirs.
You might remember in November last year we uncovered dozens of videos online of cruelty in the Gaza Strip during the Festival of Sacrifice. Sadly, our local investigator has found not only that this cruelty is still happening but the same exporter is implicated ...
In fact, in the last 10 months, this exporter (Livestock Shipping Services), has been reported for breaking the rules 10 times. 10 times in 10 months! And yet they're still exporting animals. It just doesn’t make sense, right?
For animals, these broken rules have meant terrible suffering ... like this:
WARNING: This video is very graphic, so if you don't need to see it to know that it's cruel, I suggest giving it a miss and scrolling on down to see how you can take action for animals.
How can a company that is responsible for ^this be trusted with more animals? Bulls having their eyes stabbed, leg tendons slashed, throats sawn at again and again with blunt knives. Animals watching on as their mates are brutally slaughtered, knowing that this same fate will soon befall them. No one deserves that.
Are you thinking what I'm thinking? The system is not working. The Government simply can't guarantee that animals in the live export trade will be protected from brutal treatment.
The good news is ... (here's that silver lining I promised you) ... every time we expose cruelty to animals in live export we give politicians another reason to oppose this terrible trade ... and more and more politicians are becoming a voice for animals in Parliament.
Will your MP be the next to speak out against the live animal export trade? Click here to send a strong message to your representative to support an end to the trade on your behalf.
Easter is coming – and that means it's almost time to stuff ourselves silly with chocolate eggs!
But before you rush to the shop, spare a thought for what's inside those eggs. Because whether you care about the survival of the planet, ending cruelty to animals, looking after your health, or whether you just enjoy really good chocolate, you may want to consider choosing dairy-free. Here's why:
As if we needed another reason to eat chocolate, right? :P Dairy-free dark chocolate is high in antioxidants and can even help protect your arteries – meaning in moderation it is good for your heart! Sound too good to be true? Read more here.
>Dairy cows are responsible for approximately 3% of all global greenhouse gas emissions! PLUS the industry consumes a massive 12% of all the water used in Australia. So going dairy-free is kind to cows AND the environment. Find out more about dairy's environmental footprint here.
This may shock you but over 700,000 dairy calves (called 'bobby calves') are discarded and killed as 'waste products' of the dairy industry every year. These calves are born for one reason – to keep their mothers producing milk. But what happens to them? Most are separated from their grieving mums and killed before they are a week old. Going dairy-free means chocolate doesn't need to be a death sentence for dairy calves. Click here to learn more about dairy's dark secret.
Don't let the dairy industry pull your leg over healthy bones. Not only is dairy not the only source of calcium — other sources may be healthier for you. Surprised? Click here to get the low-down on calcium from the experts, and find out which foods are great for your bones, and kind to calves....
No need to take my word for it (although I am kinda an expert) ��� try Bonvita's rice milk chocolate (including dairy-free white chocolate) – it's mind blowingly good. Most good quality dark chocolates are naturally dairy-free too, like Whittaker's Dark Chocolate Block, Noble Choice, and Lindt 70%. Click here for a list of the best dairy-free chocolates on the market!
So are you celebrating a deliciously dairy-free Easter this year? Let me know what goodies are in your Easter hamper in the comments below :)
A drug scandal and a massive drop in popularity. Sounds like an episode of E!News right? Rather, it's the latest reports to come out about SeaWorld (in the US).
Leaked documents reveal that SeaWorld trainers give psychoactive drugs to some of their marine animals. The drug – benzodiazepine – is the same stuff used in common human medications Valium and Xanax – to treat anxiety. I don't know about you, but I'm not surprised that animals at SeaWorld might be suffering from mental health issues. I'd be pretty miserable if I had to live my whole life in a bath tub. Keeping highly social and active animals like orcas in small tanks is just cruel.
But on a positive note, looks like people might be having second thoughts about visiting marine parks. SeaWorld has reported a 13% drop in attendance for the first three months of 2014 – almost half a million less people than during the same period in 2013.
And keeping the good news keeps rolling, a CNN poll found that 86% of people said that they wouldn't go to SeaWorld after learning about the cruelty of keeping whales in captivity.
The story of Tilikum, a captive orca living at SeaWorld in Orlando, has touched countless people through the documentary 'Blackfish'. Although SeaWorld denies that the documentary is having any impact, the recent drop in visitors tells a different story.
You can make a difference for animals in marine parks simply by not attending them. Besides, there are plenty of ways to get close to animals without having to lock them up for their whole lives. Click here to watch an amazing encounter with a mother and baby whale in their natural habitat.
Imagine an island almost completely inhabited by cute fluffy bunnies ... Oh wait, it exists! Okunoshima is a small island in the Sea of Japan. It has become popular amongst tourists because of the friendly rabbits that roam freely about the place.
Sadly, Okunoshima wasn't always a paradise for bunnies. During the first and second world wars, it was used by to manufacture and test poisonous gases. Maybe you can guess why the bunnies were there to begin with :(
It's not known for sure how the bunnies came to pretty much own the place but some sources say that when World War II ended, workers set them free! Regardless, now they are cuddled and given treats and loved and kept safe. Like all bunnies should be :)
Unfortunately, not all rabbits are so lucky. Millions of animals still suffer every year from cruel tests. You can help protect them from cruelty by making the pledge to refuse products that have been tested on animals. Click here to sign your name today.
2. Pig Beach:
Just when you thought it couldn't get any better than Rabbit Island ...
The story goes that sailors left pigs on this tiny uninhabited island in the Bahamas intending to come back for them but never returned. And now they swim and surf and sunbathe all day every day.
Jealous? Me too!
But only a little bit because it makes me super happy to see pigs super happy. They'll never have to go through the incredible suffering that millions of animals in factory farms experience right here in Australia. Not only may pigs in factory farms never see sun or sand, but the mothers are confined to crates so tiny that they can't even turn around, whilst pregnant!
A neat place to be an animal right here at home :) Kangaroo Island in SA is a massive wildlife sanctuary. So roos can just be roos – grazing in the morning, snoozing in the arvo and maybe some more grazing at night.
Sadly, night time can mean an awful fate for kangaroos in other parts of Australia. If you love our native wildlife, the truth about kangaroo shooting might shock you. Click here to learn more and take action.
4. Costa Rica:
Yep, the whole of Costa Rica. That place has got it going when it comes to positive change for animals. Check out this brief timeline of Costa Rican awesomeness:
I love hearing about stuff like this from across the globe as it reminds me how achievable it is to make a kinder world for animals right here in Australia. Click here to take part in our latest campaigns and help make Australia the awesome-est place to be an animal :)
5. The Unleashed office:
Srsly.
Nuff said.
Know any other places where animals rule the roost (so to speak)? Let me know about them in the comments :)
Are you still pumped from the GREAT news that Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean has FINALLY been banned? (In case you missed it, the full story is here.) We have been buzzing here at Unleashed and this video of a mother whale and her baby was the icing on the cake. These lucky tourists got an incredible up close demonstration of how curious and friendly whales can be ... when they don't have harpoons pointed at them:
It's not often we get such a remarkable and up close look at life under the sea. Click here for 10 more things that might surprise you about the big blue.
Did you know that the oceans are home to 97% of all life on Earth? But most of us rarely get a glimpse at what's going on under the sea. So here are 10 things you should know are going on deep below.
5 amazing facts:
FACT 1
No joke. Many fish have taste buds on their fins, face and tails. Some fish use their sense of smell to find a safe place to lay their eggs. And migrating salmon can even tell the taste of their home stream.
FACT 2
I was blown away when I saw this video of octopuses using coconut shells as mobile shelter. Then there's stingrays who use jets of water to get food out of tubes, and turk fish who use rocks to break open shells.
FACT 3
Sea creatures communicate with each other in many weird and wonderful ways (I dare you not to be dazzled by how cuttlefish communicate), but herring might just take the cake. They are believed to use farting to make noises to communicate with one another.
FACT 4
And these Australian crimson spotted rainbow fish can still remember how to escape nets 11 months later! Plus, they're not the only fish with good memories.
FACT 5
They call it bioluminescence and it probably goes without saying it's so amazing I can't even.
5 alarming facts:
FACT: By 2048 all the fish species who are fished for food could be wiped out. You can help: Make the choice to take fish off your fork to help combat overfishing. The fish will thank you for it ;)
FACT: Oceans have 'dead zones'. If that didn't sound bad enough, they are getting bigger. You can help: Find out more about dead zones and how you can help here.
FACT: There's an island of floating rubbish in the Pacific Ocean, and it's bigger than the Northern Territory. You can help: Say NO to plastic bags.
FACT: We've turned cows, chickens and pigs into the largest ocean predators on the planet.Factory farmed animals now eat more fish than all the humans on the planet. You can help: Eat for tomorrow! Reducing or eliminating animal products from your diet is the single most powerful thing you can do as a consumer to ease the stress on our oceans. By choosing not to eat farm animals (and fish), you can help ensure marine animals are protected from overfishing.
Did any of these facts shock you? Share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to spread the word!
GREAT NEWS! Whales may finally be safe from slaughter in Antarctic waters. Japan has been ordered to stop its whaling. *happy dance*
At long last! No more harpoons. No more slaughter for 'scientific research'. These amazing animals can finally swim free without fear of hunters in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary!
Australia has won an international legal battle at International Court of Justice. The court has decided that Japan's slaughter of whales is not scientific and must stop IMMEDIATELY. And thankfully, Japanese officials are saying they'll respect the decision.
The long campaign to save the world’s gentle ocean giants has been fought by so many people. Now, all those who have ever taken action for whales can share in this incredible victory. On behalf of the whales, THANK YOU to Sea Shepherd and to all of the groups and individuals who have played a part in this historic win for animals!
This victory goes to show what we can achieve when we work together and never give up. So if you're feeling inspired by this great news, here are some other simple ways you can make a difference of marine animals today:
Disclaimer:
We’re supposed to let you know that the ideas expressed here are the views of the individual authors, and may not necessarily reflect the views of Animals Australia or Animals Australia Unleashed. So now you know.
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