Wow. Some shocking stats have come out of the NSW Greyhound industry -- an inquiry has found that anywhere between 13,000 and 17,000 greyhounds are killed every year! What's more, the Inquiry heard that as few as 4 in every 100 dogs born into the industry will make it beyond 2 months of age :(

Last night on The Project, a greyhound trainer admitted that to get to zero greyhound deaths is just not possible. We have a rescue greyhound who "works" in our office and it breaks my heart to think that he very well could have been one of the dogs in these awful statistics. When he broke his leg, his trainer was getting ready to "dispose" of him but he got a lucky save.

Blue hard at work. More pics of Blue.

Blue is the sweetest, gentlest dog and many greyhound owners would say this is typical of his breed. So to me, anything more than zero is an unacceptable number of greyhound deaths. And the greyhound trainer was wrong to say it's not possible. It is possible. Just not while greyhound racing exists.

Two greyhound trainers told the NSW inquiry that 90% of trainers are involved in brutal 'live baiting' of possums, piglets, rabbits and other small animals. Not surprisingly, greyhound racing is facing calls to be shut down. But we don't have to wait for the laws to change to bring an end to greyhound racing. The most powerful thing you can do to help dogs and other animals is to sign the pledge to never bet on a greyhound race and to encourage your friends and family to do the same.

The trainer interviewed on The Project also said that just like with greyhound racing, the horse racing industry would never be able to guarantee that no horses will die.

Horse racing trainers everywhere.

But it's true -- greyhounds aren't the only victims of Australia's racing industry. Many horses bred to race are killed. Here's what you need to know about horse racing ...

One of the biggest racing events of the year -- the Melbourne cup -- is only a few short weeks away. If you'd like to take a stand against racing, you might like to consider one of these 5 ways to celebrate without cruelty.

Here's 5 ways you can help change the world this week: 

Every meal we eat has an impact for animals. You can make that impact a positive one by choosing to spare the lives of animals and eat animal-friendly foods. Take the Veg Week Challenge to save the lives of animals and be kind to the environment too!

Can you believe that many cosmetics and body products are still tested on animals? And clothing containing fur, leather and wool can mean suffering and a life cut short for animals. You can help protect animals by choosing animal-free clothing and body products that aren’t tested on animals.

Hosting a bake sale, taking an epic bike ride or dyeing your hair a crazy colour are just some of the endless things you could do to help raise funds to help animals this week. Create your own customised page and start fundraising today :)

Doing a class presentation? Pick an animal issue. Dislike dissecting animals in class? You have a right to choose not to. Want to free hens from cages? Ask your school canteen to take cage eggs off the menu. (Click here for a free campaign kit to get you started on this challenge.)

Together we can accomplish amazing things for animals! As a member of Unleashed’s Action Team, you’ll be the first to hear about important actions for animals. It’s easy to join in and you can participate as much or as little as you like!

And remember, animals can use a helping hand all year round. So if this week's no good for you, any time is a good time to make a kind choice for animals :)

As if it wasn't enough that the dairy industry impregnates a cow and sends her calf to slaughter to profit from her milk, now they're doing this too ...

It's been given the nickname 'cow mootel,' though it's certainly not a place I'd want to check in to. Rather than being allowed to graze in a paddock, cows are put into individual 'chambers' approximately four metres by five metres in size and three metres high. Each cow is isolated, with only the view of another cow suffering in the same way through a glass window. She's harnessed and made to wear what has been described as a nappy and then the temperature is turned up.

Cows produce less milk in hot weather. (Let's be honest, we all get a little bit sluggish in the heat.) But this is bad news for the dairy industry as it means that their most important asset is suffering. Their $$, that is.

The 6 'mootel' rooms are part of a science experiment at the National Dairy Centre in Victoria to study the impacts of heat stress on cows. The Victorian Government spent $2.5 million to help build these hot isolation chambers. Cows will be milked and have their 'nappies' changed regularly -- their faeces and urine collected for research. Scientists will study a cow's productivity and emissions with the temperature at 32 degrees for days at a time, which is like being exposed to a heatwave for the cows inside.

Dairy research scientist, Dr Jacobs, said they had the ability to 'dial these up higher' at any time but that it would have animal welfare concerns to take temperatures up to 40 degrees and then put cows back outside to 14 degrees. (Sadly, the Australian live export industry doesn't have the same concerns about subjecting animals to a jump to 40+ degree temperatures. Find out about heat stress on live export animals.)

Dr Jacobs says that the glass windows between these oven-like chambers are also a deliberate animal welfare consideration. "The ability for a cow that's in one of these calorimeters for three or four days to be able to see her neighbour is very much part of keeping her happy," Dr Jacobs said.

Cows are very social animals who not only have best friends, but can get stressed when separated. In these chambers they are powerless to do anything more than suffer in solitude and watch their herd mate be subjected to the same thing on the other side of the glass.

Not surprisingly, the media was asked not to take photos of the cows in their nappies and sweltering hot chambers on the opening day of this facility. Dr Jacobs said that it might be confronting for some people to see the animals in this situation and that the centre did not want to attract "unnecessary" attention from animal welfare bodies.

The fact that the dairy industry is a) doing something that they suspect will upset people and b) wants to keep it hidden should be great cause for concern for the public. But this is far from the first time that the dairy industry has been involved in practices that would concern the public.

In fact, central to the dairy industry's business model is something they'd rather milk drinkers didn’t know, or rather -- someone. This someone is the young calf who is born to keep his mother producing milk. Each year, roughly one million unwanted calves are separated from their mothers and sent to slaughter as 'waste products' in their first week of life -- all so that their mothers' milk can be bottled for human consumption.

When exposed to the truth of what happens to these calves, people are understandably shocked and more and more caring people are looking to make kinder choices for calves.

Fortunately, there are many ways to get milk without any animal suffering whatsoever. Coconut, almond and soy are just some of the plant-based milk varieties that are widely available on supermarket shelves. What's more, plants don't need nappies, many are resilient to temperature changes and they don't need to be continuously impregnated to produce milk. (Someone ought to tell the dairy industry.) To find out more about the range of options available check out our deliciously dairy-free shopping list.