Two things bring us together as Australians - we're all mates and we all love a day off. This Australia Day, YOU can join the campaign to give our animal mates a day off too - a day off the menu! It'd be un-Australian not to...

Shane Warne, the cast of Home and Away, and a Bondi lifeguard. What do they all have in common? They're all Australian and they all love a day off. Every year across this great nation, Australians unite on January 26th to celebrate our shared love of having a day off. (Umm ... that's right, isn't it?) This year you can make a stand for our four legged mates, by keeping them off your plate. On Australia Day ... Everyone Deserves a Day Off.

However you choose to celebrate your day off, fight un-Australianism, and bring a plate of delicious veggie tucker. Going to a barbie? Cook up some true-blue veggie snags. Picnic? What could be more Australian then taking some lamingtons! Beach party? Wrap yourself in an Aussie flag and take some veggie wraps. The options are as wide as this dry, brown land we call home. You could even host a barbie yourself, encouraging friends to bring a cruelty-free plate.

There's heaps of other ways you can get involved but the best way to celebrate all that's good about Australia is to keep meat off the menu.

Being Australian means more than just ending all your words with the letter "O". So this Australia Day, stand up for the underdog (undersheep?), because Everyone Deserves a Day Off!!

If you're over the idea that being Australian means eating animals, then share this campaign far and wide! You know it makes sense. ;)

Proving that real men are kind to animals, Norwegian mates Erik and Torvald put their own lives at risk to rescue a lamb that was close to drowning. Check out these amazing pics of the rescue!

Erik (20) and Torvald (19) were out and about with a mate taking photos with a new camera when Erik saw the lamb struggling in the waves. Immediately the guys leapt into action and ... well, the photos tell the story. The lamb was reunited with his flock, while Erik and Torvald probably spent the rest of the day rescuing babies from burning buildings and stopping supervillains from taking over the world.

If you reckon this kind of story is inspiring (it gave me goosebumps!) then bear in mind that your decisions every day can have the same impact on an animal's life as these two guys have. Decisions like going meat-free, pledging to not wear leather, or encouraging your oldies to not buy cage eggs (or better yet, try egg replacers!) all make a world of difference to the lives of countless animals.

By making compassionate decisions, you can be a hero for animals, too.