As Australians, we love the underdog. We cheer on the unlikely hero, hoping they'll overcome all odds, and get the happy ending they deserve. When I heard of the mass cow breakout in Broome earlier this week, there was part of me that couldn't help but cheer the heroes on.

Of course, I realise that when cows are on the loose their own welfare is at risk. But sadly, where they were headed before they escaped was likely to be much worse. And their dash for freedom was a little reminder that if animals had a choice, there would be no live exports and no slaughterhouses.

Broome is an absolutely beautiful place. Unfortunately it's also a loading port for Australian cattle being sent overseas. I'm sure I don’t need to tell you that animals who are exported don't have much to look forward to. The journey is stressful enough, but even that doesn't compare to being slaughtered fully conscious in a country with no animal cruelty laws. (btw, you can help end the trade with just 30 seconds of your time).

Now, cows aren’t dumb, so it's no big surprise that some of them made a daring moo-ve (awful pun, sorry) to escape. In a stirring moment, around 50 of the bovine rebels made a break for it! Some dashed inland, some headed to the coast.

This story of animals making a break for freedom is one that occurs many times throughout the year. Sometimes the lucky escapees even get to live full, contented lives on sanctuaries. This particular incident is tinged with sadness though. Of the cows that escaped, 16 headed out to sea, with only seven able to be rescued. The rest drowned.

On the flip side, around 20 of the "Friesian Fighters" (a nice pun for the cow fanciers out there) are still livin' large, roaming the scrublands around Broome! How long they'll be free for is anyone's guess, but I've got my fingers crossed that they never again see the inside of a truck, ship or slaughterhouse.

Maybe the Broome escapees had found inspiration in this song?

n.b. Of course, I'm not suggesting that cows be armed with rifles. That would be ridiculous -- like suggesting that 12 year olds be allowed to go hunting by themselves (or tbh ... at all!). That'd be nuts! Oh wait ...

So did you see the live export story on ABC last night? If not, let me fill you in...

They aired shocking footage from a new Animals Australia investigation in Indonesia. (btw, you can check out the story here) I don't know how many times pollies need to see animals being packed on ships, sent to countries with no laws to protect them, and brutally killed before they'll get it. It's pretty obvious to the rest of us: live exports = animal cruelty

Last year, the government introduced a new system and promised we wouldn't see these horrible images on TV again. Minister for Agriculture, Joe Ludwig has been saying today that "What this actually demonstrates is that the system does work." But I'd like to get a second opinion: Does this look like a system that's working to you?

P.S. If you want to pester your pollie about banning this bloody business, drop in here.

Gosh, what a year it's been! Animal rights hit the mainstream in a big way in 2011. Check out this inspiring vid by Unleashed's big sister, Animals Australia for some of the highlights:

We just want to say a big 'thank you' to you for everything you've done to support our campaigns this year. If you attended a rally, wrote emails or letters, took action on our website, or did anythign else to support our work, then thank you for helping us have such a big impact for animals in 2011.

Here's to another great year in 2012!

p.s. Don't forget to share this video with your friends on facebook and twitter to show them what you've been a part of achieving in 2011.

A couple of weeks ago, I was chuffed to see the panel on The Gruen Transfer discussing Animals Australia and RSPCA Australia's very own Ban Live Export television ad!

Not only that but they discussed quite a few ads from different groups on really important topics like fur, battery hens, going veg and an ultra clever ad on the destruction caused by unsustainable palm oil. Check out the discussion – it gets pretty heavy!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on all the ads. Which was your fave? What tactics do you think work better than others and why? Do you have any great ideas for tv commercials that raise awareness for animals?

Oh, and check out Animals Australia and RSPCA Australia's latest joint ad to ban live export here!

What would you do if you were being loaded onto a massive ship to spend weeks at sea, crammed in with thousands of others in sometimes stifling temperatures, standing in your own waste until you are finally offloaded in a country where no laws protect you from cruelty and being slaughtered fully conscious...?

I don't know about you, but if I had any inkling of what was to come I'd jump ship! And that's exactly what one cluey cow did last week, while being loaded onto a live export ship in Darwin.

Rather than accept her fate as part of the cruellest trade in Australia, this brilliant Brahman escaped the loading races and plunged into the sea in a bid for freedom. And who could blame her?

Export ships leaving Darwin port take cattle straight to Indonesia, and if you saw the Four Corners report in May you'd know why this cow would not want to end up there! Animals Australia filmed cows being kicked, whipped, eye gouged, having their tails broken, and slapping their heads on concrete that forms part of horror restraining boxes that the Australian government had installed.

Eventually the swimming cow was pulled out of the water, but still kicking and bucking, she clearly didn't want to be "saved" and put back on the ship. Her fate is now unknown.

Even more tragic is that this is not the first cow to make a break for freedom. Apparently others before her have tried to save themselves, but it looks like we'll have to do it for them. Please click here to send a letter to the Prime Minister and ask her to end this barbaric trade for good!

In just over two weeks, hundreds of people travelled from far and wide to join Animals Australia campaigners in Port Adelaide for five protests, shining a spotlight on the cruelty of live export. What an amazing effort by South Australians! And now the people of Perth are stepping up to make their voice heard too.

This all began when an old car carrier, converted into a live export ship, carrying 67,000 sheep, broke down after one day at sea. The ship went back to Port Adelaide but the animals were not immediately unloaded. Instead, they remained stuck on board in cramped pens. Around 300 animals died on board the Al Messilah in just 10 days!

Sadly, these deaths are not unusual. In fact, on every ship that leaves our shores hundreds (sometimes even thousands) of animals die. But what was unusual is that it happened under our noses, for all Australians to see. And with every one of the protests making the nightly TV news, the protesters guaranteed that the animals suffering would not go unnoticed.

After suffering on board the broken down ship for 10 days, the animals were finally unloaded and sent to a feedlot, their fate uncertain. But these animals weren't safe for even two weeks before another boat, the Al Shuwaikh, arrived to load them for the trip to the Middle East -- to countries with no laws to protect them from cruelty.

Over three consecutive days, hundreds of people turned out at Port Adelaide to call for an end to the cruelty. On the final day, as the boat readied to set out, people laid flowers in a memorial to the victims of live export -- the thousands that die on board ships each year and the millions that are slaughtered fully conscious :(

On each of the last three days of protests, the exporters seemed to be trying to avoid the protesters (and media), first delaying the ships arrival, then delaying loading and then rushing to load animals through the night before the protesters returned. Does that sound to you like an industry with nothing to hide?

All thoughts today are with the sheep onboard the Al Shuwaikh, which has just arrived in Fremantle, and with the wonderful people of Western Australia who were out in force at Fremantle Port today, to again highlight just how cruel this industry is and show our politicians that Australians will not stay silent while animals continue to suffer in this trade.

If you want to hear of urgent actions near you, sign up to Animals Australia's SMS alert service here.

Were you at any of the protests in Port Adelaide or Freo? Share your experience in the comments.

On the wharves of Port Adelaide, an animal welfare crisis has been unfolding.

A run down live export ship (actually a 28 year old converted car carrier) hit mechanical trouble when it set out for the Middle East with 67,000 sheep on board and was forced to return to Adelaide after just one day at sea. Trapped on the ship and crammed into tiny pens for over a week, 300 sheep died on board.

After a last-minute protest last Wednesday by Animals Australia, Unleashed members and around 70 locals, the sheep were finally offloaded and sent to a feedlot north of Adelaide.

Then on Saturday, as sheep were still being offloaded, more than 300 people gathered again at the docks to demand these sheep be shown some mercy. They've been through so much already! It's unthinkable that the live exporters still want to ship them back to the Middle East where they will have their throats cut while fully conscious!

Adelaide really stepped up on ultra short notice and I'm pretty proud of my hometown right now. But we still don't know yet what the fate of these poor confused sheep will be. We will be keeping our voices loud for them and I hope you will too.

Make sure you keep an eye on our Facebook page for any new protests that will be coming up, and sign up to the Action Team here so we can alert you to any last minute rallies quick as a flash!

Were you one of the thousands who came out to voice their opposition to live exports at the Ban Live Export National Rally on Sunday? What an amazing turn out and what an amazing atmosphere!

Thank you to everyone who helped send a strong message to politicians that Australians want this cruel trade stopped. If you made it along to the rally, leave a comment below. We'd love to hear about your experience of the day!

I don't know about you guys, but I lurrrrve my Rock and Roll! It's no secret that I'm pretty fond of animals too so when I heard that The Black Spurs had written a song about banning live export, I was interested.

Nothing prepared me for how awesome the song is though! Check it out!

The footage that Animals Australia filmed in Indonesia of the cruel live animal export trade was enough to outrage guitarist GG Twang to pen the powerful lyrics. But then, he went one better, and donated the song to the Ban live Export campaign!

Yep, all the proceeds from this little pearler go to Animals Australia and for $1.69 on iTunes it's cheaper than a soy latte!

If you're in Sydney, you can see The Black Spurs perform "It Ain't Right" at the Sydney Ban Live Export National Rally this Sunday 14th August.

For everyone else – I reckon we should learn the words and sing them loud and clear at the rallies in all the other major cities this weekend.

Get your rock on guys, and let's rally together to Ban Live Export!

It Ain't Right – The Black Spurs

Herd them into ships, to sail the open seas
The lucky don't survive, the stress and disease
To feeding lots far and wide, on foreign sovereign ground
To take their final rest before the butcher's killing ground

Slaughter box is open, leg ropes tied and bound
A mighty slap as the Brahman’s back, hits the concrete ground
One by one they follow, trembling in their stride
To face the blade of the butcher’s trade, conscious and alive

The politicians argue, the experts disagree
Live export is no answer, let’s end the suffering
Let’s start to think it over, find a better way
Cause right is right and wrong is wrong stand up and voice a change

I can’t say for you, but it's plain to me
It ain't right to mistreat life cause pain and misery
We need to feed the world, every family
But not forget to show respect for all that lives and breathes

GG Twang 2011

I'm so excited for the Ban Live Export National Rally I could burst!
Sunday 14th August is the day that legendary people all over the country can rally together to Ban Live Export.

The rallies in each state are shaping up to be huge, with stacks of people clicking "Attending" on the Facebook events – and if you're in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra or Hobart – you can help us make this even bigger!

And I know there's heaps of people everywhere that were horrified by the footage out of Indonesia that might not be able to make it to a rally but still want to get involved, and you can help too! Here's how:

Oh! And just to get you in the mood (or maybe this is just my excuse to rock out) check out this clip by The Black Spurs. All about the live export trade, I reckon "It Ain't Right" will be #1 before we know it. First person to learn all the words gets …um, massive Unleashed cred!

See you on Sunday August 14! Don't be late!

On the weekend, thousands of people attended rallies in cities nationwide with one very clear message for Prime Minister Julia Gillard -- Ban Live Export!

If you missed the rally (or even if you did make it!), the animals still need you to make voice heard: Take part in the Virtual Protest to ban live export. Check it out!

Head here to upload your own protest video now and tell Julia Gillard "If you can't hear the animals, hear us!"

Tonight the campaign train visits the Australian Parliament with Independents Andrew Wilkie and Nick Xenophon and Greens' Adam Bandt introducing bills that, if passed, would finally see an end to live export.

We'll keep you posted on that news. In the meantime – Lights. Camera. Action to ban live export! We can't wait to see your video :)

It's amazing to think that since 4 Corners exposed those shocking images of Australian animals being brutalised in Indonesia, that hundreds of thousands of Australians have spoken out for the animals, and as a result the trade to Indonesia has been suspended. Who would've thought we could achieve that in just over a week!

This is a big win in the campaign to end all live animal export and just goes to show what we can achieve when we work together. But the campaign is not over yet! This suspension will do nothing to protect millions of Australian animals from having their throats slit whilst fully conscious in other countries that Australia exports animals to.

If ever we needed all hands on deck, then it's now! You might have heard... Just over a week from now (on 20th June), two bills will be submitted to Parliament, which if passed will end live animal export for good. Let me say that again... FOR GOOD!

Tbh, there has never been a better chance of stopping this trade than these bills. Which is why it's sooooo important that we keep up the pressure in this campaign and send the message loud and clear to the big wigs in govt that Aussies want an end to this cruelty.

Animals Australia has just launched a National Week of Action, to put pressure on pollies to support a ban on live export. So if you're old enough to vote, get your arse over to Animals Australia and get active ;)

And if you're not old enough to vote, then we’ve got another important project for you:

Send a message to Julia Gillard to tell her that you want to grow up in a country that cares about animals -- and doesn't send them to be brutalised in other countries. Click here to write a personal message to the PM on her webform.

This is fast becoming the biggest campaign for animals in Australia's history! And this is your chance to be a part of it!

This morning the campaign to Ban Live Export scored a massive win for the animals! The Gillard Government announced they have suspended the entire live trade to Indonesia.

For the moment, this means cattle like Bill, Dudley, Brian, Arthur and Tommy are safe from being shipped to brutal slaughterhouses in Indonesia — but this campaign ain't over yet!

Despite evidence of cruel treatment to Australian animals in other countries, such as throughout the Middle East, Julia Gillard's government has done nothing to prevent Australian animals from being sent to these destinations. The only solution to protect Australian animals from the cruelty of live export, is a total ban on the trade. And on 20th June, Tassie MP, Andrew Wilkie, and SA Senator, Nick Xenophon, will be submitting a bill that, if passed, will do just that -- ban live animal export!

Writer Margaret Mead once said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Unleashed members and Animals Australia supporters have certainly proved this true in the last week!

Over 235,000 people have signed a petition to Ban Live Export, and Julia Gillard has received more than 100,000 emails in her inbox from shocked Aussies urging her to end the cruelty. People are continuing to donate to get television and radio ads to air. And the Animals Australia and Unleashed Facebook and Twitter pages have been running hot all week with posts, comments and tweets from caring people who have simply refused to let the government to turn a blind eye to animal cruelty…

Perhaps the most surprising result of the campaign so far, has been that the Meat Industry Council has reported a 10-15% DROP IN MEAT! Not only is the government rethinking it's support of this terrible industry, but the Australian public is questioning whether they can trust an industry that knew about the abuse in Indonesia more than a decade ago and yet was still willing to send animals to that terrible fate.

Thank you to everyone who has spoken out and been a part of this campaign so far!

With just over a week to go until the bill to ban live export is tabled in Parliament, it's time to ramp up the campaign! Don't let Julia Gillard and your local MP off the hook until they Ban Live Export for good!

Wow! What a BIG day...

After 4 Corners' story on live export last night, we've been absolutely flat out! All our websites are at absolute capacity (you've probably noticed)! That's a whole lot of Aussies who want live export stopped for good!

You'll have to bare with us if the Unleashed site doesn't get updated quite so regularly in the next few days... but you can follow every step of the campaign on Animals Australia's Facebook page and join the #banliveexport discussion on Twitter.

And if you haven't already, please make your voice heard: call on Julia Gillard to ban this dreadful trade before any more animals have to endure this horrible fate:

Mark this date in your diary, because you won't want to miss this! Everyone is talking about the story that will air on Monday night (30th May) on Four Corners! The program will feature never-before seen footage from Animals Australia's recent investigation into the treatment of Aussie cattle exported live to Indonesia.

Check the countdown now -- www.BanLiveExport.com!

Every year, millions of animals born into Australian care are exported live, to be killed in countries where there are no laws to protect their welfare.

Over the past seven years, Animals Australia has carried out investigations into the treatment of animals exported live to the Middle East. Footage from past investigations has repeatedly shown the live export industry is happy to export animals to countries regardless of how badly they will be treated. When exposed on national TV, evidence provided by Animals Australia led to a ban on live sheep exports to Egypt, and created massive public opposition to the cruel trade.

This coming Monday night, ABC1's Four Corners will air exclusive footage of exported Australian cattle filmed by Animals Australia investigators in Indonesia.

So tune in and tell all your friends and family to watch this groundbreaking story!
Four Corners airs at 8:30PM, Monday 30th May on ABC1.

If you're in WA and open up The West Australian today, then make sure you turn to page 14. 'Cause we've put in an open letter from Animals Australia about live exports.

If you've seen the footage of how our animals are treated at the other end, then you've got to wonder... Is Australia really so strapped for cash that we'd turn a blind eye and keep sending animals to endure such blatant animal cruelty?

Last week's story on the 7:30 Report led to an overwhelming public response - with people outraged that our governement would let this cruelty continue.

If you haven't already, please take action to call on our government to get off the sheep's back for once and end live exports.

UPDATE! If you missed the 7.30 report, watch it online here!

Animals Australia's latest investigation into live animal exports to the Middle East is going to be front and centre on The 7.30 Report tonight (ABC1 at …7.30pm duh!)

Tune in to see undeniable proof that this trade is cruel, with first hand accounts from our lead investigator, Lyn White.

This is an important opportunity to influence public and government opinion. Footage aired from Animals Australia's 5th investigation led to such big public outrage that the trade of sheep to Egypt was banned! So we need as many people as possible to be watching tonight! Please make sure you encourage everyone you know to tune in.

For starters, please update your Facebook/Twitter status to let everyone know they should check it out. Then make sure to tell all your family and friends about it.

After the program tonight, we need people to make their voice heard. So please speak up for the animal by clicking here to email the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture to ask that they do the right thing and ban the live animal export trade for good! (And while you're at it, you could always post a link to that action on Facebook and Twitter too!)

Welcome to the first of our exciting "Spot the Difference" series! We find that animal abusers are continually suffering from absurd delusions that animals like being locked in tiny cages… that they like being mutilated, and that skinning them alive is not such a bad thing… You just have to take one look at their advertising to realise this. In short, we think they're a bit out of touch with reality. So we thought we'd give them a helping-hand and point out what a normal, sane person (who doesn't make money from animal cruelty) can clearly see.

That brings us to our first Spot the Difference candidate. You could almost forgive the live export industry for suggesting that Australia has the 'world's best practice' when you see what they think a live export ship looks like. The sticker below was sent out by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) to try and convince people that shipping animals half way round the world only to be killed is much like sending them on a luxury cruise (…or is it their depiction of Noah's Ark?).

And here's what cramming tens of thousands of frightened animals into a live export ship actually looks like.

Sadly that's not the worst of it. Thousands of Australian animals die on these old ships every year, and those who survive the long journeys have their throats cut whilst fully conscious at the other end – which makes live export one of the cruellest industries on the planet.

So over to you – what tips would you have for MLA to help make their live export stickers a little less laughable? Can you spot the difference?