The Unleashed Blog

Boots Hiding UGGly Cruelty

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000

I just heard that a high school in Pennsylvania has banned students from wearing UGG boots to class. Apparently the kids have been hiding all sorts of things in them, from mobile phones to chocolate bars!

But not many people realise that the boots themselves hide an even UGGlier truth. They are made from the skin of Australian sheep not just the wool the skin.

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Nemo Threatened By Extinction

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000

I should probably start this blog with a rant alert...

I dont know about you, but I always thought Finding Nemo was a pretty awesome movie. So I was really disappointed to hear that sales of clown fish as pets increased after the movie came out. I mean that just goes against the whole story of Nemo trying to escape captivity to get home to his family and friends

But I was even more disappointed recently to read that 1/6 of the species that featured in Finding Nemo are threatened with extinction.

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Top 10 Movies For Your Summer Holidays

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:00 +1000

One of my favourite ways to spend holidays (along with speaking up for animals of course) is to catch up on some movies. When its too hot even to hit the beach, theres nothing like kicking back and watching a great movie.
So to help you through the rest of your summer holidays (I know, its tough work isnt it :P), Ive put together a list of movies with animal themes for you to check out:

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A happy ending for a great year!

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +1000

I love happy endings! Dont you? I cant think of a better way to finish the year than with a happy ending.

Weve shared a few rescued animal videos with you recently. First there were apes, then turkeys (those videos are a must watch btw) and now ... check out the amazing first moments of freedom for 9 beagles who were rescued from an animal lab in the USA earlier this year:

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Inspiring film: 'The Witness' - watch it online

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +1000

I always love hearing about how people got into animal rights. For me, it was discovering how animals are raised for food. Lots of people just always loved animals. But how can someone go from being scared of animals to rescuing them and campaigning for them?

Thats exactly what happened to New York activist, Eddie Lama. To find out how someone can make such an incredible transformation, check out this great doco (called The Witness) about his inspiring story.

(Btw, you can watch the full doco online here. So once youve checked out the trailer below, grab some popcorn and a friend to watch the full film! And just be warned that while most of the doco is inspiring and positive, there are a few graphic scenes.)

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Animals sing "12 days of Christmas"

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +1000

I hope you and your fourlegged friends have a very Merry Christmas!

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Rescued! Turkeys celebrate freedom

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +1000

Do you want to know what the first moments of freedom look like? Check out this amazing video of 8 lucky turkeys, who were rescued from a factory farm, seeing their new home at Edgars Mission Farm Sanctuary for the first time.

Isnt that just gorgeous! And to think these birds started their lives in factory farms. I hate to say it, but these sorts of happy endings dont happen for most birds. Just check out how most turkeys in Australia have to live.. (these photos from Animal Liberation ACT were from a recent investigation at a turkey factory farm):

Click here to see more pictures. Photos thanks to BigBirdsBigCruelty.org

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Check out our Year in Review video!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +1000

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

We just want to say a big thank you to you for everything youve 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.

Heres to another great year in 2012!

p.s. Dont forget to share this video with your friends on facebook and twitter to show them what youve been a part of achieving in 2011.

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Slaughterhouse closed for cruelty

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +1000

Paul McCartney said If slaughterhouses had glass walls everyone would be a vegetarian. Check out this recent footage from a Victorian slaugtherhouse and let me know if you agree:

I cringed every time one of those pigs was stabbed in the eye with the stunner... and when that desperate pig was beaten to death with a sledgehammer shocking! So shocking in fact that when Animals Australia gave this footage to the authorities, the slaughterhouse was shut down within 24hrs.

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You made that dress out of what?

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +1000

Sometimes gross is just not strong enough a word! Apparently this outfit, made entirely of cows and yaks nipples recently sparked outrage at Pariss fashion week.

If you ask me, its udderly disgusting! (sorry couldnt help myself) I can completely understand why people would be outraged by a ridiculous dress made of cows nipples. What I still struggle to understand is why people arent equally outraged when coats are made out of the rest a cows skin which she needs just as much as her nipples.

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Do you want to know a secret?

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:00:00 +1000

Ive met lots of smart people. At least, they are smarter than me! But its amazing how even among some of the smartest people I know there are some really basic things that seem to slip through the cracks.

Like, heres where most people think milk comes from:

1) The fridge
2) The supermarket
3) Magical fairy cows that automatically lactate for our convenience
4) All of the above (this was me)

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A Sweet Idea for This Friday!

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +1000

If you ask me, Fridays are pretty sweet... after all, its almost the weekend. But this week weve got a plan to make Friday even sweeter.

This Friday (14th October) is World Egg Day... I know, I know... youre thinking What could be sweet about a day celebrating an industry that locks 11 million hens in cages with less space per bird than an A4 sheet of paper, that kills hens who arent producing enough eggs (usually at around 18months of age) and that kills about 12 million male chicks on their first day of life simply because they werent born female, and so cant produce eggs? ... like this:

... but hold up a sec, and Ill tell you what we have in mind.

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Proof Cows Are Jazz Cats!

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +1000

Who said cows dont have an ear for fine music?! An American jazz group put this theory to the test when they recently performed in front of a crowd of captivated, musicloving French cows. Check out the video below, very cute!

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Countdown to Be Kind to Animals Week!

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +1000

Its all happening next week! Not only is it World Veg Week, but the wonderful people from Edgars Mission animal sanctuary have launched Be Kind To Animals Week a week for everyone to take simple steps to improve the lives of our furry (finned, feathered and scaley) friends!

There are plenty of great things you can do to get involved:

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Why Fish Like Space & How to WIN a DVD

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +1000

Im excited to let you know that weve got a copy of the stunning Oceans DVD to give away. So read on to find out how you could be checking out some of the most amazing animals under the sea.

Dont you agree, theres something nice about watching fish swim? You know at first glance its easy to believe there isnt too much thinking going on upstairs in fish, but keep watching and its amazing how you start to notice how each animal has her own personality and quirks.

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Win Chocolate Truffles to satisfy those Constant Cravings!

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +1000

I figure that Im gonna be pretty popular when I announce that we have chocolate for you! Well, ok not all of you! But 5 lucky peeps who can tell me what amazing dairy free delights they have discovered this year.

I can tell you what my favourite is right now Constant Cravings incredibly, immensely delicious and decadent Chocolate Truffles! Weve got gift packs of 8 (EIGHT!! I just dribbled on the keyboard) Constant Craving truffles valued at 18 to win.

And victory will taste all the sweeter knowing that no cows (or calves!) were harmed in the making of those chocolicious treats!

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Cruelty: A Fashion Statement We Can Live Without

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +1000

I dont know about you, but the idea of having a dead animal draped around my shoulders to keep warm, or worse, to make a fashion statement, makes me want to recoil in disgust, or more to the point: puke!

On a recent shopping trip I happened to spot a number of rabbit fur vests in shop windowsat least I think they were rabbit fur . But with dog and cat fur often deliberately mislabelled and imported as rabbit, you can never be sure.

What is up with this resurgence of fur?! At the recent Melbourne Spring Fashion Week there were a disturbing number of attendees in the crowd wearing this seasons ontrend of brightly coloured fur.

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Would you like lies with that?

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +1000

If somebody told you that an animal was free to roam, youd probably think thats a pretty good situation, right? Not so if youre a chicken in a factory farm. Can you believe the chicken industry has been calling this free to roam?!

Alright, its probably no surprise that an industry willing to lock thousands of animals in sheds like this is also willing to bend the truth when they try to sell dead animals to the public. But this time around, it doesnt look like theyll get away with it.

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Animals Australia gets the thumbs up from Gruen!

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +1000

A couple of weeks ago, I was chuffed to see the panel on The Gruen Transfer discussing Animals Australia and RSPCA Australias 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!

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Oscar's Story

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +1000

Some of you may have been following the story of Oscar, a small dog kept for breeding on a property in remote Victoria. Found cowering in the back of a small dark cage, Oscars fur was thick and matted, he had fleas and mites in his infected ears and his teeth were so infected he couldnt eat. He was rescued from this nightmare by a woman named Debra Tranter.

After being treated by a vet, shaved and desexed, he weighed only 1.6kg by the time he got to what should have been his new home. Then in what could have been a scene from a movie, police raided Debras house in the middle of the night, arrested her, seized Oscar and returned him to the miserable puppy factory.
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