Have you ever seen a shark do a happy dance? No? Me neither. But the internet tells me it looks like this:

(Thanks photobucket)

Today is a great day for sharks as the Western Australian Government's plan to catch and kill sharks has been knocked back! That means no animals will suffer on cruel drum-line hooks off WA's coast!

And the best part is that it was caring people just like you speaking up for sharks that helped make this win for sharks possible!

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) said that there was too much uncertainty about how the killing program would impact on the south-western population of great white shark and so they were against it. They also said that they'd heard the voices of THOUSANDS of concerned people speaking up for sharks and opposing the drum lines.

Yay for people power! Thanks to the EPA's decision and people standing up for these amazing animals, there will be no more cruel drum-lines in WA waters this summer :)

If you spoke out against the WA's shark cull plans, then thank you!

Unfortunately sharks are not safe from cruelty altogether. To help protect sharks today sign the pledge to never buy shark fin soup and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Later!

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.

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.