Most people wouldn't stop to ask, as they pour milk into their morning coffee, what went into producing that milk. But this morning, as people take a sip and open today's paper, they'll find out, because of this campaign ad.

It'll come as a shock to most Aussies to learn that every year in Australia over 700,000 calves are killed as 'waste products' of the dairy industry. What may come as even more of a shock is that the dairy industry is now pushing for legislation that would allow calves to be starved of feed for the last 30 hours of their lives, before being killed at the slaughterhouse!

This proposed new standard is under 'public consultation' at the moment. Did you know you were being consulted? No? Neither do most people, because the government and industry conveniently neglected to let the public know!

But just because they don't want to tell the public the truth, doesn't mean we can't do that for them! After all, people have a right to know what they are buying into if they drink dairy.

So today Animals Australia is running the above ad in major newspapers across the country. Make sure you grab a copy of one of these papers and show the ad to all your family and friends:

• Daily Telegraph
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Herald Sun
• The Age
• Courier Mail
• West Australian
• The Advertiser
• Hobart Mercury
• Canberra Times

Want to make your voice heard too? Great! Click here to check out the video that exposes dairy's dark secret, and to get tips on how you can make a difference for calves - including the chance to win delicious dairy-free chocolates!

Have you already spotted our ad in your local paper? What did you think?

Want to be let in on a secret? Here's one the dairy industry would rather you didn't know...

Pretty bad, right? Can you believe the dairy industry is now quietly trying to make it perfectly legal to deny a bobby calf any feed for 30 hours before he is killed. Even criminals on death row get a last meal!

Outraged? Good! If you want to stop this awful cruelty, then the most important choice you can make is to go dairy-free! It's simple, healthy and as an added bonus, good for the planet! To make things even easier, we've already prepared a dairy-free shopping list for you!

And now it's time to make your voice heard!

• Click here to tell the dairy industry how much you think their treatment of bobby calves sucks.
• Then click here to share this video on Facebook and let all your friends in on dairy's dark secret.
• Then go here to find out how you could win some delicious dairy free chocolates!

And keep an eye out in major papers this week for something else we've got cooking up for this campaign ;)

Personally, I can honestly say that since dropping dairy, I've never gone without. I mean - have you tried a Tofutti Cutie? Heaven! I still drink 'milk', eat 'cheese', chocolate, yoghurt and ice cream but I leave the cows out of it.

Tell me... what's your favourite dairy-free treat?

Is a certain television commercial featuring a certain football-has-been telling you how un-Australian you are for not eating lamb on Australia Day driving you crazy? Me too!

A few things to remember:

1. Sheep aren't even originally from Australia.

2. Masses of native vegetation have been cleared to graze sheep, irreversibly changing the Australian landscape.

3. Countless native Australian animals are extinct or endangered because of habitat loss through land clearing (livestock production being one of the main causes of this land clearing). In fact Australasia leads the entire world in species extinction :(

4. Sheep produce methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide, which is affecting the whole planet (which btw includes Australia).

5. Sheep have wonderful personalities and are just as smart and deserving as the beloved dogs and cats in the homes of countless Australians.

And finally, this:

Would anyone seriously want that adorably cute and bouncy critter to have to die for their dinner?

These undisputed facts only point to one conclusion - Sam's got it backwards: it's eating lamb that is un-Australian!

Take that Kekovich!

I wanna know how you'll be spending Australia Day? Leave a comment!

Have you heard of mink eyelash extensions? Neither had I until recently. But apparently they're all the rage - or at least that's what the people selling them say. Personally they just make me enraged!

Ok, so you're not likely to catch me with eyelash extensions anyway - mostly, cause I don't think I could pull this look off (and yes that is Johnny Depp). But seriously, there's absolutely nothing attractive about glueing animal fur to your face. Don't get me wrong, I think mink fur is nice - when it's on a mink.

I've noticed that many of the companies selling these extensions boast that they don't kill the minks. According to one site they "harvest" the lashes "by gently brushing live animals." That all sounds well and good, until you realise that must mean that these animals are forced to spend their entire lives on fur farms.

You only have to take a glimpse inside a mink farm to know that it's cruel. Minks are solitary animals who roam over a habitat of several kilometres. Yet in fur farms they are locked in a cage the size of an open newspaper, surrounded by other minks. This is an incredibly stressful environment for them and can even lead to cannibalism and self mutilation. I stumbled across this film about fur farms in Sweden recently (Warning: this is not for the faint hearted!).

Wanting to look beautiful is one thing. But condemning an animal to a life of misery to have longer lashes is an ugly thing for anyone to do. Having said that, sadly the truth is that most people splurging on mink eyelash extensions probably don't even realise what goes into making them. If they did, I'm sure they'd buy synthetic lash extensions instead!

That's my rant off my chest. What silly fashion trends bug you?

Like thousands of people in Queensland today I woke to an eerily quiet and sunny morning. Tragic floods are sweeping the state but today the rain had finally stopped. It was the driest day we'd seen in a week, but that didn't stop the waters from steadily rising and engulfing large parts of Brisbane, Ipswich, and the South-East throughout the day.

Sandbagging is well underway and neighbours are helping to move furniture, valued possessions and other "floatables" to higher ground. The emergency services are doing a great job to ensure residents in flood zones are prepared for when the water arrives. But what about all those animals who don't know what's coming?

At the end of our street the floodwaters had cut off traffic where I found two young boys poking and prodding the helpless critters who were all clambering for safety at the water's edge. I showed them how to rescue these tiny animals and to my delight they took it upon themselves to become a mini rescue team for stranded caterpillars, beetles and other harmless little critters who would all have otherwise drowned! Yes, even the teeniest, tiniest of creatures need our help in times of emergency.

Across town, RSPCA Queensland is doing a great job of looking after displaced cats and dogs, despite their head office at Fairfield being evacuated due to floods! But shelter is scarce and they are appealing for anyone in Brisbane who can foster animals to e-mail [email protected]

Wildlife carers have an even tougher job on their hands caring for injured and orphaned wildlife. But many are struggling to reach flood-affected areas to assess the extent of the devastation. One thing is for certain -- habitats have been destroyed and animals with nowhere to go will need a lot of assistance in the coming months. Animals Australia has donated $1,000 to the emergency wildlife rescue appeal. If you want to donate too, here's the direct link!

If you live in one of the flood-affected areas, please keep the local radio on, and stay safe and dry -- and remember to also look out for our animal friends who need an extra helping hand!

School holidays are awesome, but it's usually around about this time in the proceedings that you really feel the need to actually DO something? And unless you have a crystal clear swimming pool with cool fresh water to dive into for a refreshing burst of icy cold ... sorry got a bit carried away there "ahem" you may even be relegated to the couch to escape the heat (or torrential downpours depending on which part of Australia you're in!).

Either way there's heaps of things you can do in your holidays that will not only conquer your boredom but will be a huge help for animals who need you to use your voice (or keyboard, or facebook account) for them.

Indoors?

OK, there's so much stuff you can do with the click of a mouse it's incredible.

• You can sign online petitions or send instant emails to key decision makers to ask that they help animals too. This live export advocacy is ultra important right now, and will get you started.
• If there's an issue that is really important to you, you could write a letter to the editor of your local paper, or even a national paper. This is a great way to make sure people become of aware of issues that may not be hitting the news daily, but go on constantly (like testing cosmetics on animals, or the killing of calves in the dairy industry, for example). The more letters you write the more chance you'll get one printed (that will massively impress your mates too!)
• Twitter and Facebook are so much more than fabulous time wasters. By posting links on your page, you loudly spread the word about animal cruelty and how it can be stopped without even clearing your throat. Back in August, Unleashed members posted a link to a petition to ban circuses. It generated thousands of signatures and by November, the ban was in place! Ok, so a little more went into that campaign than the petition, but every little bit helps! (Like a letter in a newspaper, online links keep issues in people's minds whereas they may have forgotten about them otherwise).

Not Raining? Not scorching?

Then get out there and let everyone see your beautiful face!

• Handing out leaflets in a friendly manner in a busy area can generate a lot of interest from passers by and more importantly, raise awareness on issues that are usually hidden from view (like factory farming!). Unleashed members are great and proactive when it comes to things like this, so if you want to get involved, join the Action Team or jump on the forum to see what's coming up in your area (or arrange your own leafleting session!)
• This time of year the shelters for homeless dogs and cats are, unfortunately, bursting at the seams. So it's a good thing you have some time on your hands to volunteer and help out. Dogs need to be walked, cages need to be cleaned, and tummies need to be tickled. So contact your local shelter now and see how you can help.

That should keep you busy until (gulp) school goes back. But why break new habits? You can keep these things up for as long as you want!
Do you have any other cool ideas? How are you gonna spend the rest of your holidays?