Guess what? The Queensland Government AREN'T going to let millions of tonnes of dredging sludge be dumped in the Great Barrier Reef!

Woo!

I know, kinda seems like common sense right but it's only thanks to people like you speaking out that this is the case. Initially the Queensland Government had approved a permit to dump the sludge from Abbot Point (where they're expanding a coal terminal) into the reef.

But thanks to concerned peeps speaking up to protect the reef, and a potential court case from the North Queensland Conservation Council, the Gov't has said that the sludge can't be dumped on the reef! YAY!

The bad news is, the fight is not over ... now they have their sights set on dumping the sludge on or near the Caley Valley wetlands.

From reef to wetlands? Do they really think we're going to let them get away with that? I'm thinking nup. The wetlands are home to a number of threatened bird species as well as countless other native animals. What's more, it's part of the greater reef ecosystem and helps filter water running into the reef.

Did any of the words I just said sound like 'rubbish tip' to you? Nope? Me neither. Your voice helped stop them from dumping on the reef. You can help stop this too. Click here to send a message to the decision makers TODAY and help protect the wetlands from dredging sludge.

I just heard some news that really made my tail wag! This really awful puppy factory place has closed down for good! That means no more dogs like the one in the picture will have to live in this sad, sad place at Kerang (Victoria).

They call it a puppy factory but I call it dog prison. I used to live in one and take it from me, it's not nice. Concrete walls and no love -- that's what dogs in a puppy factory get. And this one in Kerang was just like that. I don’t even want to think about how many puppies got taken away from their mums who had to stay in the prison.

But thank my lucky paws for caring people because somebody told Animals Australia about this puppy factory and do you know what they did? They showed everybody! And just like me nobody wanted dogs to have to live in that place anymore. And now, after being investigated for cruelty, the owners have decided to shut it down!

One day I think all of the puppy factories will be closed down. Since I was adopted I have only met really nice people who want all the dogs to have waggly tails like I do now and so I think that with all these people in the world it won't be long before all the dogs are freed and getting so much love they can't even keep their paws on the ground because of all the waggling.

The way that you can help make this happy, happy day come true is by saying that you'll always adopt animals from a shelter when you are looking for a new best friend. Animals Australia has shown that puppy factories often sell puppies in pet shops and online so if you want to make sure that you aren't supporting puppy factories then adopt, adopt, adopt! And the best part is you will get a loving friend like me who needs a home for life :)

G2g steal a toy off Buddy (my brother) now. Byeee!

BOOM! Another cage bites the dust! Within days of McDonald's announcing that they're phasing out cage eggs, Subway has done the same thing!

This trend away from cage eggs is not slowing down and I couldn't be more excited! Before these epic announcements by Macca's and Subway, there was no end in sight to the suffering of the millions of hens in cages laying eggs for these fast food chains. But now, these two phase outs are underway and we are one huge step closer to the day when hens in cages is a thing of the past.

Missed the news about Macca's? Click here.

All there is to do now is to start placing bets on which big name company will be next to stand up against battery cage cruelty and announce a phase out. Hungry Jack's, I'm looking at you. (Click here to help nudge them over the line.)

But don't forget, you don't have to wait for companies to get rid of 'em. You can take the end of the battery cage into your own hands by simply pledging to never ever buy cage eggs. Or better yet, find out how eating less eggs, or going egg-free, can help save the forgotten victims of the egg industry ... male chicks.

Want to be a strong voice for animals? The Animal Activists Forum is where it's at for becoming a super-skilled animal advocate. And we're giving away a ticket!

I went to the Animal Activists Forum last year and I left feeling so inspired. The forum is a 2 day event full of speakers and workshops covering a huge range of animal issues. 

Event details:
When: 18th & 19th October
Where: The Portside Centre, 207 Kent Street, Sydney
Full details and ticket purchase.

You'll get heaps of tips and tactics to help you create real change for animals from some of the big names in animal protection including:

• Bruce Friedrich (Farm Sanctuary, USA)
• Dan Matthews (PETA, USA)
• Mark Hawthorne (author, USA)
• Hans Kriek (SAFE, NZ)
• James Wildman (The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, USA) and more

Click here for the full program.

Oh my chickens! You did it! McDonald's has heard your call for an end to battery cage cruelty and has announced a phase out of cage eggs from all of of their 900 Australian stores.

As the fast food industry's biggest egg user, this is GREAT news for hens. And a big win for people power! Here's how you did it ...

Here's how you beat Macca's:

PEOPLE POWER!

After years of talks with McDonald's getting nowhere, Animals Australia recruited the help of the public (that's you) to help speak up for hens. This is what happened:

For 87 DAYS STRAIGHT, the most common theme on the McDonald's Facebook wall has been concern for hens and encouragement for the fast food giant to free them from cages.

SECRET WEAPON (ie. cute kids)

Then we told a bunch of kids that McDonald's were using cage eggs and what happened next melted hearts.

This very adorable and very srs video was reported in national media and quickly went viral. So many of our supporters were touched by the messages from these kids that they chipped in to get it on national TV for 2 whole weeks! :)

THE MEDIA

As plans to deploy our not so secret weapon on to the telly drew closer, Channel TEN's The Project aired a story about consumers moving away from cage eggs, and the growing pressure on McDonald's to do the same ...

That night, McDonald's announced that it would begin the process of phasing out cage eggs!

BREAKING NEWS: Subway says 'no' to cage eggs too! (17th September) And the good news just keeps rolling in... After a flood of messages to Subway on social media, they have announced that they are phasing out cage eggs too!

What next?

McDonald's commitment (and now Subway's too!) shows without a doubt the impact that people can have when they speak up for animals. This news will make a HUGE difference for hens but there is still lots to be done to free all animals from cruelty! Here's four things you can do today to bring us closer to a world without animal cruelty:

• Tell Hungry Jack's to follow McDonald's lead and ditch cage eggs!
• Macca's will take years to complete its phase out but you don't have to wait a second! Say you'll never buy cage eggs starting today.
• Get in the know: Find out how eating less eggs, or going egg-free, can help save chickens.
• Join our Action Team (if you haven't already) so that you can be a part of the people power that wins the next kick-ass campaign for animals.

So Silly September is something I just made up right now because I don't know about you but I reckon I've had more wtf moments than usual in the last few days over stoopid ideas people have had involving animals. So I've decided to give a Silly September award to my top 3 picks for dumb things that happened (or didn't happen) to animals this month.

Drum roll please ...

AFL team Brisbane Lions thought they'd try and drum up some interest in their bottom-of-the-ladder football team by bringing a real life lion to their games.

What happened: Aussies everywhere said NUUUPP! Because that's stupid. And the idea got scrapped. #PeoplePower!

My advice: If you want more footy supporters, play better footy.

WTF Rating:

(Pic thanks to Sportal)

Buy 10 pizzas – get a free living, breathing 5-7 year commitment! Um, Pizza Hut ... what were you thinking?

What happened: Pizza Hut's customers cottoned on pretty darn quick that this was just plain stupid and flooded Pizza Hut's Facebook and Twitter pages with complaints. Pizza Hut Australia soon released a statement saying they'd never approved this 'promotion' and that the matter was "being seriously dealt with". (Uh oh. Someone's in trouble.)

Thankfully, not a single animal was given away before the stupidity was shut down.

My advice: If you want to sell more pizza, make better pizza.

WTF Rating:

(Pic thanks to Pedestrian)

This one I just can't even. It's so dumb. There are reports that the Commercial Hotel in Redbank (QLD) not only held pig races to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation on the weekend, but they also gave away one of the piglets as a raffle prize :(

What happened: Animal Liberation Queensland caught wind of this and encouraged sensible, caring people to speak up!

The Leukaemia Foundation has since said that they've reviewed their fundraising guidelines and will make sure that any future events raising funds for them are animal-friendly. People power wins again!

My advice: Good raffle prizes = wine, fruit and movie tickets. BAD raffle prizes = frightened baby animals :(

WTF Rating:

There's proof that when dumb ideas meet common sense, common sense can win! Let's hope these awards serve as a lesson to others to not do dumb things -- and to always speak out if you see dumb things happen!

Have you got another nomination for a Silly September award? Or a people power success story? Put it in the comments below. And thanks for every time you've been a voice for animals.

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!