Join with Animals Australia and help end the deadly ‘sport’ of jump racing
What is jump racing?
Jumps racing is a cruel and dangerous ‘sport’ in which horses are forced to jump metre-high fences at high speeds. The first jumps race took place in Ireland 1752 when two friends raced their horses from Buttevant Church to the spire of Donerail Church, jumping every obstacle in its path. In Australia, jumps racing dates back more than 150 years. The opposition to the sport dates back almost as far, with the first Australian protest being held in Sydney, 1848.
The NSW government banned jumps racing in June 1997. Jumps racing now only occurs in Victoria and South Australia where horses continue to die on the tracks every year.
Impact on the horses
Jumps racing is statistically 20 times more dangerous than flat racing. The horse, when racing in a jumps race, is confronted with the task of galloping at high speed and being forced to clear obstacles of considerable height, whilst being surrounded by a group of other horses attempting the same. To avoid injury or death the horse must clear each obstacle with an accuracy which is difficult when galloping at speed.
As horses fatigue, it becomes more difficult to properly negotiate the obstacles. That is why we see such a high percentage of falls occurring in the latter stages of a race.
– See more at: http://www.horseracingkills.com/the-issues/jumps-racing/
Animals Australia’s campaign
“Horses are sensitive and intelligent animals, and in nature wouldn’t choose to jump over hurdles and risk broken legs, injuries — even death — unless they had no other option.”
– www.animalsaustralia.org
Currently, the Victorian and South Australian Governments and racing industry leaders deem it acceptable to have an ‘allowable death quota’ for horses (the ‘target’ fatality rate set by industry is about 15 times that of flat racing).
Animals Australia’s campaign to end jump racing calls on these governments to ban jump racing by sending the message to the leaders of these governments that jump racing is a cruel sport that the community will no longer tolerate.
So long as they permit jumps racing to continue, they share the responsibility for every horse dying on the track, and every punter maimed or injured.
– www.animalsaustralia.org
Supporting Animals Australia
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment, and as such we support such organisations as Animals Australia, as they encompass similar ideals.
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Please see our website for more information:
How you can help
Take action now by sending your message to the Victorian and South Australian government.
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/jumps-racing-tragedy/
Join with Avaaz and help stop the genocide in South Sudan
Twenty years after the genocide in Rwanda, the world’s newest nation, South Sudan, is facing the same disaster.
The situation in South Sudan
On July 9th 2011, South Sudan seceded from Sudan. South Sudan gained its independence after an overwhelming majority of South Sudanese voted in favour of secession. The population of South Sudan is approximately eight million. In contrast to the Muslim population of northern Sudan, most South Sudanese practice indigenous traditional beliefs. However, over ninety percent of the population also identify themselves as Christian.
UN officials have now said that ethnic violence in South Sudan risks spiralling into genocide, as the country’s leaders are locked in a personal struggle for power.
Thousands of people have been killed and more than one million have fled their homes since fighting erupted in the world’s newest nation in December, between troops backing President Salva Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked deputy, Riek Machar.
“If such attacks are not immediately halted it could plunge the country into serious violence that could spiral out of control. In the current situation, we see elements that we could categorise as risk factors of genocide and other atrocity crimes.” – Adama Dieng, UN special adviser on prevention of genocide. – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/03/genocide-risk-in-south-su_n_5256366.html
The Avaaz campaign
Avaaz has put together a campaign to send to the members of the UN Security Council.
“With peace talks slowly resuming, the US and France are calling on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions and deploy more peacekeepers to protect civilians. Let’s flood key leaders with one million voices urging them to pass sanctions and deploy a stronger mission to protect the people of South Sudan.” – www.avaaz.org
Supporting Avaaz
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment, and as such we support such organisations as Avaaz, as they encompass similar ideals.
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Please see our website for more information:
How can we help?
Support Avaaz and join the campaign to stop the genocide in South Sudan. Write to the members of the UN Security Council:
Act now to save the Racial Discrimination Act
What is the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA)?
The RDA is a law passed in 1975 by the Whitlam government to make sure everyone in Australia was treated equally and given the same opportunities – regardless of their background. In Australia, the Racial Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to do or say things that “offend, insult or humiliate” a person due to their race, ethnicity, colour or nationality, while protecting genuine artistic, scientific and academic expression, and accurate journalism.
Changes to the Act
For the first time in almost 20 years, the Australian Government intends to make changes to the Act. In March 2014, Attorney-General George Brandis released draft changes to the RDA arguing that the proposed laws “are the strongest protections against racism that have ever appeared in any Commonwealth Act.” When talking about his proposed changes to the RDA, Brandis also claimed that Australians have “the right to be bigots”.
Amnesty International outlines the changes to the Act here: http://www.amnesty.org.au/indigenous-rights/comments/34515/
“If Mr Brandis’ changes are adopted, saying racist things will only be unlawful if it causes a person to fear physical harm and/or encourages others to be hateful.
Even racist comments that reach this high benchmark will be excused if they’re made in the public domain (like, in the media).
The reality is, these changes will make our race hate laws so narrow, they’ll be effectively useless.
This will have a profound negative impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other ethnic minorities who regularly experience racism and hate speech.”
Amnesty International campaign
Amnesty International believes that “everyone should be protected from abuse and intimidation based on race or ethnicity. It’s a human right and should be protected under the law.”
They have lodged a submission to the Attorney-General to outline their concerns about the proposed amendments and launched an online petition calling on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to scrap the proposal.
Supporting Amnesty International
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment, and as such we support such organisations as Amnesty International, as they encompass similar ideals.
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Please see our website for more information:
Join with Amnesty International and act now!
Sign the petition to save the Racial Discrimination Act.
“People deserve to be protected from abuse and intimidation based on their race. This is a human right — and it must continue to be protected under the law.”
You can help save the Arctic – sign the petition!
The vulnerable Arctic
The melting Arctic is under threat from oil drilling, industrial fishing and conflict. The Arctic is one of those places on Earth that are important and fragile, and need to be protected. It may seem like a distant place, but the Arctic acts as the Earth’s heart – regulating our climate and circulating the ocean currents.
The situation now
In 2012, the Arctic sea ice has fallen to the lowest level on record. In just 30 years, more than 75% of sea ice has disappeared. In the last 30 years, we’ve lost as much as three-quarters of the floating sea ice cover at the top of the world. To save the Arctic, we must act today, and Greenpeace heads the campaign for this cause.
“For over 800,000 years, ice has been a permanent feature of the Arctic ocean. It’s melting because of our use of dirty fossil fuel energy, and in the near future it could be ice free for the first time since humans walked the Earth. This would be not only devastating for the people, polar bears, narwhals, walruses and other species that live there – but for the rest of us too.
The ice at the top of the world reflects much of the sun’s heat back into space and keeps our whole planet cool, stabilising the weather systems that we depend on to grow our food. Protecting the ice means protecting us all.” – www.savethearctic.org
Watch the Greenpeace video:
http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/ice-and-oil-should-stay-in-the-arctic/
Supporting Greenpeace
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment, and as such we support such organisations as Greenpeace, as they encompass similar ideals.
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Please see our website for more information:
How you can help
You can do your part to Save the Arctic by signing the petition and spreading the message that the Arctic ice we all depend on is disappearing fast, and it is up to all of us to demand our world leaders to declare a global sanctuary around the North Pole.
Sign the petition now!
Read more from Greenpeace:
http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/ice-and-oil-should-stay-in-the-arctic/
Join with Animals Australia and help ban live exports of animals
The story so far
Every year millions of Australian animals are exported live for slaughter. Those who survive the journey often endure brutal treatment and conscious slaughter. Australia leads the world in animal welfare practices and the Department of Agriculture states that “The Australian Government does not tolerate cruelty towards animals and will not compromise on animal welfare standards. Our ongoing involvement in the livestock export trade provides an opportunity to influence animal welfare conditions in importing countries.”
Australia is the only country that requires specific animal welfare outcomes for livestock exports, but despite the laws and requirements, shocking cruelties still occur in many countries through the live export trade.
Animals Australia works to ban live exports
Since 2003, Animals Australia has conducted numerous investigations into the treatment of animals exported from Australia. The evidence from investigations in the Middle East and South East Asia has consistently revealed the willingness of Australia’s live export industry to export live animals despite appalling cruelty in importing markets.
Breaking news in Gaza
In late 2013, alarming cruelty was filmed at the Festival of Sacrifice in Gaza. The exporter in question had been previously exposed for breaches in Jordan, and so despite an investigation into the matter, Animals Australia remained concerned that the abuses would continue. Then, in early 2014, Animals Australia engaged a local investigator who discovered evidence that Australian cattle were still being brutally abused.
Australia’s response
Animals Australia reported the abuse to the Australian Government, and the good news is that the Australian Government has ceased granting export permits to Gaza. Unfortunately, the animals that were en route at the time may have ended up in the slaughterhouses of Gaza.
“The truth is that nobody — not live exporters, nor the Australian government — can guarantee that animals in the live export trade won’t be brutally killed. It doesn’t have to be this way. Live export is valued at only 0.3 percent of national exports. And most sheep and cattle farmers aren’t involved with the industry. Not only that — a phase out of this cruel trade will create more jobs for Australians and benefit the economy.” – Animals Australia
Supporting Animals Australia
The Wishing Well was established in 2010 to offer children in out-of-home care, such as foster care and residential care, a range of healing and treatment options usually not accessible as a free therapy in mainstream health.
The Wishing Well raises funds to enable children and young people to access developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed treatments shown to be highly effective in dealing with severe trauma and neglect. These therapies respond to the unique needs of each child and young person.
The Wishing Well is a not-for-profit incorporated charity organisation, established and managed by people seeking to improve outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care and their families.
The Wishing Well operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment, and as such we support such organisations as Animals Australia, as they encompass similar ideals.
The Wishing Well gratefully receives donations, funding and resources through bequests, corporate partnerships, fundraising events, grants, online donations and other fund raising activities. Please see our website for more information:
Take action
Take action today, and help spare an animal from suffering this brutal fate. Ask your MP to support a phase out of live exports — for jobs, for the economy, and most importantly, for the animals.
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