Lawyers for Animals

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Comment by Kerry Baker yesterday

Please be careful when driving this time of year. Reptiles are coming out of hibernation and baby birds, kangaroos, possums etc are out and about. And PLEASE do not use gift wrapping items such as curling ribbon which gets tangled around birds and animals if not disposed of properly. Birds building nests will pick these up and they end up killing chicks. I once was called out to a rescue, a baby bird had this awful curling ribbon tightly wrapped around its' little leg which was swollen and must have been so painful. It had to be euthanised. And it had a dead sibling caught at the other end of the ribbon. 

Comment by Kerry Baker on November 17, 2025 at 17:31

Yesterday a person I know asked me if he would have to pay if he found an injured native animal and took it to the vet. I reassured him that he wouldn't have to pay, vets take them and if they are OK will contact a local carer to look after it. Then he said he had become much more aware since he got to know me, and I was so pleased that talking about animals has resulted in a change in how he cares about them. Never stop being a voice for animals, it really does make a difference.

Comment by Kerry Baker on November 12, 2025 at 18:29

Isn't it amazing how things in life reappear. I had forgotten about this group but started getting notifications and has reignited my interest here. The situation for animals is still as bad as ever. I discovered why the Victorian Premier prevented ending the annual duck shooting season. Her partner likes to shoot ducks. 

Comment by Alberta Louise on November 12, 2025 at 10:31

Hello Lawyers for Animals, I am back again after a wee break from ARZ. I'll be reading and commenting and look forward to future discussions with you.

Comment by Kerry Baker on November 21, 2016 at 14:37

As feared the NSW Government reversed the ban on greyhound racing, albeit with much stricter controls.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-12/greyhound-industry-feels-reli...

A disturbing issue that arose during this period has been greyhounds being sent to facilities that use animals in research. The ultimate commodification of sentient beings!

https://humane-research.worldsecuresystems.com/campaigns/

Just as a by the by, rumour has it that the Premier of NSW, Mike Baird, had an ulterior motive for banning greyhound racing. he wanted to include the racing venues in a major sell-off of public land.

Comment by Kerry Baker on August 4, 2016 at 14:52

Interesting article coming out of NZ.

http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-future-animal-welfare-three-poi...

Note the link to the event in March 2017.

Comment by Kerry Baker on August 3, 2016 at 13:50

Dolphins in captivity in Australia. Until recently I actually didn't know that we have dolphins in captivity here. It does seem rather hypocritical that nothing has been done considering Australia's international stand against Japan on the whaling issue. I have found we have two sites where dolphines are kept, see this website;

http://www.afd.org.au/dolphin-captivity-in-australia

The distressing issue is that at least one of these facilities is not meeting legal requirements for welfare yet nothing appears to have been done about it. It begs the question, who is responsible for enforcement of minimum conditions? Certainly one would assume that local council rangers should monitor facilities given that they visit ordinary people's homes to make sure that animals are living in reasonable conditions if the person has a number of animals that require an excess pet permit. (This is extremely inconsistent but generally means more than two.)

Increasingly it seems that the only way to get compliance with legal requirements is where somebody complains. Until then, it is rare that anything will be done about it. Certainly in the USA where captive orcas have been very much in the spotlight in recent years, and the Taiji dolphin slaughter, people are moved to do something.

Lawyers who have the legal understanding to help with these situations are needed more than ever.

Comment by Kerry Baker on July 28, 2016 at 17:19

This group has been hibernating for some time and for that I have to apologise. Since starting up this group I gained admission into the Monash JD law degree and certainly have been flat out.

What has prompted me to post this message is that Voiceless has sent out an email to subscribers with a link to all their law lecture series, worth a watch for many of them. It was the Bruce Wagman lecture that turned me from vegetarian to vegan overnight.

https://www.voiceless.org.au/animal-law/lecture-series

I also have been watching with interest the response from politicians to the NSW Government taking the very positive step to shut down the greyhound racing industry. There have been the most horrendous images over the past 2 years or so, greyhound trainers using live animals to train greyhounds, greyhounds who didn't race fast enough being sent to Macao where many of them are killed by being injected with excruciatingly painful chemicals. I wonder what it is about Australia that we are so far behind other 'civilised' countries to support animals being treated so cruelly in racing, in live animal exports and other appalling industries.

The response to exposure of cruelty in the media is always the same. Politicians express horror, call for an inquiry, come up with recommendations to resolve the issue (while conveniently supporting the perpetrators), until the next time.

In this past week yet another shocking revelation which will now have gone around the world. Juvenile boys in detention being treated like prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, using very similar torture tactics.

I am left shaking my head, as I'm sure many Australians are, about how we get politicians to end these atrocities. Voiceless has a message of hope, that if the law allows these things to happen then it is going to be by changing the law that we get change.

I understand that the Premier of NSW has received many messages from ordinary people congratulating his action. As expected, the Opposition and industry has shouted loudly about the thousands of people in the greyhound racing industry who will be ruined. They are saying that the very people who allowed live possums, piglets, rabbits and so on to be literally torn apart in greyhound training can be trusted to adhere to recommendations to clean up the industry.

This will be an interesting one to watch. The more the industry members protest the more evidence comes out supporting why it has to be shut down.

Comment by Kerry Baker on March 9, 2013 at 11:52

It's timely Hayden that you have joined and reminded me that there is a lot to discuss.

Firstly, I thought these two sites may be of interest to members of this group, the first being the UK lawyers for animals and the page on their dinner where they had Peter Singer as guest presenter is an interesting read.

http://alaw.org.uk/

This second site has a number of links which is encouraging as it does indicate people are identifying as being involved in animal rights.

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Philosophy/Legal/AnimalLawWebs...

Yesterday I was confronted by the inadequacy of our laws when I visited the Victoria Market, one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Walking through the fish section which is at the front entrance, I was upset to see a crab with its front claws trussed, lying on its back in a plastic container without any water and waving its free legs in the air. I spoke to the person at the counter telling them it was cruel and they should at least ut it out of its misery. He looked at me as if I was from Mars and stepped back to ignore me, but seemed embarrassed. I attracted his attention again and told him why it's cruelty, that crustaceans don't have an enteric nervous system and latest research suggesting they consequently suffer far more pain than we do.

When I got back to work I rang the Melbourne City Council leaving a complaint, but they responded saying they can't do anything and that the law is covered by the RSPCA. So I rang them, but was told as far as they are concerned no law is being broken as crabs can breather air. Pretty pathetic I thought. If I knew how to rescue this crab I'd have been inclined to buy and release it. But I know nothing of crustaceans, whether it was a salt water or fresh water crab, whether releasing it back to any plot of water would be kind or cruel, although I will find out where these are taken.

I really struggle with this sometimes, considering myself an abolitionist but feeling for the individuals I see who have no laws to protect their welfare under these circumstances. I'm certain this seller had more at the back, and in my wildlife rescue I have seen so many instances where you just have to take a deep breath and move on.

I did BTW send emails to both the Minister and Shadow Minister responsible for this portfolio, not surprisingly have heard nothing back. I do not believe politicians care and this is one reason why I am increasingly getting the view that the law is going to be where the strongest animal rights advocacy will be fought.

Comment by Kerry Baker on January 14, 2013 at 18:28

Thanks Spencer for posting the Voiceless law lecture which prompted me to check for the first one I attended that had a profound effect on me, the lecture by Bruce Wagman. Happily it's now available and I have posted it below. It would be great maybe to get Bruce online at some stage to do one of the live chats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p3YTnMTtQg

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