At the Fork explores our evolving relationship to food as seen through the eyes of a typical suburban Australian family. After the young protagonists of the series learn about the plight of animals on today’s factory farms, the entire family starts to question the impact that eating meat has on their health, on the health of the planet and, of course, on animals.

This thought-provoking online series looks at a number of issues that relate to the moral and health reasons for going vegetarian or vegan and also addresses some common misconceptions about plant-based diets.

You can watch the episodes via the following links:

Episode one
Episode two
Episode three
Episode four
Episode five 
Episode six
Episode seven

Every year, millions of animals are abused and slaughtered on their journey from farm to dinner plate. Each vegetarian and vegan saves the lives of many animals every year. Watch At the Fork today, and find out why more people are leaving meat off their forks for good – and then be sure to order your free vegetarian/vegan starter kit.

Posted by Claire Fryer

The post ‘At the Fork’ Offers Food for Thought appeared first on PETA.org.au.

The contest, which runs through June 18, features compassionate celebrities such as actors Abbie Cornish, Radha Mitchell, Isabelle Cornish, Sophie Monk and Isabel Lucas; musicians John Butler, Xavier Rudd, and Missy Higgins and cricketer Peter Siddle.

Winners of this contest will be chosen based on several factors, including vote count.

Do you want to follow in the stunning footsteps of these hot and humane celebs?

Take the Pledge to Go Veg for 30 Days today!

Posted by Jason Baker

The post Who Are the Sexiest Ones of All? Vote Now! appeared first on PETA.org.au.

Photo thanks to Andrew Jacob

TV veterinarian Dr Katrina Warren took time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions about companion-animal care for PETA. Read on to learn about her views concerning cruelty to animals, adoption and more!

How did you become such a well-known veterinarian?
I have spent most of my career working in the media. I began as a presenter on the children’s TV show Totally Wild nearly 20 years ago and then moved on to work with Dr Harry on Harry’s Practice for many years. I have worked across all media platforms, and I love my work. I really enjoy helping people enrich the bond they share with their pets.

Do you currently share your home with any companion animals?
I have a beautiful adopted golden retriever called Riley. He was rescued from a pound after someone had dumped him in a cage with his four legs tied together. He was in a dreadful condition, and I just don’t understand how anyone could have hurt him. He is a gentle, loving boy who is an amazing family pet. I also have a Maine coon cat called Mr Fox, who is definitely the boss of the house!

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about adopting a dog, cat or small animal from an animal shelter or rescue group?
Adopting a pet is a wonderful experience, and I always encourage people to consider adoption as an option. There are thousands of beautiful pets in shelters who are patiently waiting for a forever home, and there is a pet out there for everyone. When adopting, I urge people to take their time and choose the right pet for their lifestyle. Don’t adopt an animal just because you feel sorry for it (as hard as this can sometimes be). A pet is a long-term commitment, and the last thing an adopted pet needs is to be surrendered again because it doesn’t suit your lifestyle.

What is the most important thing that we can all do for our companion animals?
Understand that animals are not little people in fur coats. Our pets are definitely an important part of our family, but they need to have their individual requirements that need to be met in order for them to be happy.

Do you think that penalties for cruelty to or neglect of animals need to be harsher?
Definitely. Animals are silent victims, and we need to protect them.

What is the most unusual request or query that you have received? 
To participate in a séance to contact the spirit of a dog who had passed away.

Posted by Claire Fryer

The post Dr Katrina Warren Talks Animal Care With PETA appeared first on PETA.org.au.

• Zambrero

The vegan Mexican goodness at Zambrero includes burritos, hard and soft tacos, nachos and quesadillas. Best of all, each time you enjoy a burrito, not only are no animals harmed, a plate of food is also donated to someone in need through the “Plate 4 Plate” program.

• Eden’s Salad Bar

Choose from any of six veggie burgers that can all be “veganised”, vegan all-day breakfast options, or the “make your own salad and sandwich” bar. The salad bar is a vegan dream, with everything from potato salad to couscous and roasted vegetables on offer.

• Annalakshmi

Beautiful Indian curries are accompanied by various types of rice, dosas and sambar, and the restaurant directly overlooks the Swan River. Pay what you think it is worth or what you can afford, and all proceeds to go help the less fortunate in India.

• The Naked Fig, The Wild Fig and The Pickled Fig

The three “Figs”, all in gorgeous beachside locations, have extensive, tasty and creative vegan meals, and their staff is always happy to “veganise” any of the vegetarian dishes whenever possible. There is also a dedicated weekly “Vego” night with live music!

• Jus Burgers

Delicious chickpea, pumpkin and tempeh burgers are on offer, with a plethora of garnishes and sides to boot. The freshly squeezed juices are a winner, too.

• PAWS Café (People and Animal Welfare Society)

The PAWS snack bar provides hot food and raw food as well as delicious vegan desserts. The kitchen is fully vegan, so you are spoilt for choice! PAWS is a tasty, healthy and affordable lunch option, and you can do some cruelty-free shopping in the adjoining store after you’ve eaten.

• Aisuru Sushi

Aisuru Sushi boasts a whole page of vegan items on its menu, ranging from teriyaki tofu to many different sushi rolls, all made right in front of your eyes as you sit at the sushi bar.

• Loving Hut

Loving Hut offers a wide variety of hot food and salad options – and some raw options, too. Just make sure you save some room for the delicious vegan desserts!

• Freshia

Staff at this hidden gem are always happy to accommodate vegans. With dishes such as pad Thai and mee goreng on offer, you can’t go wrong. The vegetables are fresh, the food is scrumptious and the serving sizes are huge. Enjoy!

• Veggie Mama

Choose from a range of hot meals, roast vegetable lasagne and veggie patties. Still hungry? Every dish can be ordered with a filling salad on the side. Muffins, scones and cakes are also available if you still aren’t full!

Written by PETA Asia-Pacific intern Milena Konig

The post Perth’s Vegan Delights! appeared first on PETA.org.au.

Photo: Sam Cahir

I met my first shark when I was 16 years old: a male blacktip reef shark off the coast of North Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. As I got older, the sharks got progressively larger, including bull sharks, tiger sharks, whale sharks and even the majestic great white. In my nine years as a diver, I’ve clocked more than 100 dives with sharks, and rather than feeling in danger, I’ve fallen deeply in love.

Despite their negative reputation in the media, sharks pose little to no threat to human beings in the wild – there are no more than 100 reported shark attacks around the world each year, with fewer than 10 fatal ones. Sadly, media publications have often exploited tragic incidents and labelled sharks as “man-eaters”, “rogue killers” and “lurking predators”.

With more than 75 million sharks killed every year for food and sport, human beings have solidified themselves as the true predator in the ocean. Where sharks once roamed healthy oceans, the species is now a rarity in a nearly dead sea. The endangered shark species include the giant great white shark, of whom there are as few as 2,500 individuals left.

The consumption of shark fins is the primary cause of decline in vital shark populations worldwide, threatening a delicate pelagic ecosystem relied upon by all marine species, including whales, dolphins, seals, turtles and fish.

Fished from the ocean ecosystem, live sharks are disfigured – their fins sold to a high-end Asian market whilst their meat is consumed as cheap fish product (“flake”) throughout the Western world. Sharks are alive when fishers begin to remove their fins, and they often suffocate when their motionless, breathing bodies are tossed back into the ocean.

Severely threatening a delicate ocean balance, up to 100 million sharks may be fished from the sea every year for their fins, averaging 10,000 sharks per hour.

The importance of the shark to our world’s oceans is immeasurable. Apex predators like the shark regulate symbiotic marine structures unlike any other species. They manage healthy ecosystems by feeding on the animals who exist beneath them in the pelagic food web, supporting a sensitive marine hierarchy that safeguards countless other marine species and the ocean ecosystem.

Without sharks, scientists predict an irreversible prevalence of unbridled predation, resulting in a devastating loss of important sea structure. Affected species include seals, sea lions, whales, fish, turtles and dolphins, including orcas.

Learn more about the plights of sharks and go shark-fin–free today.

Guest blog by Elissa Sursara, an Australian ecologist, journalist and filmmaker working on behalf of endangered species and threatened habitats. You can follow Elissa on Twitter and Facebook and learn more about conservation on her website.

The post Sharks: No More Fins off Their Backs appeared first on PETA.org.au.

These standards create an excellent opportunity to offer sheep and cattle greater enforceable protections. But as we point out in our submissions, the current drafts classify only some basic minimum care requirements as legally enforceable “standards”. Many other aspects of care and treatment are listed as unenforceable “guidelines”.

Nowhere in the current proposal for sheep is there a plan to phase out “mulesing”, a cruel practice in which large chunks of skin are cut from millions of lambs’ backsides every year in a crude attempt to prevent maggot infestation. Humane options for flystrike control are already available, and they are more effective than mulesing. A recent 20-month study of merino sheep, for example, found that the lowest incidences of flystrike occurred in sheep who had not been mulesed but were simply treated with insecticides.

Cattle fare little better under the proposed standards, which would permit cruel practices such as electro-immobilisation (that is, using an electric shock to render a conscious animal immobile).

The idea of enforceable national standards for livestock is to offer more protection to animals used for their flesh and skins. Yet the current proposals send the message to farmers that they can get away with making only the most minimal effort to care for sheep and cattle.

Fortunately, we can make a difference for these animals, even if farmers won’t. Go vegan today, and you’ll save many animals from unnecessary pain and suffering every year.

Posted by Claire Fryer

The post National Livestock Standards Should Protect Animals, Not Farmers appeared first on PETA.org.au.

The video, produced by top UK creative agency Fallon London, shows vegans from across the animal kingdom getting busy to remind us that a vegan diet is free from the artery-clogging cholesterol found in meat, eggs and dairy products and leaves plant-eaters with better blood flow – to ALL the bodies’ organs!

So why not take the Pledge to Be Veg today and see how much fun you can have being vegan?!

Posted by Claire Fryer

The post Vegans Do It Like They Do on the Discovery Channel appeared first on PETA.org.au.

Companies that want to market their products in China must currently pay for cruel and antiquated animal tests. In cosmetics testing, rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and other animals are forced to swallow or inhale massive quantities of test substances or endure the pain of having caustic chemicals applied to their sensitive eyes and skin.

Millions of animals every year around the world are still being abused and killed in these antiquated tests – even though effective, non-animal tests are widely available and many companies now use these humane options.

Chinese officials are in the process of accepting the first-ever non-animal tests for cosmetics, thanks to guidance from scientists funded by PETA US. But in the meantime, please support the hundreds of companies, such as Paul Mitchell Systems, The Body Shop, Dermalogica and Nature’s Gate, that have taken a stand against animal testing. Every time we shop, we can choose to be compassionate by buying only brands that are not tested on animals.

Posted by Claire Fryer

The post How Cruelty-Free Are Your Cosmetics? appeared first on PETA.org.au.

A vegan diet doesn’t just prevent cruelty to animals – it’s better for your health and the environment, too.

Vegan foods are free from cholesterol and tend to be low in saturated fat and high in fibre, complex carbohydrates and vitamins. And it takes around one-third less land and water – and 10 times fewer fossil fuels – to produce plant-based foods than animal-based ones. The United Nations has stated that a global shift towards a vegan diet is necessary to combat against the worst effects of climate change.

Factory farms pack tens of thousands of animals into areas so cramped that they have little room to move and routinely mutilate them without any anaesthetics. Pigs, chickens and turkeys are kept in massive sheds for their whole lives. The first time that they feel sunlight on their backs is when they are loaded onto a truck bound for the slaughterhouse.

Each vegan spares more than 100 animals every year. So order your free copy of the PETA vegetarian/vegan starter kit by e-mailing us (include your full name and address) and find out how to make delicious, nutritious and cruelty-free vegan food today.

Posted by Claire Fryer

The post Order Your Vegetarian/Vegan Starter Kit Today! appeared first on PETA.org.au.

Australian live export has maintained government support despite numerous investigations that revealed sickening footage from a range of locations as well as several major incidences of animal welfare issues on the journey itself and a massive public backlash. What will it take for the Australian government to do the right thing by the Australian public and animals and stop bailing out the sinking ship that is the live-export industry?

There is simply no way to transport tens of thousands of animals on cramped, stinking ships on journeys lasting days or even weeks to face a slaughter which would be illegal in Australia. This latest footage from Egypt comes just a few months after PETA revealed that a scientific committee had advised that Australian cattle in Egypt should have their ears cut off prior to slaughter.

Australian live exports to Egypt were previously suspended following a joint investigation by PETA and Animals Australia. History shows that the private companies making money from this animal abuse will re-open the Egyptian trade as soon as they can, regardless of animal welfare or public opinion.

Live export is a blight on Australia’s international reputation. It’s time for the Australian government to take action and end the live export of animals.

Posted by Claire Fryer

The post Egypt Cattle Abuse Renews Calls for an End to Australian Live Export appeared first on PETA.org.au.