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Federal environment minister, The Hon Sussan Ley, has approved another five years of commercial kangaroo exports from New South Wales without heeding critical recommendations from a recent NSW Parliamentary Inquiry relating to population counts, animal welfare, the counting of orphaned joeys and genuine consultation with Indigenous Australians.       The cross...

In a first for Australia, the free trade agreement signed today with the UK Government includes a chapter for animal welfare. The chapter sees the Australian government formally recognise the 'sentience' of animals, an important principle increasingly adopted in modern animal welfare law. It also signs Australia up to a...

Yesterday the Queensland Government announced their 2021-2025 Shark Management Plan, committing to non-lethal shark control in the Great Barrier Reef over the life of the Plan, and laying the groundwork to phase out shark nets and drumlines across the state.    While it is disappointing that lethal shark control will...

Three leading animal welfare organisations, FOUR PAWS, Humane Society International (HSI) Australia and RSPCA Australia, announced today a partnership to work towards an end to mulesing across Australia. The partnership will include regular contact with major international brands as well as numerous wool growers across Australia, in response to demand...

Last month, Tasmanian white gum wet forests, which are found in the river valleys of northern, eastern, and southern Tasmania, were recognised as Critically Endangered and listed as a Threatened Ecological Community (TEC) under federal environment legislation. The white gum forests join several other listed ecological communities across Tasmania, including...

A review of New South Wales’ suite of animal welfare laws is currently underway, but the notable exclusion of the concept of animal sentience has animal welfare advocates concerned that NSW is lagging behind other states—and the world—when it comes to protecting the wellbeing of companion and farm animals.  ...

World's biggest plant-based celebrities tell COP26 President Alok Sharma "stop ignoring the cow in the room”   Some of the world's biggest celebrity advocates for plant-based diets, including Moby, Billie Eilish, Joaquin Phoenix, Alan Cumming, Alicia Silverstone, Leona Lewis, Lily Cole and Stephen Fry, have written to Rt. Hon. Alok...

The new publication of The Action Plan for Australian Sharks and Rays 2021, which assesses the extinction risk of all Australia's sharks and rays, can inform conservation efforts and lead to better outcomes for iconic species like critically endangered sawfish and endangered hammerheads, conservation groups say.   Compiled by the National Environmental Science Program...

The NSW Government has today tripled funding for modern non lethal strategies to manage the risk of shark bite, but has not brought an end to shark nets as local councils called for.   Humane Society International welcomes the $21.4 million investment for drone surveillance, non-lethal SMART drumlines, shark tagging...

Facing an extinction crisis, the Australian Government has made an alarming proposal to remove the need for recovery plans for approximately 600 listed threatened species and wildlife habitats. The first tranche of proposed decisions has been released today and included imperiled species such as the spectacled flying-fox, Tasmanian devils, glossy...

Queensland has announced that it will trial Catch Alert drumlines on four beaches starting this month. Conservation groups Humane Society International and the Australian Marine Conservation Society welcome the announcement, which follows the release of shocking data last month that revealed 139 marine animals were caught in Queensland's shark culling equipment during...

Humane Society International would like to respond to the article headlined “Large, dangerous sharks set for release in State Govt trial” published in the Courier Mail, Daily Telegraph and affiliates on 4 September.   Humane Society International won a court case against the intentional killing of sharks on the Great...