Our impact

Impact Report - 2022

In March 2022, we launched Australia's first alliance of major animal protection organisations representing over 2 million Australians.

Together with our core members, we worked hard towards our mission of building a fairer Australia for all animals:

Helped secure a commitment from Labor ahead of the 2022 Federal Election to phase out live sheep export.
Ran 2 election policy scorecard campaigns reaching millions of Australians.
Engaged with governments and called for animal law reform across Qld, NSW, Vic, Tas and WA.
Launched our #FairGoForAnimals campaign.
Spoke out for hens trapped in battery cages across the country.

Our combined impact is already making real in-roads, and we are confident that within the coming years we can achieve a number of our major reform goals.

Standout impact: Launching our #FairGoForAnimals campaign

The #FairGoForAnimals campaign proposes a new framework for creating a more balanced and independent animal welfare governance system in Australia.

Highlights:

Published the 76-page ‘Building a fairer Australia for animals’ report
Held an online launch webinar attended by almost 300 people
Secured endorsements by over 25 organisations.

Highlight: Election scorecard campaigns

Ahead of the Federal and Victorian elections, we reached out to all of the key parties and independents to find out their positions on essential reforms for animals.

Together with our core members, we shared state-wide and select electorate scorecards with our supporters, and with the general public via extensive digital advertising. The campaigns were a great success - igniting online debate, making animal welfare an election issue, and strengthening the policy positions of several parties and candidates.

Our Federal Election campaign was particularly impactful, reaching 2 million Australians and resulting in 10 parties and 8 independents supporting our reforms, with Labor committing to a phase-out of live sheep exports.

Highlight event: WA Stakeholder forum and parliament visit

In October 2022, we organised a landmark stakeholder Animal Welfare Reform Forum in Perth, bringing together a diverse range of 50 stakeholders. The forum was held in collaboration with Farmed Well (an initiative of the Minderoo Foundation) and Western Australian state politician the Hon Lisa Baker MLA. The key outcome of the forum was a joint letter to the WA Premier with 33 groups calling on the state government to strengthen the review of WA’s animal welfare legislation.

The Forum was followed by a visit to WA Parliament House to speak with WA politicians about the phase-out of live sheep exports, and explain why a phase-out makes sense for both the economy and animal welfare.

Highlight: End live sheep export alliance

In 2022, the Alliance helped secure a commitment from Labor ahead of the Federal Election to phase out live sheep export.

In June after the Election, we established the End Live Sheep Exports (ELSE) Alliance to ensure the successful implementation of the Federal Government’s commitment. The ELSE Alliance’s 15 members meet regularly to coordinate on campaign activities, share information and collaborate on political engagement.

Through the ELSE Alliance, we have been able to help coordinate the sector to effectively engage with government on this important issue with a unified voice.

Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur Israel Against Live Shipments We Animals Media

Highlight event: Core member Federal Parliament delegation

In 2022, a delegation of Alliance staff and representatives from four of our core member organisations met with a wide range of parliamentarians in Federal Parliament to put animal welfare firmly on the political agenda.

In our meetings, we discussed why structural reforms are so important for achieving better animal welfare policy in Australia.

We also held a productive briefing on the issue of live sheep export hosted by Andrew Wilkie MP and attended by politicians and staffers from all sides of the political spectrum.

Reform program

Our first strategic goal is to reform the Australian animal welfare governance system. This includes making the government accountable and increasing transparency, establishing fairer, more independent frameworks, and creating standards that respect animal sentience and reflect contemporary science.

We aim to achieve this through political, media, and public engagement.

5
SUBMISSIONS TO GOVERNMENT REVIEWS & INQUIRIES

18
MEDIA STORIES

20
MEETINGS WITH POLITICIANS & GOVERNMENT

19K
SITE VISITS

12
MEDIA RELEASE & ONLINE ARTICLES

7
PRESENTATIONS

Representation program

Our second strategic reform goal is to unite the Australian animal welfare sector and increase its political significance. We aim to ensure the animal welfare sector uses its resources efficiently and effectively to maximise its impact, organise the sector on institutional and cross-sector reforms, and ensure animal welfare is recognised as political significant.

12
ORGANISATION NETWORK MEMBERS

6
CORE MEMBERS

15
END LIVE SHEEP EXPORTS ALLIANCE MEMBERS

2M+
COLLECTIVE SUPPORTERS

In our first year, we have focused on growing the Alliance Organisation Network to help build the capacity and impact of the Australian animal protection community. We are also coordinating groups on key animal welfare issues, such as the End Live Sheep Exports Alliance, which brings together 18 like-minded organisations to ensure the successful implementation of the federal government’s commitment to ending live sheep exports.