Animals in Australia are suffering terribly. They have no voice, cannot defend themselves and are legally classified as ‘objects’.

Factory farming causes the most suffering to the largest number of animals in Australia. Locked in giant sheds, hundreds of millions of emotionally complex, intelligent beings like pigs and chickens never see the sun, feel the earth under their feet, nurture their young, build a nest, roost, forage for food, or socialise as nature intended.
Instead they are:

• subjected to the mutilation of sensitive areas of their bodies including tails, teeth, horns and beaks without pain relief;
• constrained in cages or crates (in the case of pregnant pigs and laying hens) or packed together in such large numbers they struggle to find their personal space; and
• treated like commodities in a production line, with grave disregard for their real welfare needs.

These industries engage in legalised cruelty in the name of higher profit and cheaper meat and eggs. Their activities are facilitated by the inherent conflict of interest within State and Federal Departments of Primary Industry, who are largely responsible for promoting the interests of animals but also the interests of agribusiness. As long as these bodies hold responsibility for both animal protection and industry, meaningful law reform will be very difficult to achieve. The model codes of practice for animal welfare, which apply to many factory farms, are examples of what happens when there is a close relationship between government and industry – industry practices that involve substantial suffering are sanctioned and therefore facilitated. 

Voiceless has written several reports exposing the suffering of animals in factory farms. These comprehensive, scientifically based analyses have been endorsed by leading international animal protection organisations and distributed widely to Australian politicians, companies and consumers through strategic media and distribution campaigns.

From Paddocks to Prisons: Pigs in NSW Current Practices, Future Directions - our report on the pig industry in NSW.

From Label to Liable: Scams, Scandals and Secrecy - our report on animal-derived food product labelling in Australia. 

From Nest to Nugget: an exposé of Australia's chicken factories - our report on the meat chicken industry in Australia.

Voiceless has also hundreds of thousand of dollars in Grants to other non-profit organisation’s projects that address factory farming.

Another high priority for Voiceless is the largest massacre of land-based wildlife on the planet, also known as the Australian kangaroo industry. This lucrative multi-million dollar meat, fur and skin industry is underpinned by the demonisation of our native animal as a ‘pest’. The remote slaughter of kangaroos under cover of darkness is a further example of unseen and unfathomable legalised cruelty.

Kangaroos are:

• Generally killed at night, which means that although shooters are licensed, factors such as darkness, distance, weather conditions and a small moving target may result in painful wounds and a slow death.
• Often carrying pouch young or have older joeys by their side (young-at-foot). Joeys are legally permitted to be bashed to death while young-at-foot are shot or flee from their dying mothers only to slowly die of starvation or hypothermia.

Voiceless has funded many projects addressing the welfare of kangaroos through our Grants Program.

Over 1 million dollars has also been granted to projects that help other high priority animal protection issues including:

• live export and transport of animals;
• replacement of animals in experimentation;
• hunting and poisoning of animals; and  
• animals in entertainment - zoos, circuses, racing and rodeos.

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