Australia is a huge country, with nearly all people living in cities, the rest being bush and desert. It has a thriving eco movement, with the city of Sydney in particular having good policy.
But climate change and wildfires is having a horrendous effect on koala bears, not least because the huge growth of biodegradable packaging, leads to over-planting of flammable eucalyptus trees (and some companies use chainsaws to harvest trees for essential oils).
One area that we can learn from Australia is their approach to suncare. Due to high rates of skin cancer, everyone is sensible in the sun (slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, and slop on sunscreen).
Wash off sunscreens before allowing pets to lick your skin as (like cocoa butter) it contains toxins (zinc & titanium dioxide).
Lessons from the Outback
We know Tasmania is a big island, so it obviously has beautiful beaches. It also (along with Finland) has the world’s cleanest air for anywhere that humans live.
Cradle Mountain is now in a protected national park and can’t be touched by developers. This is good as the area is home to some of the oldest trees on earth (the Huon Pine tree is only 20 metres, but thought to be thousands of years old).
Tasmania also looks after its wildlife, including the fierce-looking Tasmanian Devils (carnivorous marsupials who have the largest bite-ratio!) In fact, its main threat is road traffic, resulting in people campaigning for wildlife crossings.
Kangaroo-Friendly Vegan Football Boots
Australian companies are gradually ditching kangaroo leather (or K-leather as it’s often called) as people wise up and boycott, due to kangaroos being shot, and their joeys left to die.
Used because it’s soft and strong, kangaroo leather is also used to make riding whips and golf gloves. But there’s no need, because vegan leather football boots prove that it’s totally possible to play at professional level with no harm to animals.
Also don’t buy kangaroo meat.
Recently BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham has written an open letter to those behind the popular TV series ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’. Stating that to kill or harm creatures in the Australian jungle for ‘entertainment’ is no longer a worthy way to earn a living.
Circuses have gone, dancing bears have gone, cock-and-dog fighting are the sad preserve of psychopathic criminals. We have no performing dolphins and no chimpanzees dressed up for tea time.
The cruel exploitation of wildlife for gratuitous entertainment, continues to damage the reputation of a ‘nation of animal lovers’. Chris Packham (letter to ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’).
Don’t Buy Crocodile Skin or Shoes
These days there are plenty of brands of vegan shoes & handbags, so no need to support an industry that sometimes skins crocodiles alive, just to make such goods. Many top name designer brands still use it, so boycott them.
Many celebrities also wear it (Victoria Beckham has worn it, and uses real leather in her fashion line). The ethical fashion rating site Good on You rates her line as ‘poor’ on animal welfare, environment and human labour, and recommends switching to Stella McCartney instead.
Crocodiles may look scary to us, but they are part of nature’s ecosystem, and don’t eat that often (little plover birds also clean their teeth by eating stuck bits of meat in them, which the crocs enjoy – like their own moving toothbrushes).
The world’s largest reptiles usually have their mouths open, simply to regulate temperature, not because they are trying to eat you. Crocs kill around 1000 people a year (compared to millions by mosquitoes, due to malaria).
A Flourishing Animal Welfare Movement
Australia’s Animal Justice Party campaigns for tougher animal protection laws, and increased penalties for abuse.
The manifesto includes recognising all animals as sentient beings, promoting plant-based diets, outlawing international use of animals for sport, exhibition and ‘entertainment’ and outlawing research and experimentation, and promoting humane research.
The party’s MPs have secured millions in funds for domestic abuse victims to find safe havens with pets, and to stop cruelty in many industries.
Bronwyn Currie has introduced legislation to ban live exports of sheep by 2028. Recently animals ‘cooked alive’ on a stranded ship (then those surviving had to endure a second trip). She also plans to improve animal cruelty prevention laws and protect national wildlife.
Young MP Georgie Purcell MP is a colourful character. She paid her way through college working as a stripper and pole dancer, to take a double degree in law and communications/politics.
She has had a lot of media airtime, but says her background means she’s good at dealing with very difficult people! She met her husband at a protest against live animal exports, and is shaking up the establishment in Australia. More power to you, Georgie!
Learn More about Australia’s Animals!
Interview with a Kangaroo (and other marsupials) looks at animals who carry their young in pouches. Features interviews with:
- A kangaroo
- A koala
- A Virginia opossum
- A Tasmanian devil
- A numbat
- A bandicoot
- A sugar glider
- A quokka
- A spotted cuscus
