News Bulletin - Australian Animal Studies Group

BIRDSCAPING YOUR GARDEN
Download audio from ABC Radio National
Imagine a garden full of rainbow lorikeets, sulphur-crested cockatoos, rosellas, kookaburras and
currawongs. What can you do to design your garden as a more bird and butterfly friendly habitat?
How can you attract a variety of birds to visit your garden by creating an ecologically-friendly and
sustainable native habitat, while helping to preserve Australia‘s natural heritage and biodiversity?
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bydesign/stories/2011/3321538.htm
AUSTRALIA’S LIVE EXPORTS
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A leading European Union animal welfare expert and factory farming policy adviser has called
Australia's live animal export trade 'the worst in the world'. It comes as Australia only recently
recommenced its live cattle exports to Indonesia.
Guest Peter Stevenson is Chief policy adviser to the UK based group Compassion in Farming.
Stevenson has played a key role in winning EU bans on veal crates, battery cages and sow stalls,
as well as a new status for animals in EU law as sentient beings.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2011/3282216.htm
SUBHUMANS AND SUPERBEASTS: BISONS AND JEWS IN THE WARSAW ZOO
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In late 1939, as the Germans occupied Warsaw, the city zoo became a sanctuary for hundreds of
Polish Jews, who were hidden in the lions' cages by Jan and Antonina Zabinski, the keepers of the
zoo. Most of those who were hidden were ultimately smuggled out of the country to freedom.
But there's a dark parallel tale within this story: while the Zabinskis were helping to save a race of
people from extermination, Germany's eminent zoologist, Lutz Heck, had commandeered the
Warsaw zoo in order to try and re-introduce, through rudimentary genetic engineering, an extinct
species of ox known as aurochs.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/stories/2011/3352395.htm
[For more about the influence of Lutz Heck see: Carol Freeman ―Ending Extinction: The Quagga,
the Thylacine and the ‗smart human‘‖ in Carol Gigliotti, Leonardo’s Choice: Genetic Technologies
and Animals (Springer 2009)].
COMMUNITY VIEWS ON ANIMAL CRUELTY
Download audio from ABC Radio National
How do you feel if you see an animal being mistreated? Dr Siobhan O'Sullivan, from the University
of Melbourne, has studied community views on animal cruelty and believes they are changing. She
cites big protests over things like puppy farming, which again saw thousands take to the streets in
Victoria on the weekend. Dr O'Sullivan has written about a perceived change in public sentiment
for the online publication The Conversation.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2011/3321913.htm
FREEDOM OF SPECIES
Live streaming and podcasts from Community Radio 3CR, Melbourne
Freedom of Species is animal advocacy on the airwaves – broadcasting to raise the voice of the
voiceless in our society. The program is hosted by a team of local animal advocates and
enthusiasts, presenting local & international news, interviews and music from this vibrant and
progressive social justice movement. Tune in to hear debates and updates on a broad range of
animal issues - from front line activism to academic theory, good tunes and tips on compassionate
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