Fair Go For Animals 2025

The 10th of March is Fair Go for Animals Day, a campaign launched by the Australian Alliance for Animals that calls for government reforms in the animal welfare landscape. The proposed national reform goals aim to build a fairer and more independent system that respects animal sentience and prioritises animal welfare. Importantly, animals used in research could benefit significantly from such change.

Australia’s animal welfare system is failing the animals it’s supposed to protect

Australia’s current system treats animal welfare as a low priority issue. The same departments and ministers responsible for increasing the productivity and profitability of animal agriculture are also tasked with safeguarding animal welfare. This conflict of interest often prevents decision-makers from pursuing higher standards of welfare. Despite overwhelming public support for better welfare standards, state and territory governments fail to act. 

Even worse, the law doesn’t require decision-makers to consider scientific evidence or community expectations when setting standards, leaving millions of animals trapped in outdated and inhumane systems. This is exemplified in the research industry, where millions of animals are subjected to cruel and invasive procedures that ultimately fail to give insights into human health or translate to human applications, despite that more effective technologies are already readily available.

Australia’s regulatory systems are not only failing to evolve alongside the growing understanding of animal sentience, but they are also lagging behind the rest of the world. While countries like New Zealand and the United Kingdom have made significant progress in recognising animal sentience and enacting higher welfare standards, Australia has not even reviewed its Code for the use and care of animals in research and teaching in over a decade, and there is no national system of data collection for animals used in research. 

Animals deserve better

In 2022, the Australian Alliance for Animals launched the Fair Go for Animals campaign, proposing a new framework for building a fairer and more independent animal welfare governance system in Australia. This campaign sets out six crucial reforms, presenting a clear path toward a fairer future for animals:

1. Ministerial recognition: Appoint dedicated Ministers for Animal Welfare to reduce conflicts of interest. 
2. National Animal Welfare Commission: Create an independent body to ensure unbiased oversight, making the system truly independent. 
3. State Animal Welfare Authorities: Establish dedicated government authorities to uphold animal welfare laws in each state. 
4. Decision-making principles and sentience recognition: Embed guiding decision-making principles into animal welfare legislation and recognise animals as sentient beings with intrinsic value. 
5. Fair and accountable animal welfare standards processes: Create new standard-setting and decision-making processes to ensure transparency and accountability. 
6. Adequate funding: Allocate proper funding for animal welfare services in line with community expectations. 

Support the change animals need

Australians are being called upon to help reshape Australia’s animal welfare system by endorsing the Fair Go for Animals campaign, calling for vital government and institutional reforms for animals. 

Take the pledge and spread the word today! The more voices that join, the louder the call for change becomes.