AJP

Friday 17 April 2015: The Animal Justice Party has won in a race against the No Land Tax Party for the last seat to be finalised in the New South Wales Upper House. Mark Pearson, a former psychiatric nurse, now holds the seat. What an incredible win for animals everywhere, but especially in New South Wales. Now they have a champion in government with a knowledge of human psychology.

"Mark Pearson is Executive Director of Animal Liberation in Australia. He is employed full time via funds from the Christina Fitzsimons Trust. Before this he had been Team Leader of the Newcastle Community Mental Health Service in Newcastle and worked as a Clinical Acute Adult Psychiatric Nurse Specialist. In his current position the main focus is on farm animals – particularly factory farming for the past 21 years and recently kangaroos.

Two recent successes have been in relation to sheep and kangaroos. The phase out of the most invasive mutilation of any animal without analgesia – ‘mulesing’ in sheep and convincing the Russian Federation to ban imports of kangaroo meat by exposing inherent cruelty and hygiene problems. He enjoys opera – even trying to sing some- and stopping live export death ships from entering Australian ports." http://animaljusticeparty.org/about/committee/.

Animal Justice Party National President and founder Professor Steve Garlick revealed that the party's total budget for the election was a tiny $12,000.

For the first time ever right across Australia ( except NT and Tas) Australians will at this election have the opportunity to vote for a party dedicated to animals. At a recent presentation by the AJP in Victoria, I found out that their principle policy is 'kindness'.

You may know the recently formed Animal Justice Party from their efforts to stop the kangaroo slaughter in the ACT or other actions such as opposing the live trade. They were however formed to enhance the lives of all animals as can be seen from the policies on their web site Animal Justice Party.

Find candidates for your state here:

More about AJP in the media:
- Animal Justice Party pledges to shut down live exports with industry campaign (please watch video there - second picture from the top- it tells all)

You can find where other parties stand on animal welfare in the following link:
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/where-do-parties-stand-animal-welfare.php

If you want to know how AJP preferences work for the Senate please read their explanation below:

1. The AJP has preferenced other parties on the Senate Group Ticket so as to maximise its chances of having candidates elected. This is the best way you can use your vote to help animals.

2. We are required by the AEC to preference every party. Giving minor parties the highest preference gives us the best chance of winning when the votes are counted.

3. Parties that have policies that support animals have been preferenced highest by the AJP. Parties with policies and practices that support animal cruelty have been preferenced lowest by the AJP.

4. AJP preferences vary in each jurisdiction according to the performance of each party on animal cruelty matters. For example, we have put the Greens last in the ACT because of their active support of kangaroo brutality in that jurisdiction. On the other hand, we have put the Greens mid-field in Western Australia and South Australia because of their active support for banning the horrendous live trade in farm animals.

5. In all cases except in the ACT we have preferenced Greens ahead of the major parties.

6. If you want to vote above-the-line for the AJP, then simply follow the AJP Senate How to Vote Card (vote 1 above the line). Of course you can always vote below-the-line for the AJP if you want to preference the other parties and candidates in a different way.

Photo of big male by Brett Clifton

Preamble

The Animal Justice Party has been formed as a response to growing public concern about the neglect of animals and animal protection issues by political parties. It will give a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. It will provide a focal point for voters frustrated by the lack of political action and who feel strongly that much more needs to be done through our parliamentary systems to assist the wellbeing of animals. There is a need for laws and processes which recognise animals' needs and capabilities and which protect their interests, whether they are domestic, farmed or wild. The Animal Justice Party will also ensure such laws and processes are properly enforced and implemented to achieve genuine justice for animals.

Our treatment of animals and the environments we share with them are often marred by a lack of understanding, leading to disrespect and cruelty. At a time when the planet’s environment is being challenged on so many fronts, we must urgently act to ensure that all animals that both contribute to and depend on it are respected and valued for their intrinsic and fundamental roles. We need to build a new relationship with the planet that is inclusive of all of its inhabitants. With a fresh approach towards animals and the ecological systems of Earth, humans can create more rewarding and ethical communities and relationships built on deeper understandings and firm principles of justice.

The Animal Justice Party seeks a restoration of the balance between the human, natural and animal worlds which acknowledges the interconnectedness and inter-dependence of these worlds, and respects the wellbeing of animals alongside that of humans, societies, economies and environments.

Vision

A planet on which animals are treated with respect, dignity, compassion and kindness, where they are able to flourish in their respective environments, and where their unique needs and capabilities are recognised and their interests are protected.

Mission

To promote and protect the interests and capabilities of animals by providing a dedicated voice for them in Australia’s political system.

Fundamental Factors

To implement its vision and give effect to its mission, the Animal Justice Party recognises the importance of the following:

• An education system which fosters in its values an awareness of the natural and animal worlds, and of human responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of the Earth and its inhabitants

• A political system in which participatory, deliberative democracy can be exercised so that citizens have the ability to express their true concerns about the treatment of animals

• An administrative system in which governments and institutions deal with animal and environmental issues in a transparent, honourable and accountable manner

• An economic system in which ethics, the protection of the natural world and its inhabitants, and the realisation of capability of all beings are highly valued for their intrinsic roles

• A societal system in which we acknowledge that it is our human duty and responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of all animals

• A robust legal system that recognises and protects the interests and capabilities of humans, animals and their environments

• A population settlement and land use system that is truly sustainable for all its inhabitants and ecosystems.

Principles

In all its actions, the Animal Justice Party will be guided by the following principles:

• Each animal is the experiencing subject of a life. Animals and the natural environment should be respected for their own sake, not merely for their instrumental values

• Animals have their own capabilities which they should be free to realise

• Human interactions with all animals should be based on respect and compassion

• Humans have the responsibility to avoid harm to animals and the environment through their lifestyles, diets and practices

• Policies of other political parties, both nationally and internationally, that advance Animal Justice Party principles will be supported.

Key Goals

The Animal Justice Party seeks the following:

• A legal framework and an administrative system in which animals' status is based on their sentience and capabilities, not their instrumental value

• Constitutional protection of animals and the environment

• A political decision-making process that is more responsive to the needs and interests of all animals

• An end to human practices that cause pain and distress to animals

• An end to the killing of animals for human benefit

• An end to the exploitation and destruction of the natural environment that is the habitat of so many unique Australian native animals

• Adoption by an increasing number of Australians of lifestyles and diets that are more respectful towards animals and the environment

• An acknowledgement that violence and cruelty are not the default settings for society and animals, nor are they solutions for planetary sustainability.

Key Strategies

The Animal Justice Party will:

For All animals

• Develop a new legal status for animals which acknowledges their rights to live protected from human harm

• Ensure consistency in the protection of all animals – companion, farmed and wild – regardless of their commercial or instrumental value, or their geographic location

• Support laws, policies and practices that enhance the quality of life of animals and reduce animal suffering

• Oppose laws, policies and practices which harm animals and their environments

• Support and promote lifestyles, practices and diets which maximise support for, and minimise harm to, animals and the environment

• Support the work of appropriately accredited volunteers who care for injured, orphaned and mistreated animals

• Support commercial and recreational ventures that provide opportunities for humans to spend time with animals on the animals' terms and in their worlds, and otherwise raise humans' awareness of animals, their needs, and their quality of life

• Promote values education that recognises the interests and dignity of animals as individual beings.

For Farm animals

• Support animal-friendly farming practices

• Oppose intensive farm animal production and processes that deprive animals of their basic needs and capabilities, expose them to confinement, painful procedures, temperature extremes and other inappropriate husbandry practices, and generally reduce them to the status of commodities

• Oppose transportation of live animals over long distances or otherwise in ways that cause suffering, or expose them to extreme cruelty at the end of the journey

• Oppose the importation of animal products derived from cruel animal production systems in other countries.

For Animals used in experimentation

• Support non-invasive research methods to improve human health as alternatives to the use of animals and animal products

• Oppose the use of animals in any scientific experimentation that inflicts pain, stress, distress and behavioural deprivation unless it is likely to result in a net benefit to the particular animal involved.

For Wild animals

• Enhance animal habitats and foster healthy ecosystems through dedicated terrestrial and marine parks and wildlife corridors, land revegetation and remediation, and animal-friendly land practices

• Oppose the institutional, commercial and recreational killing of wildlife

• Support the development and adoption of non-invasive and non-lethal methods to control native and introduced animal populations, including fertility control and more appropriate land management methods

• Support commercial and recreational ventures that seek to raise humans' awareness of the intrinsic worth of wildlife and natural environments.

For Companion animals

• Support measures to protect animals dependent on human guardians and to prevent their neglect, ill treatment or abandonment.

For Animals used in sport and entertainment

• Oppose the killing and mistreatment of animals in sport, recreation and entertainment.

To join the Animal Justice Party, click here.
© Animal Justice Party, Australia, 2010. For more information, contact: info[AT]animaljusticeparty.org