A fairer world - The Tasmanian Center for Global Learning

Did you know?
  • Three quartersof the world’s 4.7 billion egg laying hens,  are kept cruelly confined in tiny battery cages,*
  • In 2004, about 23 per cent of mammals and 12 per cent of birds were considered to be under threat of extinction.*
  • Australians spend over $2.2 billion each year on their pets compared to foreign aid spending of around $1.8 .*



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Animal welfare

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
 Gandhi

Animal life is essential to our well-being, and to that of our planet. But animals are very much under threat. Animal numbers and animal species are in decline. Our reliance upon animals for food, clothing and as companions is having a significant impact on major global issues such as climate change and the just sharing of food and wealth.  It is a process which is costly, not only for the planet, but for the animals themselves. By turning them into commodities we have ended up making cruelty towards them a commonplace. This is an outcome which belittles us all.

Find out about animals from around the world:
  • Animal Diversity Web, from the University of Michigan, is a comprehensive encyclopaedia of animals which you can search in a variety of ways, including geographically.


What are animal rights?

  • The Animal Rights FAQ defines animal rights and looks at the many associated issues.


Animal welfare – stopping cruelty towards animals:


There are so many instances of animals suffering in the service of corporate and consumer greed, whether it is in the food and clothing industries or in the name of scientific experimentation. For example, in the United Kingdom in 2002, 2.73 million experiments were carried out involving animals.* Many organisations around the world are trying to improve the living conditions of animals.   
  • The Animal Concerns Community is a useful gateway to animal rights and welfare resources on the Internet.  It covers factory farming, laboratory animals and many other relevant topics.
  • In 2003, Americans  spent $12.5 billion on dog and cat food.* Not only do pets consume large amounts of financial and food resources, but they are subject to considerable abuse as well. Pet-Abuse.com documents the situation in the US.
  • The British Vegan Society site gives an overview of animal exploitation. It also has a section on the impact that animals are having upon the environment. 


The demise of animal species:


Each year, many species disappear, leaving an increasing gap in the world’s potential. This has arisen largely as a consequence of our overdevelopment of the natural environment, but now, increasingly it is also due to the effects of global warming.

  • The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a leading actor in the struggle to preserve both species and habitat. Their site looks at the overall problems as well as the plight of individual threatened animals. 
  • For some background on the impact that global warming will have upon Australian animals, see the Climate Action Network Australia and the Australian Academy of Science's Nova sites.


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