BE A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS
Today Thursday 12 March is the final day for public consultation!

Sourced from Oscar’s Law Facebook page and the Voiceless website, read below. Links to actions you can take also below.

Oscar’s Law: Right now, the Australian Senate is considering the Criminal Code Amendment (Animal Protection) Bill 2015. The words ‘Animal Protection’ sound promising, right?

Wrong.

This bill, if enacted to law, will serve to do nothing but further protect those who profit off the suffering of animals – instead making those who expose their suffering to be the criminals.

Liberal Senator Chris Back is seeking to introduce the laws, which are more commonly known as ‘ag-gag’ laws overseas where they already exist in some places. If implemented, it will criminalise ongoing undercover investigations.

All of the puppy factories that we have exposed have required for the investigations to be ongoing, so that we have enough evidence to take to the authorities for real action to be taken – take Wyndham puppy factory for example, which we have been posting about frequently lately as the puppy farmer faces 14 charges.

If these laws existed at the time of the investigation, not only would we not have been able to gather enough evidence to create substantial weight for trial – but the investigators who exposed the cruelty in this puppy factory would have been charged instead.

We can’t allow animal suffering to be even further hidden from the public. Please take one minute out of your day to lodge a submission against the bill.

Voiceless:

Now is the time to speak up and voice your opposition to ag-gag in Australia.

What you can do?

This Bill is open for public consultation until Thursday 12 March {TODAY}. Voiceless has just completed our submission. You can contact the Senate Committe to make a submission yourself, or you can endorse Voiceless’s submission by using the following template:

To: rrat.sen@aph.gov.au
Subject: I oppose Senator Back’s ag-gag Bill

To the Committee Secretary

I am writing to express my concern about the introduction of Liberal Senator Chris Back’s ag-gag Bill, entitled the Criminal Code Amendment Animal Protection Bill 2014 (Cth).

I’m worried that rather than punishing the perpetrators of animal cruelty, this Bill will unfairly target undercover investigators and investigative journalists who expose animal cruelty. The Bill will also target whistleblowers, who will be deterred from exposing animal cruelty in their workplaces due to fear of losing their jobs.

Without undercover investigations, systemic animal cruelty in factory farms will escape detection. Instead of targeting the messengers, legislators need to focus on ways to strengthen the monitoring and enforcement of existing animal protection laws.

For these reasons, I respectfully urge you to oppose this Bill. I have also had the opportunity to read the submission of Voiceless, the animal protection institute and fully endorse and reiterate the position expressed therein.

Yours sincerely
[Your name]