SAFE Animal Squad
SAFE Supporter Update July 2024
July 25th, 2024Our work to Protect the Ban on Live Export
We are thrilled to announce that we have successfully achieved and surpassed SAFE’s Operation Protect the Ban fundraising goal! The importance of this campaign cannot be understated. Thanks to people like you, we have a fighting chance to counter Livestock Export New Zealand’s (LENZ) $1 million PR campaign aimed at reinstating live export by sea.
This achievement is a testament to the power of collective action and the unwavering dedication of compassionate individuals like you Supporter, together we have made a real difference in the lives of animals, standing up for their rights and championing meaningful change.
Operation Protect the Ban engaged in crucial dialogues with key decision-makers and worked tirelessly to promote an accurate narrative about the inhumane live export trade. Our campaign utilised various platforms, including social media, billboards, bus stop advertisements, and magazine ads, to ensure Kiwis understood the livestock export industry’s desperate PR attempts to revive this cruel trade.
With your support, we were able to make significant strides:
Social Media Engagement: We reached tens of thousands of people across various social media platforms, raising awareness and rallying support against live export. Our posts, videos, and infographics were shared widely, sparking important conversations and mobilising public opinion.
Advertising Campaign: Our eye-catching billboards, strategically placed bus stop ads, and compelling magazine features kept the issue in the public eye. These ads highlighted the cruelty of live export and encouraged people to take a stand, significantly increasing public pressure on policymakers.
Media Coverage: We secured numerous media appearances, including interviews and coverage in major newspapers, radio shows, and television programs. This extensive media coverage amplified our message and ensured that the issue of live export remained a topic of national debate.
Policy Advocacy: We engaged in meaningful conversations with policymakers, presenting well-researched arguments against live export. Our advocacy efforts helped to inform and influence decision-makers, reinforcing the importance of maintaining the ban.
Public Mobilisation: We launched petitions, letter-writing campaigns, and supported protests across the country. These collective actions showed the overwhelming public opposition to live export and added pressure on the government to uphold the ban.
However, our work to Protect the Ban didn’t stop there.
Live Export Petition Handover
On June 25th, SAFE, joined animal protection organisations from across the country—including Animals Aotearoa, End Live Exports, Helping You Help Animals (HUHA), Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty (SPCA), Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa (VAWA), and World Animal Protection—handed over Dr. John Hellström’s petition to the House of Representatives. This petition, which garnered 57,357 signatures, calls for the government to uphold the Animal Welfare Amendment Act 2022, which bans the export of livestock by sea.
This event was a powerful demonstration of the collective will of Kiwis to ensure the ban on livestock export by sea remains in place. It was an incredible opportunity to bring people together and show the government the strength of our commitment to animal welfare.
Thank you for standing with us and for your unwavering support. Together, we are making a difference and ensuring a more compassionate future for all animals.
Please read on as we highlight more of our recent wins for animals and our ongoing work towards our mission to end the exploitation of animals.
The Muddied Truth
You may have received recent communication from SAFE detailing our urgent efforts to expose mud farming and educate New Zealanders on this unethical practice to increase both public and political pressure for a ban.
Mud Farming is a farming practice that involves confining cows to outdoor feeding areas planted with forage crops throughout winter. Due to the large number of cows in each area combined with poor weather conditions, these paddocks rapidly deteriorate into mud. As a result, animals must endure unimaginable suffering including birthing in mud, dehydration, malnourishment, thermal stress, inability to rest comfortably, injury, and even death.
Mud Farming directly contradicts everything we stand for as a country.
The impact of mud farming extends beyond the suffering of animals; it also threatens to further damage the fragile waterways we depend on. Waste run-off and the high use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is already suffocating waterways, endangering native bird and fish populations, and contaminating our drinking water.
An unethical practice that is detrimental to animal welfare, soil integrity, and water quality has no place in New Zealand.
Urgent action is needed to protect our country. This is why SAFE has launched our campaign to acquire mud farming evidence and call for a ban on this destructive practice.
We rely on people like you Supporter, to stand with us and take action to protect those who don’t have a voice.
Please donate today, we can’t wait until it’s too late for innocent animals and our environment.
Standing Against the Fast Track Approvals Bill
The Government recently proposed the Fast-Track Approvals Bill which threatens to exacerbate the mistreatment of animals by making intensive farming practices, like mud farming, even more common.
This dangerous Bill explicitly removes all checks and balances for the environment, and removes the requirement for public consultation on projects such as intensive barns, mud farms, fish factory-farms, and huge dairy expansions; operations which are already associated with significant welfare issues for animals. This means that caring animal advocates like you wouldn’t be able to have a say on intensive farming developments.
On Saturday 8 June, we joined forces with Greenpeace and other environmental groups in central Auckland to attend the March for Nature, a peaceful protest against the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. Over 20,000 passionate people took to the streets with us to oppose this reckless legislation.
Our voices were collectively raised as we walked and proudly represented the hundreds of thousands of animals who will be affected should this Bill pass.
Our campaign work to fight against the Fast-Track Bill has continued as we have used our voice to empower and educate the public about the Bill’s implications, providing resources and templates for submissions, and mobilising our supporters to voice their opposition. In addition, we prepared our own comprehensive submission and spoke to the Environment Select Committee, highlighting our significant concerns and advocating on behalf of animals.
Thousands of Kiwis joined us in opposing the bill, and their voices were heard loud and clear. Our collective efforts demonstrated to the government that there is strong public support for maintaining robust protections for animal welfare and environmental standards.
Leading animal organisations commit to rehoming greyhounds
May 20th marked a pivotal moment in our campaign to end greyhound racing in New Zealand. Alongside Dogwatch, HUHA, and SPCA, we announced our joint commitment to assisting the industry to rehome greyhounds.
Published in The Post, the joint statement outlined our commitment to facilitate greyhound rehoming should a ban on racing be enacted, to ensure that these gentle dogs are given the second chance they deserve.
Public opposition against racing has continued to mount as a recent poll commissioned by the SPCA found that 74% of Kiwis would vote to ban greyhound racing in a referendum.
The Government is expected to decide in the coming weeks if the industry has a future.
SAFE Campaign Manager Emma Brodie is urging Racing Minister, Winston Peters, to take decisive action and ban greyhound racing once and for all.
“Public sentiment on greyhound racing is clear; it does not align with the values and expectations of society.”
SAFE will continue to put a spotlight on this cruel industry and call for an end to greyhound racing
School Strike 4 Climate
As passionate advocates for animal rights and environmental sustainability, on April 5th we joined the youth-led movement demanding urgent action on climate change.
At the rally, themed ‘Aotearoa is Rising’, we stood in solidarity with a diverse coalition of activists including climate advocates, animal welfare organisations, human rights defenders, and more. Together, we sent a powerful message to the new coalition government: united, we are an unstoppable force for change.
We are deeply concerned about the detrimental impact of the current government’s policies on our planet, communities, and animals, including tangata whenua. It is time to hold our government accountable and demand progressive policies that prioritise the well-being of all living beings.
Thank you to everyone who joined us to raise our voices and demand an end to harmful policies. Your support and solidarity are crucial as we continue to fight for a better future for all.
SAFE taking a stand
Live Export: SAFE’s CEO, Debra Ashton, and Head of Campaigns, Jessica Chambers, met with Associate Minister for Agriculture, Andrew Hoggard MP to make the case for why Aotearoa must #ProtectTheBan on live export.
SAFE at the Silver Collar greyhound race at Manukau Sports Bowl with Direct Animal Action
SAFE supporting Greenpeace at March for Nature
SAFE in the news
Becoming an Animal Guardian
Here at SAFE, we believe that every animal deserves love, compassion, and the chance to live a life free from cruelty.
By leaving a gift to SAFE in your will, you are making a lasting impact on the lives of countless animals. Your legacy will be one of compassion, advocacy, and change, helping to create a brighter future for animals in New Zealand and beyond.
SAFE doesn’t receive any funding from corporate sponsorship or the Government, so we rely heavily on the generous support of individuals like you.
With your gift, we can continue to advocate and campaign for animals in need, as well as work tirelessly to create systemic change that benefits their welfare on a larger scale.
Thank you for considering this meaningful way to support our mission. Together, we can continue to protect and champion the rights of animals for generations to come.
Your kindness makes a difference.
To discuss leaving a gift in your will, please email Lyn at [email protected]
Thank you!
On behalf of the team here at SAFE, thank you once again for your support in creating a kinder and more compassionate world for animals.
Thank you for being an essential part of our community.
Stay warm and take care,
P.S. Everything we achieve is thanks to generous support of individuals like you.