Dear VAA Members,

I hope you are all well and that your studies have been treating you kindly.  This year seems to have just flown by – I can’t believe it’s already September!

So far, 2008 has been an interesting year for VAA.  After a year since its launch (in August 2007), VAA now has representatives in 80% of law schools across Australia, which shows just how popular animal law is becoming. 

Here is an update of what’s been happening this year:

new vaa ambassador:

In exciting news, we would like to announce that Lindsay McDougall (aka The Doctor) has come on board as the new Ambassador for VAA.  As co-host of Triple J’s Breakfast Show and star of ABC’s Triple J TV, Lindsay is also a dedicated vegan and animal advocate.  Welcome Lindsay!

Click here to learn more about Lindsay

unsw/voiceless 2008 lecture series:

Well this year’s Animal Law Lecture Series was a huge success with big crowds turning out to see Raj Panjwani at seven leading law schools across Australia and New Zealand.  It was really great to see so many VAA students at the lectures!

For those who were unable to make it, Mr Panjwani spoke about his experiences advocating for animals in the High and Supreme Courts of India.  Mr Panjwani spoke specifically about some of his successful cases, including in the areas of zoos, circuses and food labeling.

To see photos of the Lecture as well as to listen online to the inaugural lecture at the University of New South Wales, please follow this link.

new activity idea: 'meat-free mondays':

A great way to get people to lower their meat consumption (and to reduce animal suffering in factory farms) is to introduce them to ‘Meat-Free Mondays’.  Encourage your meat-eating friends, fellow students and family members to give up meat one day a week.  There are so many delicious alternatives to meat and, you never know, once they try a meat-free diet, perhaps they will adopt a more permanent meat-free lifestyle!

Committed vegetarian and animal activist Sir Paul McCartney has endorsed a ‘Meat-Free Monday’ campaign in the UK, urging people to give up meat on Mondays for the sake of saving animals and the planet. 

Stay tuned for more detailed information about how to create a ‘Meat-Free Monday’ campaign.

australia's first animal law journal has arrived:

In an exciting development for the animal protection movement in Australia, the very first edition of the Australian Animal Law Protections Journal (AALPJ) has just been launched!  The AALPJ is the result of a 2007 Voiceless Grants Project initiated by NSW Barrister, John Mancy. The first volume contains articles on a variety of thought-provoking and topical animal protection issues.

Katrina Sharman, Legal Counsel for Voiceless, has written an article on battery hen farming and the law.  View the article here.

For more information on this and future editions of AALPJ, contact John Mancy on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

VAA hopes this will be a promising way of promoting an important social justice movement to the wider community.

cage-free campus campaign:

For those of you who are currently working on (or are thinking about starting up) a Cage-Free Campus Campaign, there are new notes on the VAA website which will give you some ideas about how to get the campaign up and running. To check out the pages, go to the ‘Get Info’ section of the VAA website (see http://www.vaa.org.au/get_info/cage-free_campus_campaign/_cage-free_campus_campaign.html)

A big CONGRATULATIONS to the University of Melbourne who recently encouraged a number of major eateries on campus to go ‘cage-free’!  Special mention must go to Uni of Melbourne VAA Leader, Shatha, who was instrumental in persuading the caterers to switch to free-range eggs.

jamie's fowl dinners:

Jamie Oliver’s outstanding documentary, Jamie’s Fowl Dinners, which exposes the chicken and the egg industries in the United Kingdom, aired on Channel 10 on 23 July 2008.  I hope that many of you were able watch this program as it caused a huge stir in the UK when it aired earlier this year.  It will certainly be interesting to see if the show has a similar effect here in Australia.

To read Voiceless's media release on this subject, please follow this link.

We would love to hear any comments you may have about the program, so please feel free to email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with any feedback. 

international animal law news:

In exciting news, the Spanish Parliament has pledged to support the Great Apes Project (GAP) through granting legal rights to the great apes of Spain. The Director of the GAP, Pedro Pozas said that the move represented an “historic moment in the struggle for animal rights” (see the related article on www.timesonline.co.uk)

To read more about the Great Apes Project, go to http://www.greatapeproject.org/

vaa on facebook:

Don’t forget to join the VAA group on Facebook.  Go to http://www.facebook.com and search for Voiceless Animal Advocates to join up.  Feel free to invite your legal friends to join up too.  

vaa on voiceless law talk:

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to check out the new discussion boards on Voiceless Law Talk. You can chat to fellow VAA members on your campus (and see what other VAA’s are talking about).  The VAA that uses their discussion board in the most effective way will win a GREAT prize! If you are a Voiceless law talk member and you can’t see the VAA board when you login, please be sure to let me know so Voiceless can authorise your special access.

getting to know you:

In the last e-News we got to know a bit more about law-student David from the University of Western Sydney.

This issue, I would like to introduce you to Sarah, the VAA Leader of the University of Adelaide.

“Albert Einstein appears to have followed a vegetarian diet towards the end of his life, and I think he would have made a pretty good dinner guest. Unfortunately he's no longer available for social events, so I'd have to go with vegan Joaquin Phoenix, although that's probably more for his dashing good looks than for his ideology.”

Click here to read more of Sarah’s interview.

animal protection 101:

For those of you who are new to Animal Law and Animal Protection this section is for you!  Animal protection 101 will provide a brief intro to different topics. You can use this information to become a more effective activist and a powerful legal advocate for animals.

Today's topic is animal sentience. Click here to learn about animal sentience. 

I hope that 2008 has been treating you well so far.  Please keep in touch and let me know if you need any help or assistance with VAA ideas and activities.  Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (02) 9357 0703 with any queries about VAA.  

Until next time, Sarah