A little interview I did with Let's Go Vegan Australia for their website late last year. 

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Susannah Waters is the force behind Instagram account
v3gan_food. The account is designed to showcase what vegans eat, and how good it can be! Susannah has been a longtime vegan after discovering the horrors of the industry through the help of her sister. We chat with her about where to eat, what to eat and why she is personally inspired by animal sanctuaries. Enjoy the read.

So Susannah, tell us a little about yourself and your vegan journey 

I am a former veterinary nurse who currently works in communications in eastern Sydney. I have been a massive animal-lover since I can remember, but it wasn’t until my teens that the hypocrisy of my actions (eating animals) was made apparent to me.

When I was 15, my sister Ally discovered a book at the local library called “Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm: The Myth of the Traditional Farm and the Shocking Truth About Animal Suffering in Today’s Agribusiness”. She went vegetarian immediately. Ally then proceeded to consume every book or magazine about factory farming and vegetarianism that she could get her hands on (this was the mid-90s: the internet wasn’t really a thing yet!).

My curiosity was aroused: I started to browse through the books in my spare time, and what I uncovered was absolutely horrific. I recall that Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation, in particular, had a massive impact on me. I actually felt betrayed; like I had been lied to by society my whole life. I was also shocked that it had taken me this long to find out the truth about the cruelty and violence inhabiting the animal agriculture industry. By the time I turned 16, I was vegetarian.

A year or so later, Ally announced that she was going vegan. When she described the cruelty inherent in the dairy and egg industries, I knew I couldn’t justify my consumption of those products anymore and I started transitioning to veganism.

What was the motivation for starting the Instagram account?

My then-partner and I started @v3gan_food a few years ago because we wanted to demonstrate that vegan food is diverse and delicious, and essentially that – contrary to popular perception – it’s not scary, boring or difficult! And that we are absolutely not deprived when it comes to food choices.

Best Sydney cafe for vegan eats?

I love Herb n Sprout Co., which is a vegan and vegetarian café near where I live in Maroubra. They make the best scrambled tofu I’ve ever eaten, and their pancakes and coconut French toast are incredible. Of course, I’d love it if the café went fully vegan!

I also adore the all-vegan Shift Eatery in Surry Hills and wish I could get there more often. Their toasties are amazing.

Not exactly a café, but I wanted to mention a new plant-based Mexican bar, Calle Rey, in Newtown. The best margaritas I’ve ever had and their buffalo cauliflower wings are so so good!

Best Sydney vegan dessert spot?

Gelato Blue in Newtown. It’s a fully plant-based gelateria. The flavours are indulgent and they also make delectable sundaes.

I love the Cruelty Free Shop in Glebe – their chocolate range is next level and they often have heavenly baked treats at the counter.

Activists or influencers we should be following?

Can I name an animal sanctuary? One of my main passions is wildlife conservation, so I really admire and respect the work that Five Freedoms Animal Rescue does – they work tirelessly to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife. Their pics of orphaned baby kangaroos make my heart melt. @fivefreedomsanimalrescue

Favorite new vegan product from the supermarket?

iPastai’s Spinach and Vegan Ricotta Cheese Ravioli! Life-changing.

Their vegan Basil Pesto is also divine. These are available at Woolworths.
I also have to mention the Pana Organic Hazelnut and Chocolate spread. This is like Nutella – but better! I often eat it straight from the jar with a spoon 😉 I buy this from Coles.

At home vegan meal of choice?

I love making wraps with Vegie Delights’ Not Burgers, lots of rocket, tomato, fried onions and my favourite vegan cheese, Sheese Mature Cheddar.

Who should we interview next?

Vegan cook and cookbook author Leigh Drew. I’ve been lucky enough to eat some of her delicious vegan cuisines!

Her new company Just Add… Vegan Products is a really cool concept – it’s a range of do-it-yourself mixes to easily create faux meats, sauces, and other dishes.

@justaddveganproducts

Susannah, thank you so much for sharing all of this information and your vegan journey. For those who now want to follow all the amazing food…visit her HERE for more.

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Digital Journalism Runner-up: Voiceless Media Award

I was thrilled to receive the runner-up Voiceless Media Award for Digital Journalism on Thursday night at an awards ceremony in Woolloomooloo, Sydney. This was for my article, Are duck hunting seasons set to resume in New South Wales?

The winner in my category was journalist Elle Hunt writing for The Guardian. The other four competitors in the Digital Journalism category hailed from the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC News Online, InDaily, and a second one from The Guardian. 

Of my article, the judges said "this was a very well-written report looking at the serious welfare concerns and politics of duck shooting in New South Wales and Victoria. She provided a great understanding of the political climate surrounding this complicated issue."

I am very grateful to Voiceless for presenting me with this award; it has truly made my year! 

The panel of judges for the Media Awards were:

Professor J. M. Coetzee, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature and Voiceless Patron;
Will Potter, award winning investigative journalist and Senior TED Fellow;
Brian Sherman AM, co-founder and Managing Director of Voiceless;
Ondine Sherman, co-founder and Managing Director of Voiceless; and
Elise Burgess, Head of Communications at Voiceless and former journalist.

Shortlisted for 2016 Voiceless Media Prize

I'm really thrilled to have been shortlisted for a Voiceless Media prize for my article, Are duck hunting seasons set to resume in New South Wales?

This piece was published in The Scavenger earlier this year, and I had some fantastic interviewees, including David Shoebridge, Greens Member of the NSW Parliament. David actually inspired the article - I met him at the Voiceless Media Prize annual awards ceremony last December and we struck up a conversation, and ended up discussing duck hunting in NSW. I wasn't aware that duck hunting was still being carried out lawfully (under the Game Bird Management Program), and that deregulation of duck hunting had left ducks in NSW vulnerable. 

This is the second time that I have been shortlisted for a Voiceless Media Prize. I was also shortlisted back in 2011 for three articles written for The Scavenger. An article written for the Weekend Australian won in my category that year, and ABC's Four Corners' expose of the live export trade won in the Broadcast category.

I'm looking forward to the awards ceremony in March 2017! 

My volunteer experience at the Laos Wildlife Rescue Center

In May 2016, I spent three weeks as a volunteer at the Laos Wildlife Rescue Center. This is a short story about my experience, also published on the Center's Facebook page.

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It's daybreak at the Laos Wildlife Rescue Center, and I wake to a beautiful sound: the long and lingering song of a group of white-cheeked gibbons. I step out of my bungalow and am greeted by a very excited animal – the endearing and overgrown puppy Atlas has come for a very welcome visit. I meet my fellow volunteers and we gear up for the day over breakfast. The novelty still hasn’t worn off in this place – every day presents a new adventure, a fresh challenge, and unprecedented experiences.

Early on in my three-week volunteer stint, I discover the charms of “Peter”, the resident smooth-coated otter. I seem to find myself making excuses to visit his enclosure on a regular basis. Watching Peter brings me pure joy. He is popular with volunteers and staff alike, adept at drawing admiration from all who come into contact with him.

Peter enjoying his shower

Enrichment for Peter usually involves some iteration of his much-loved meal, fish. But today we shower him with the hose. I’ve been told he enjoys this activity, but it needs to be seen to be believed. He loves the spray of water so much that he starts writhing around like a puppy on the ground. I’m not sure who’s having more fun – Peter in the midst of his shower celebration, or me and my fellow volunteer who can’t stop smiling at Peter’s exuberant antics.

Later that day as I pass by his enclosure, I glimpse Peter gliding in the water of his pool, executing a perfect tumble-turn at a precise spot each time around. He is truly magnetic to watch!

One particular morning is spent cutting down jackfruit – a strangely addictive activity – and we have

Me with Kaew Kun

procured a particularly large one for Kaew Kun, a 40-year-old elephant who was formerly exploited in the tourism industry. I tell another volunteer about the first time I saw her eat jackfruit, and insist I know exactly how this will play out: “Watch her crush this with her foot in one swift move, and then eat the pieces from the ground”, I declare. Wrong.

Kaew Kun picks it up with her trunk in one quick motion, and places it in her mouth – whole. In a split second, it is gone. She then turns her attention to some bananas at her feet. The other volunteer and I stare at each other, dumbfounded. I just love the surprises at this place.

As a long term volunteer you may have the chance to assist with orphaned baby monkey care. One day we’re called upon to build a climbing frame for tiny two-month-old stump tailed macaque, Mimi. We enthusiastically deck it out with an array of features to build her strength and flexibility. Once finished, it is deemed “Mimi’s Jungle Castle”. The centre’s vet, Alice, is delighted with the results, and a week later tells us that Mimi’s agility is improving rapidly.

Easy and Boonlot

One of the other baby monkeys has challenges to overcome. Boonlot was rescued after a dog attack injured his left leg, necessitating amputation from the knee down upon his arrival at LWRC. I learn early on not to underestimate his strength and determination. Approaching his cage one morning, Boonlot is peering at me with his angel eyes.

I open the door to his cage and he joins “big sister” Easy for their morning shenanigans. His mobility is improving: he is developing incredible upper body strength, and his speed is enough to rival Easy’s gymnastics. I finally slow him enough to interest him in his bottle of milk. His frenetic pace softens and he relaxes long enough to down the bottle.


Not far from the baby monkeys are several slow lorises. They are nocturnal, so when we quietly bring food and enrichments for them we usually just sight a ball of fur in a corner, dozing away. But today one of these petite primates pokes her head out and peers at me through her saucer-like eyes with curiosity and calm. She is a delight, and I’m secretly glad that she’s breaking her sleep curfew to say hello.

Dusk is a magical time at the centre. The birds across the grounds break into song, which serves as a unique soundtrack at dinnertime. On the walk to dinner, the volunteers and I glance proudly at the green tower we painted earlier that day in the new monkey enclosure.

We can’t wait until groups of monkeys are released into the large new enclosures we’ve been preparing – we hear it’s imminent. We’ve been building wooden platforms, securing climbing structures, and fashioning hanging fixtures in preparation.

Monkey exploring her new enclosure

We don’t have to wait long. Soon, several monkeys are relocated from their training enclosure to their upgraded facility. I sit with the other volunteers to enjoy the moment. One monkey walks around gingerly, inspecting her new surroundings through curious eyes. Another climbs a tall tree at a lightning-fast pace, then swivels around to survey his new kingdom. Some inspect the perimeter of the large pool, which will provide relief on searing hot days. It’s an exciting moment.

As a volunteer at LWRC for three weeks, I had such a diverse and enriching experience working with – and for the benefit of – the animals on-site, plus the privilege of working alongside (and making friends with) a very dedicated bunch of volunteers and staff. I observed and learned something new and unique every day.

The main role of LWRC volunteers is to improve the daily lives of the resident animals, via food and environmental enrichment plus support with construction projects which enhance the enclosures of the animals.

Leaving the centre was difficult – it is a special and important place which is making amazing progress. I hope to return again next year.

As I climb into the taxi bound for the airport, along with two other volunteers leaving the same day, Atlas excitedly tries to join us in the car. Regretfully, we can’t take him with us!

Atlas

For more info about the Laos Wildlife Rescue Center, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lctwildlife/

Are duck hunting seasons set to resume in NSW?

After a pretty long hiatus from writing, I've just had this piece published in The Scavenger. 

In my article, "Are duck hunting seasons set to resume in NSW?", I look at the deregulation of duck hunting in NSW, Australia, and the weakening of protections of waterbirds in the state. 

I had some fantastic interviewees for this one: David Shoebridge (Greens Member of the NSW Parliament, who has been campaigning to protect waterbirds from hunting), Bede Carmody (who runs an animal sanctuary in NSW), Helen Round (a duck rescuer in VIC), and Richard Kingsford (Director of Ecosystem Science at UNSW Australia, and author of the Aerial Survey of Wetland Birds in Eastern Australia). 
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Although duck hunting seasons have been banned in NSW for over two decades, hard won protections of waterbirds in the state are being eroded via deregulation. This is at a time when waterbird numbers in Eastern Australia are at their second lowest level on record.
Could the chipping away of protections create fertile ground for the reintroduction of duck hunting seasons in NSW? And if so, what challenges might campaigners face in their efforts to protect native waterbirds? Susannah Waters investigates. 
31 March 2016


While the sound of gunfire rings out across Victorian wetlands, signalling the start of a 12-week duck hunting season, waterbirds in New South Wales are not entirely safe from the brand of carnage being inflicted over the border.

Although animal activists breathed a sigh of relief in 1995 when NSW duck hunting seasons were banned following a lengthy campaign, the battle wasn’t entirely over.

Those who believed the door had been closed shut on the slaughter of ducks in NSW would be mistaken: the Carr Labor Government had left that door ajar, allowing for protections of native birds to be weakened over the ensuing years.

Native waterbirds have been at the mercy of political posturing, concessions to lobby groups, and the growth of gun ownership in the state. The Shooters and Fishers Party and the Sporting Shooters Association are among the groups of vested interests organising to water down duck hunting restrictions.

In the same year as duck hunting was ostensibly banned, a Game Bird Management Program was enacted in NSW. This program, which has seen thousands of native ducks slaughtered, was imposed for the supposed reason of protecting rice crops from the birds.

Last September, the NSW Baird Government further deregulated duck hunting in NSW when it introduced a provision to permit night time duck hunting. Permission arrangements for shooting were also loosened, allowing licensed hunters to kill native birds on the land of license holders with mere verbal permission, rather than in writing.

The sanctioning of night time shooting and the relaxing of permission arrangements in NSW, plus the commencement of a full 2016 VIC duck hunting season, all come at a time when waterbird numbers across Eastern Australia are in perilous decline.


Under the radar

Bede Carmody recalls the moment he received the news that duck hunting was banned in NSW. He said he was struck with “absolute delight”. At the time, he was on the board of Animal Liberation NSW, which had been agitating for the ban.

But Carmody knows the nature of activism all too well. Weary campaigners are never really able to rest on their laurels; hard won protections are in constant jeopardy, requiring a state of round-the-clock vigilance. He concedes that “in the animal rights movement you need to savour all the victories, as they are often so hard to come by”.

Fifteen years ago, Carmody founded sanctuary A Poultry Place, set on five acres in southern NSW. Over this period, 399 ducks have been offered a permanent home at his sanctuary. A Poultry Place provides a safe haven not only to ducks, but also chickens, roosters, turkeys and geese.

Carmody views duck hunting as a form of exploitation. “I don’t see how anyone can view it as sport, and I have to wonder about the personality of people who think shooting a living being out of the air is entertaining”, he says.

Sharing that view is David Shoebridge, Greens Member of the NSW Parliament.

Shoebridge, who has been campaigning to prohibit duck hunting since 2010, says that he is “personally sickened by the thought that people enjoy killing our native animals for so-called sport”. He is backed by a party with a policy platform which comprehensively bans duck shooting on private and public land.

“I firmly believe that no government should be providing comfort for a ‘sport’ like duck hunting, that is inherently based on animal cruelty”, he tells The Scavenger.

Last October, the Greens moved a Disallowance Motion in the NSW Parliament in response to the newly introduced duck hunting regulations. The motion cited the particularly cruel and risky nature of night time hunting, the increased potential for misidentification of bird species (heightening the likelihood of protected or endangered birds being injured or killed), and concerns over a stipulation that removes the requirement for hunters to provide permission to authorities - effectively removing the capacity to regulate hunting on licensed land.

The Animal Justice Party also supported the Disallowance Motion, but Labor ultimately voted with the Coalition and Shooters Party to support the new regulations.

Shoebridge has also called into question the legitimacy of the Game Bird Management Program, contending that figures quoted by the CSIRO and the Department of Primary Industries “show that less than 5% of the rice crop is at risk from ducks”.

Furthermore, he points out that many of the ducks listed as target species under the program never actually graze on rice, and he laments the lack of investment into non-lethal control methods to protect the crops.

Duck hunting in NSW is now subject to minimal public scrutiny and thus largely flies “under the radar”, claims Shoebridge.


Sanctioning the slaughter

Could it be that the weakening of protections of waterbirds in NSW is an attempt to create an environment conducive to a reintroduction of duck hunting seasons?

Shoebridge believes so. “The long term goal of the hunting lobby and their supporters in Parliament is to reintroduce duck hunting”, he says. “They have a history of adopting what is called a salami style approach to remove regulation, and increase hunting slice by slice through legislative change”.

He thinks that a fully-fledged reintroduction of duck hunting is being conducted in a piecemeal fashion, since both the government and Labor acknowledge that it would be an immensely unpopular move.

But it seems that public opinion counts for little in this debate.

In Victoria, where a full-length duck hunting season for 2016 was announced against a backdrop of controversy, 87% of people support a ban on duck hunting.

Labor Premier Daniel Andrews faced backlash from members of his own party upon the 2016 announcement, and animal advocates were incensed.

Helen Round has been part of the Coalition Against Duck Shooting rescue team in VIC since 2009. As a duck rescuer, her job is to search for the injured and dead birds left behind by shooters.

She also monitors shooters’ activities on the wetlands, and collects thousands of shotgun pellets plus the general rubbish dumped regularly by hunters.

“I watch the birds who ‘stutter’ with each gunshot and try and rescue them, as I know they have copped a pellet or two and are injured and in need of help”, Round says.

She pinpoints “a lack of leadership, corruption and pandering to the gun lobby” as the culprits behind the decision to grant a 2016 season.

Round is staggered that a full season was endorsed at a time when scientists have recorded worryingly low numbers and breeding rates of waterbirds across Eastern Australia.

The most recent Aerial Survey of Wetland Birds in Eastern Australia report states that waterbird abundance was the second lowest on record - as part of a long term trend of decline - and well below the long term average. The total breeding index was the lowest on record.

Richard Kingsford, Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science at UNSW Australia (the University of New South Wales), is one of the authors of this annual report. He reveals that the data primarily indicates that habitat loss and degradation have had the most impact on bird numbers.

However, Professor Kingsford concedes that “hunting is a further impact on mortality”, presenting “real dangers that you will be affecting the breeding population much more than usual, because there has been little to no recruitment”.


An unfair burden

One thing is certain: if duck hunting seasons were reinstated in NSW, the killing, the injuries, and the violence would become a burden to bear for the many compassionate people who would fight to defend the safety of native waterbirds.

Round is acquainted more than most with the personal toll that duck rescue wreaks on rescuers. Although she had been warned that many aspects of the work would be distressing, she admits that “in all honesty, nothing can prepare you for duck rescue”.

Round lists just some of the daily challenges: the anguish of witnessing shot birds fall, the aggressive harassment – including misogynistic abuse - from hunters, the destruction of the wetlands, the time off work, the early starts and long hours, the regular encounters with dead and wounded birds, and to add insult to injury, observing the pleasure hunters experience while inflicting pain on the ducks.

“On one hand, it feels great to be part of the greater good and to be able to rescue birds; and on the other, it is emotionally devastating”, Round divulges, granting some insight into the personal price animal advocates in NSW would pay if duck hunting seasons were again underwritten by the state government.

But duck hunting is not inevitable, Shoebridge insists. He says that the Greens are poised to continue opposing all forms of duck hunting; and to that end will keep working with, and maintain support for, groups such as the Coalition Against Duck Shooting, WIRES, Voiceless, Animals Australia, RSPCA, Animal Liberation, and the Humane Society.

Last October, the Greens brought six native wood ducklings into NSW Parliament to highlight the dangers of night time duck hunting. Their visit also provided an up-close look at the creatures whose safety is at the mercy of political decisions often far removed not just from public sentiment, but from solid scientific parameters.

Having ducklings visiting Parliament was not simply a media stunt, but an attempt to demonstrate that native waterbirds are creatures deserving of respect, who possess a capacity for pain and suffering.

Unfortunately, ducks are often reduced to one-dimensional, insentient creatures by the vernacular used to describe them: referred to as “game”, and their killing dubbed “harvesting”. It isn’t an accident that they are portrayed this way. Euphemistic terms aim to distance us from empathy and attempt to make us accept the unacceptable.

Carmody, who has welcomed hundreds of ducks into his sanctuary, speaks fondly of the much-maligned creatures. They are social animals who desire the company of their own kind, he points out. His knowledge of their ways and their qualities is unique.

Carmody reflects on some of his past and present flock members. He mentions Duckie, the very first duck the sanctuary took in.

Duckie had previously been inherited by a Sydney woman when her neighbour died. Over the years, each time his former Sydney carer visited, Duckie remembered her and would seek out her attention, and then vigorously defend her against others.

It would seem that the same protective spirit that Duckie exhibited is one that NSW animal advocates will be called upon to display in the preservation of the state’s native waterbirds into the future.

Images: Top: Australian wood duck; Above: Ducks killed by hunters in Victoria, courtesy of Andrew Wallis

A tribute to Sam

Dear Sam,

So according to you, Greenpeace, chai drinkers and PETA are the only ones able to render assistance when an animal is in need…

Reading back more than four years later, the frustration in my words is palpable.

…Shame on those who stand idly by and criticise organisations that do not have the capacity to be in five million places simultaneously (by the way, the groups you mentioned aren’t even the relevant ones in this case)…

I was seething. The target of my anger was a tiny op-ed by Fairfax journalist Sam de Brito:

“Recently there were bazillions of bluebottles washed up on my local beach. But there was not one Greenpeace activist or chai-drinker trying to roll the stingers back into the ocean so they could be saved from death baking in the sun and popping like bubble wrap. Where’s PETA when you need them?”

Another journo mocking animal advocates. Nothing really surprising there! But despite the tongue-in-cheek tone, I nonetheless found it annoying enough to dedicate my second ever blog post to the topic, and promptly sent my response to Sam via email.

Animal rights advocates and vegans are accustomed to being mocked and stereotyped: in the media, by acquaintances, by colleagues, and by the general populace. It becomes mundane, and predictable, but not a whole lot less irritating over time.

Fast forward more than three years, and I was devouring the same journalist’s words in his implausibly titled piece, Confessions of a vegan.

It began: “Aside from militant cyclists, racists, bullies and Roosters fans, the people who used to shit me most profoundly were vegans. Self-righteous, hectoring, humourless, spoilsports - I'd have crossed a crowded dinner table to avoid them, until the fateful day I became one myself.”

Sam had turned. (And no one was more surprised than me!)

He even expressed shame for his past looking down upon vegans, admitting that he had merely dismissed their arguments and now realised he'd been the "bully" he had once despised. 

He was now privy to the horrors of a system that he found too detestable to support with his dollars for one more second. No longer content to live in ignorance, he decided to live his values, and to educate through his position in the media. 

He equated the farming of animals with slavery. He slammed the attempts to introduce ag-gag style laws to NSW (laws which can result in the prosecution of those unearthing animal abuse in farms). And he challenged the ethics of animal testing.

To say that Sam’s “reinvention” provoked a backlash would be putting it lightly. (Just read the comments under any of his articles about animal rights!)

He had denounced the stereotype of the meat-eating, macho Aussie man. He had challenged the status quo.

However, on the other side of the coin, he had instantaneously amassed a new wave of followers who could identify with his words.

Fans from the animal rights movement vigorously defended him in the lengthy debates under his articles. They also cheered when he was announced as the runner-up of the 2014 Voiceless Media Prize for “Confessions of a vegan”.

The piece resonated with many of us.

“Once the light goes on and you realise the food you so blithely eat actually causes massive, life-long, completely avoidable suffering to billions of animals, it’s not an easy epiphany to un-think,” Sam wrote.

He is right: many vegans speak of not being able to “un-see” the horrors of animal abuse, once they first become actively aware of it. I definitely feel this way: from the time I first picked up Peter Singer’s book Animal Liberation as a teenager, and learnt about factory farming - practically transforming into a vegetarian overnight.

(Once the “light goes on”, it can colour your entire view of the world. I know that when I first pored over the pages of Animal Liberation, the overwhelming reaction I had was one of betrayal. Why had no one ever told me about this? How could a 16-year-old who professed to want to protect animals, and who had adored them from childhood, not known how they were treated in the process of becoming our food?!)

Sam became a voice for animals in the mainstream media – an outlet that is notoriously reluctant to publish “risky” pieces about the realities of animals in the farming industry. They often don’t take the gamble; editors don’t want to scare off their advertisers, or turn off their readership.

Animal advocates know only too well that “ignorance is bliss” for many people. The truth is unsavoury; confronting it is all too raw. Turning away is all too easy.

But, we like to ask, easy for whom? Not for those who suffer behind closed doors, who have no voice, who become objects and commodities for sale.

I commend Sam for shining a torch into these dark places. For revealing the horrors and the hypocrisy. For exposing the unpalatable truth, even when it drew ridicule from readers.

Thank you Sam for your courageous and incisive articles. You will be missed by so many who embraced your voice and who could relate to your journey.

RIP Sam. 

**News of Sam's death, at the age of 46, appeared in the media this morning**

This piece subsequently appeared in Discordia Zine.

Links to some of Sam’s articles:

Confessions of a vegan: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/confessions-of-a-vegan-20140726-zx84p.html

We are all Nazis when it comes to animal rights: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/we-are-all-nazis-when-it-comes-to-animal-rights-20140422-zqy0b.html

Put the cameras in farms, not outside: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/put-the-cameras-in-farms-not-outside-20150825-gj75uy.html

Cochlear's silence on animal testing is deafening: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/cochlears-silence-on-animal-testing-is-deafening-20150726-gikmxx.html

(Image of Sam via: http://i.dmarge.com/2015/10/3263212-3x2-460x307.jpg) 

Behind the scenes of the dog meat trade

My latest article for The Scavenger, Behind the scenes of the dog meat trade, spotlights the barbaric trade in dog meat and the legal inadequacies that are helping it to continue. 

Thank you very much to John Dalley, Co-founder and President of Soi Dog, for his interview. 

I first met John back in 2008, when I was a volunteer at Soi Dog's shelter in Phuket, Thailand. 
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Every year, billions of animals endure fear and pain in the meat industry due to their status as food. Susannah Waters spotlights the trade in dog meat and the legal inadequacies that help it to continue.

24 April 2014

Panicked cries cut through the rancid and humid dusk air. Rusty cages stacked four deep detain the noisy and terrified cargo.

From the far corner, Sunny howls in pain. Her tiny frame is being crushed under the weight of several writhing bodies, and she struggles to breathe.

Her cries go unanswered.

The sky darkens. Sunny falls quiet. The truck accelerates into the night…

Market of misery

In Thailand alone, it has been estimated that 500,000 dogs are slaughtered or trafficked live over borders each year to supply the dog meat industry.

In Asia more widely, as many as 20 million dogs suffer the same fate. Vietnam presents one of the most lucrative marketplaces for the doomed canines, where several million are consumed annually.

The dogs endure a gruelling journey to market. They are often deprived of food and water, and overcrowding can see more than 15 dogs crammed to a cage – a fate similar to cows and sheep in the live export trade and the billions of animals in the western factory farming system.

Unsurprisingly, deaths and injuries en route are common. Those who survive the ill-fated trip face abuse, torture, and an excruciating death. Soi Dog Foundation reports that dogs are often skinned or boiled alive in the belief that it enhances the flavour of the meat.

Soi Dog Foundation has been at the forefront of the campaign to eradicate the dog meat trade since 2011. Co-founder and President of Soi Dog, John Dalley, says that witnessing dogs waiting to die in cages is a “horrendous experience”.

“Dogs are brutally killed in front of others, and seeing them trembling in fear is an image that will always remain with you”, he tells The Scavenger.

Dalley says the dog meat trade is a business steeped in greed and corruption. In Thailand, the majority of dogs sold into the industry are stolen companion animals and community dogs, rounded up and traded by criminal syndicates thirsty for profit.

“The trade is about money. It involves high profits from the dogs, and bribes to officials”, Dalley says.

Those operating the trade in Thailand admit that the industry rakes in one billion Thai Baht – or 30 million US dollars – annually.

Lax laws

In Vietnam and China, where dog meat is considered a delicacy which bestows healing and aphrodisiac benefits, it is legal to slaughter and consume dogs.

In Thailand, dog smugglers can be prosecuted under laws prohibiting the illegal trade and transportation of animals, with a maximum penalty of two years’ prison time and a 90,000 Baht (USD $2,800) fine. But lax law enforcement means traffickers rarely see the walls of a prison cell.

With no direct animal cruelty legislation in Thailand, a charge of animal cruelty under Criminal Code laws is one other avenue that prosecutors could potentially – but rarely do – pursue. However, with a maximum penalty of one month in prison and/or a fine of 1000 Baht (USD $30), it doesn’t deliver much of a deterrent.

A proposed Animal Welfare Bill, which would offer the dogs some genuine protection under the law, has stalled in legislative channels despite a dedicated campaign by animal activists to keep the bill alive. Dalley concedes that the current state of Thai politics may thwart the prospect of it being enshrined in law.

In frustration, animal advocates have urged Thailand’s Prime Minister to clamp down on the operatives behind the trade.Sunnier future?

Soi Dog employs a multifaceted strategy in its efforts to ban the trade. It has embedded undercover agents in Thailand and Laos who gather intelligence on the movement of dogs, and of the operations of tanneries and butchers.

The organisation has installed thousands of posters throughout north east Thailand offering rewards for information leading to arrests, offers monetary rewards for successful interceptions, works with police and other authorities, and also provides shelter and ongoing care for dogs rescued from the trade.

Dalley does believe there is cause for hope that the trade in dogs will one day cease, but he acknowledges that it won’t happen overnight.

“I believe the trade will diminish. As more people within countries where it operates become aware of the incredible cruelty involved, they will put pressure on their own governments to act. That is why education is so important”, he says.

He also believes that the recent surge in companion animals in Asia may help to change attitudes over the longer term.

Public health concerns may also have a lasting impact. A pledge by ASEAN nations to eliminate rabies by 2020 has sparked cooperation between governments to attempt to tackle the illegal smuggling of dogs across borders.

Recent developments indicate that the industry is becoming increasingly untenable in Vietnam. Soi Dog has already made solid progress to halt the smuggling of dogs there.

Demand for dog meat in Vietnam is also slowing amid health concerns over the spread of rabies, and debate by a public who is questioning the ethics of a practice which doesn’t actually have firm roots in the country’s history.

Also, recent closures of numerous dog meat restaurants in Hanoi, a city considered the hub of dog meat cuisine, signal change may be on the horizon.

Change will come too late for dogs like Sunny, who have been sold, subjugated and commodified at the behest of a ruthless trade. But the unwavering compassion and commitment displayed by animal advocates such as Dalley provides hope that this brutal industry will soon disappear.


Visit the Soi Dog Foundation website for information on how you can help end this cruel trade.

Susannah Waters is Associate Editor at The Scavenger.

Images: Courtesy of Soi Dog Foundation

Monsanto: Vandal or saviour?

Agricultural biotechnology companies such as Monsanto are keen to position themselves as custodians of global food production. But, they are actually responsible for reinforcing and encouraging a food crisis. 

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It’s the late 21^st century. Food supply is collapsing under the weight of an exploding world population, and people face poverty, hunger, decay and disease on a massive scale.

Then, three corporations are granted the power to control the Earth’s entire food supply. But strains of genetically modified “super foods”, rather than providing salvation, cause a new epidemic of disease. The food industry receives approval to create genetic alterations to humans so they can tolerate the super foods. However, legislation also gives them ownership rights of the DNA and bodies of those augmented…

The events depicted above certainly seem dramatic, even beyond contemplation. This frightening scenario is the subject of proposed dystopian sci-fi film, SANTO 7.13.15.

However, agricultural biotechnology corporations such as US-based Monsanto make no secret of the fact that they crave domination over world food supply. In fact, they are intent on convincing governments and the public that the future of humankind relies on genetically engineered foods.

Sowing the seeds of domination

GM foods have firmly taken root in the US, where 70% of items in food stores contain genetically modified organisms. Monsanto, which is responsible for the financial ruin of countless farmers, controls a large proportion of the US seed sector, with its genetically modified soybeans, cotton and corn edging out most other players of those markets. The company, whose products comprise 40% of all crop acres in that country, has also made vast inroads into other countries’ agricultural systems – for example, it monopolises the Indian cotton seed market.

Its genetically modified seeds have also cropped up without welcome in several places, such as Hungary - where despite GM seeds being banned nationally, 1000 acres of GM corn “mysteriously” materialised, and was subsequently incinerated by government order – and US state Oregon, where GM wheat, which isn’t approved for growing or sale in the US, surfaced last year.

Although SANTO 7.13.15 paints an ominous picture of a fictional future world, it is worth considering the attitudes championed by Monsanto’s PR apparatus and asking: is the concept really so far-fetched?

Steeped in spin

Just a cursory look over Monsanto’s website reveals that it fancies itself as guardian of life on planet Earth.

Monsanto goes to great lengths to cultivate an image of saviour of the planet’s food woes, and protector of human life. Webpages feature indulgent feel-good (yet highly questionable) claims, including “improving lives”, “encouraging prosperity for all” and even quotes referring to world peace.

The arrogance of Monsanto’s world view is disturbing. But let’s be clear: this is a company that advocates full corporate control of the world’s food supply, and aims to sway us to the apparent virtues of this objective via its carefully crafted PR spin. 

Once you scratch the surface of its slick marketing collateral, it becomes clear that its goals align to disempower citizens. Monsanto doesn’t benefit from an informed, empowered citizen who questions its agenda and motives. It is intent on driving home the message that future life and security on Earth is contingent on the widespread uptake of its technologies.

Creating a problem or a solution?

Monsanto refers to itself as a “sustainable agriculture company”. But, the company admits it is focused on “producing more” to keep in step with population growth and to address limited arable land. It contends that “experts predict we will reach 9 billion [people] by 2050. To feed everyone, we’ll need to double the amount of food we currently produce”.

Monsanto is, unsurprisingly, not genuinely preoccupied with sustainability. In reality, sustainability is not conducive to the large scale profits that the company seeks.

Agriculture is currently responsible for approximately 70% of all worldwide fresh water usage, and approximately 60% of the Earth’s arable land. Animal-based agriculture utilises 55% of the world’s fresh water and occupies up to 45% of Earth’s land surface area.

Monsanto maintains that in order to adequately address the supposed predicted food shortfall, we have to become more “efficient”, since it is “mathematically impossible to double the amount of land and water we already use”.  

While this may be the case, it is not impossible for the planet to reduce demand for the most resource-intensive food products. A 2010 report by the United Nations Environment Program states that “a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products” is crucial to reducing our environmental impact.

Monsanto cites an increase in demand for protein foods in China and India, as people there become more prosperous. But since food animals “require multiple pounds of feed for each pound of meat they produce, a modest increase in the demand for protein is actually a huge increase in the demand for grain, water and land”.

Monsanto is right: an astronomical amount of food crops are diverted to animal feed. But they don’t actually challenge this situation. Syphoning tonnes of wheat, soy, and plant crops through “food” animals in a context of diminishing resources, water shortages and population growth is reckless – even criminal.

Of course, it doesn’t suit Monsanto’s agenda to question an increasing reliance on animal food products, which wreak a significant environmental toll. Monsanto needs a food crisis in order to justify its existence.

A force to be reckoned with

In a similar way that geoengineering “innovations” may allow us to (temporarily) defer action on addressing the source of global warming – for example, by reducing pressure on governments to enact legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions - so too genetic engineering may diminish an incentive to sufficiently address the causes of the looming food “crisis”.

Clearly, tinkering with nature via technological intervention can reap immense monetary rewards. This is why Monsanto has global ambitions. Its monopoly on many (poorer) countries’ seed sectors and encroachment into their agricultural systems is disturbingly reminiscent of an imperialist agenda.  

The scope of its investment into research and development (over US$2.6 million a day) indicates a long term intention to be recognised as gatekeepers of the modern day industrial food complex.

It’s certain that the company won’t relinquish these aspirations without a fight. If its past (overwhelmingly successful) lawsuits are anything to go by, it has already secured support from many people in high places and frequently operates with impunity.

But the spectre of a bleak future similar to that dreamed up in SANTO 7.13.15 is not assured. 2013’s “March Against Monsanto” drew over two million protestors across 52 countries, with more worldwide protests planned for this coming May.

The resistance to Monsanto’s world view is a force to be reckoned with, and demonstrates that people aren’t simply going to acquiesce to the corporate giant and its relentless pursuit of profit.

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Originally published April 2014 in Discordia online zine.