Sentient, The Veterinary Institute for Animal Ethics

02/08/2025

The horrific Mt Isa Mines Rodeo in QLD, the biggest rodeo event in Australia, will be held from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 August. Rodoes are a form of legalised animal cruelty. We are sharing this post by Animal LIberation with details of how you can object to this brutal form of 'entertainment'.

✉️ Email the QLD Minister for Primary Industries, Anthony Perrett MP:
👉 [email protected]
✉️ And contact the Mt Isa City Council:
👉 [email protected]

31/07/2025

We are re-posting this petition as the target is 5,000 signatures before it is presented to Premier Chris Minns and Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty to demand an immediate inquiry into rodeos, their exemption from animal cruelty legislation and their total lack of transparency about injury and death rates to animals. Please sign and share widely, thank you!

MAKE RODEO OPERATORS REPORT THE DEATHS AND INJURIES THEY CAUSE

28/07/2025

If you have been to Tasmania you may have visited the amazing Bonarong Wildlife Sanctuary, which has its own veterinary clinic. The Bonorong team has now launched their Feline Fix cat desexing program, which is available to cat welfare organizations. This important work limits the number of feral and unwanted cats roaming Tasmania’s countryside and will reinforce the importance of responsible cat ownership.

22/07/2025

Update on the RSPCA investigation into the SA piggery at Dublin: Fourteen pigs have been euthanased and the piggery's owners and manager have been issued with 21 Animal Welfare Notices. The RSPCA is preparing a brief with a view to instigate court proceedings.

Fourteen pigs have been put down and 21 Animal Welfare Notices have been issued to a piggery outside Adelaide following leaked footage from inside the facility appearing to show alleged animal abuse.

22/07/2025

We love this article by Stephen Bendle, convenor of the Australian Gun Safety Alliance, which highlights the real motivation behind the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party's new 'Conservation Hunting Bill.' This bill is really about the self-proclaimed 'right to hunt' and has nothing to do with conservation or restoring biodiversity. We share the author's concerns that the NSW Goverment would be willing to trade public safety to seek the support of the Shooters and Fishers for passing other legislation. As a veterinary organisation, we are of course also opposed to any legislation that encourages the public to shoot animals for recreation. Submissions toi the Game and Feral Animal Legislation Amendment (Conservation Hunting) Bill 2025, introducted by Robert Borsak from the Shooters and Fishers Party, are due by August 4, so have your say on the followig link:
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=3111

A bill before the NSW parliament has nothing to do with conservation. It’s an extravagant and dangerous wish list from the gun lobby.

22/07/2025

Animal activist organisation Farm Transparency Project has revealed horrific footage of cruelty in a piggery north of Adelaide, which they have submitted to RSPCA SA. This content is graphic and distressing. Pigs were found stuck in mud, barely able to move, some with open wounds, and surrounded by dead pigs in various states of decay, which they were cannabilising. The welfare of pigs is one of the worst of all farmed animals due to the intensive nature of the industry, and the way pigs are subjected to painful husbandry procedures and forms of culling that do not protect them from pain and suffering. Sentient continues to advocate for an Independent Office of Animal Welfare. The Department of Primary Industries has a vested interest in promoting trade over animal welfare. We will keep you informed of the outcome of the RSPCA's investigation into this horrific finding.

Footage taken by an activist group allegedly in a piggery north of Adelaide shows pigs feeding on carcasses, some belonging to other pigs. WARNING: this story contains graphic content that may distress readers.

14/07/2025

The traditional approach to the use of animals in research has been focussed too much on refinement and reduction, rather than replacing animal use with innovative alternatives that are also more relevant to human health. Sentient applauds the decision by the FDA to phase out animal testing in drug development with so-called New Approach Methodologies, which include the use of AI-based models to predict a drug's behavior as well as side effects and testing on human organ-like structures made in a laboratory. These are early days, starting with pilot studies, but this announcement is a welcome development.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it plans to replace animal testing in the development of monoclonal antibody therapies and other drugs with "human-relevant methods," including the use of AI-based models.

28/06/2025

Rodeos are a form of animal cruelty that is currently protected by law. At the 2025 Royal Easter Show a horse forced to participate in a saddle bronc event was apparently killed but we have no details about this because rodeo operators are not required to publicly report the deaths and injuries of animals. This is an industry with effectively no scrutiny or oversight. Scientific and peer-reviewed studies have shown rodeo events cause fear, distress and potential serious injury and death for the animals. Sentient supports this petition to Premier Chris Minns and Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty to demand an immediate inquiry into rodeos, their exemption from cruelty laws and total lack of transparency. Please sign and share!

MAKE RODEO OPERATORS REPORT THE DEATHS AND INJURIES THEY CAUSE

27/06/2025

This is so upsetting: A whale was caught in a shark net off the Gold Coast recently. It was able to dislodge itself, but was left swimming with part of that net still caught on its body.

Rescue crews worked urgently to try to free the whale from the remains of the net.

26/06/2025

A fascinating article about guerilla "rewilders." people who are skirting regulations and rehabilitating native species and releasing them back in the wild. We acknowledge their sentiment but see the important role that regulations play in protecting animals' interests.

Amid an extinction crisis, some amateur conservationists are taking matters into their own hands, releasing threatened animals on their properties. It's skirting rules and worrying scientists. But the guerilla rewilders say it's too late to wait for permission.

25/06/2025

Some fantastic changes: The new Family Law Amendment Bill 2024 will provide a new framework for determining ownership of the family pet in divorce and separation proceedings. Pets will no longer be recognised merely as property, but as “companion animals”. Family law courts must now consider animal abuse, including threats to harm pets, when deciding which partner is awarded ownership.

The special bond between owners and pets has been recognised in family law changes, with dogs and cats defined as companion animals and not just property.

23/06/2025

This excellent presentation to the FEI (International Equestrian Federation) is a science-based analysis of the welfare problems faced by dressage horses due to the equipment used, along with humane alternatives. Pain, discomfort and injury to horses is a widespread issue in dressage and the more public awareness there is, the greater the pressure for change.

This video presents the full 50-minute briefing our research team delivered to the FEI Veterinary Committee on 9 April 2025. For the first time, Crispin Pare...