When a top advertising award is presented to an animal rights ngo, you know the world is waking up to animal sentience.

Yesterday, the Effie Award, the most prestigious Dutch prize in the world of advertising, was presented to Wakker Dier for its successful campaign against the castration of piglets without anaesthesia. Moreover, the Dutch government, meat industry and supermarkets have jointly signed an agreement that by January 2009, the whole of Holland will no longer eat and export meat from piglets castrated without anaesthesia.

Shamefully, millions of piglets in South Africa have their tails docked, their teeth clipped and are castrated without anaesthesia...

Dear Friend of the Animals –

Today is the start of a week of world-wide campaigning for an end to long distance transport of animals to slaughter. To see the unconscionable suffering of tens of millions of animals caught up in this trade, please go to www.handlewithcare.tv

Australia exports more animals for slaughter than any other country and for this reason, Australia is being asked to take the lead in bringing an end to the torment and suffering.

Not bio-fuel, but animals raised for meat are the main reason for the growing shortage of food in the world claims Pune Maharahtra. One-third of the annual global food production is used for feeding animals specially bred and fattened to be killed for their flesh. If the crops fed to them were to be consumed by humans, there would be no shortage.