Make shade shelter Mandatory for all Farm Animals in Australia and the World NOW

Each year thousands of outdoor farm animals suffer terribly from heat pain due with little or NO access to shade or shelter in paddocks, feedlots, saleyards and holding pens throughout Australia and all countries the world over.  

ABC INTERVIEW 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bimvz0acn6e38pq/Animals%20Need%20Shade%20-%20All%20Qld.mp3?dl=0

A former RSPCA president,Phillip Woolen Order of Australia and Australian veterinarian and professor of Animal Welfare are all supporting ANIMALS NEED SHADE CAMPAIGN to mandate shade and shelter for thousands of farm animals in Australia and the world over.

'Animals Need Shade' initially lodged a petition in the Queensland Parliament Australia calling for it to force owners of Farm Animals to provide adequate shelter for cows, sheep, horses and other farm animals. HOWEVER THAT PETITION HAS NOW FININSHED AND ANIMALS CONTINUE TO DIE AND SUFFER WITHOUT NO SHADE SHELTER. Farm animals urgently need your help. PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION ON OUR WEBSITE http://www.animalsneedshade.org and sign up to our newsletter to keep informed on our progress to make shade shelter mandatory in Australia and across the world.

NB the Queensland Governments e-parliamentary petition finished at the end of February 2019. Please visit the Animals Need Shade https://www.facebook.com/animalsavetv 

(please also view BAN DOG CHAINING CAMPAIGN https://www.facebook.com/BAN-DOG-Chaining-2132219990372813/  https://www.thepetitionsite.com/create/edit-petition/236070867/ Petition lodged with QLD government  Dogs are dying in Australia on the end of a rope without adequate shade shelter (or an oven for a dog house)in direct sun.

MEDIA RELEASE  (please use as a reference in your own country)

Queenslanders urge government to enforce mandatory shade and shelter for farm animals.   Animal advocates lodged a petition in the Queensland Parliament, urging a change in the law to protect heat-stressed livestock, as temperatures in the state rise and heatwaves become commonplace.  The laws have not changed and Animals will continue to suffer and die this summer.

The Code Red CLimate Crisis and record Australian summer temperatures have made headlines around the world. While the heat may be good news for some in our beach-loving country, it has devastating consequences for millions of farmed animals routinely kept outdoors in paddocks, saleyards, holding pens and feedlots with little to no shade. Queenslanders fear lack of no shade/shelter for farm animals is an animal welfare crisis in what is one of the hottest countries in the world.

Animals need Shade is leading the charge in calling for mandatory legislation to force owners of farm animals in the sunshine state and across Australia as well as overseas to provide adequate shelter for cows, sheep, horses, goats and other Farm Animals through their newly launched 'Animals Need Shade' campaign. A petition has been filed on the Queensland Parliament's website (finished Feb 2019) urging the government to insert mandatory requirements into the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 for adequate shelter for livestock kept outdoors, including a definition of 'adequate shelter', and to introduce penalties for owners and carers who fail to provide adequate shelter for their outdoor farm animals.

Animals Need Shade have the support of leading animal advocates, including former vice-president of Citibank and philanthropist Philip Wollen, OAM, veterinarian and professor Andrew Knight, and former Rockhampton RSPCA president Elizabeth Shanahan."I remember how hot it was last summer in Canungra, Beaudesert and Boonah and how I couldn't stand in the sun for more than five minutes without feeling the brunt of this shocking heat," says Elek, who lives in the Scenic Rim. "The sight of Farm Animals exposed and suffering from the extreme heat of the sun without shade or shelter is unfortunately common throughout Queensland."

Animals Need Shade is concerned about all Farm animals and claims that cows suffer, even more in the heat than humans, especially without shade. Dairy NZ notes that Fresian cows (approximately 83% of dairy cows in Australia are Fresian) begin to experience the effects of heat stress when the temperature reaches 68℉ (21℃) at 75% relative humidity. The average annual temperature in many parts of Queensland is 29°C. In 2017 even southern regions such as Gatton recorded 141 days where temperatures reached over 30°C. 

Despite the Queensland government's Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) acknowledging the impact of heat stress on livestock and recommending shelter and shade, it is not mandatory for owners of farm animals to provide these basic requirements. Speaking about cattle in an interview with Living the Country Life, David Sparks, an extension veterinarian from Oklahoma State University, warns: "If you're uncomfortable,the herd is too hot, and if you're too hot, the herd is in serious danger." Sparks explains that cattle don't sweat and have an upper critical temperature that is around 20 degrees cooler than humans. "So that means if it is 80 ℉ [26.6 ℃] outside it feels like 100℉ [37.7℃] to cattle.  They are also affected more seriously by humidity."

This results in severe suffering, according to Australian-born veterinarian Andrew Knight, Professor of Animal Welfare at Winchester University in the UK. "Cows and other farm animals are sentient, sensitive animals, capable of feeling pain, stress and fear," says Knight. "Being exposed to excessive sunlight can be highly stressful and decrease their health and welfare. Such systematic lack of care is indicative of the widespread exploitation these animals endure." 

Elizabeth Shanahan, former Rockhampton President of the RSPCA for 20 years, is also deeply concerned about the lack of appropriate shelter for outdoor farm animals. "From my experience very little has been done to protect farm animals from the elements," says Shanahan. "Complaints about the treatment of farm animals are rarely, if ever, prosecuted. Something must change and soon to protect these vulnerable forgotten animals. TheQueensland community expects laws that protect all animals. Laws must be upgraded and enforceable, to ensure the basic right to shade and shelter for all farm animals."

The petition lodged by Animals Need Shade with the Queensland government (fininshed now) has also received the support of Melbourne-based Philip Wollen, OAM. "I travel 20,000km throughout the Australian countryside every year," says Wollen. "What I see every day as we drive past vast open paddocks in Australia are no trees, blazing heat and distressed, parched and panting animals. I often see animals lying dead on the ground. Every paddock has been cleared of trees. Occasionally I see a paddock with a single tree, under which 100 or so parched animals stand, and clustered around them in the blazing sun will be 1,000 more – with not a single shadow to protect them. This is an atrocity and laws must be changed to force farmers to provide adequate shelter and shade for their charges."

Animals Need Shade is calling on all citizens of the World as well as Australians to sign this petition.  "to give farm animals the basic right to shade and shelter. The public are unaware of the statistics on deaths, and the serious physical and psychological distress suffered by animals who have no protection. Together our voices will help stop suffering and change laws!" she says. The petition can be viewed here has now fiinished but this link will soon be replaced by another petition in another state so stay with us and sign and share this petition to show policy makers we mean business.

Evidence is available of hundreds of community complaints in relation to no shade/shelter. There is mounting evidence amongst the community and many animal advocate groups of many Farm Animals that continue to suffer without adequate shade/shelter, even after reports have been made.

The community will continue to report to the RSPCA and the Department of Agriculture for over ten animals (all dairy cow reports go to Dept agriculture), keeping the case number and photos. Temperature, date time, number and colour of animals. When the community sees that animals continue to suffer after a report has been made - many in the community will now contact the Animal Defenders Office.  

### About 'Animals Need Shade' Animals Need Shade is a campaign launched recently by Queensland animal advocates .  Animals Need Shade have launched an online petition with the Queensland government calling for stronger legal protections and enforceability regarding the provision of adequate shade and shelter for farm animals.  They will be working with all states to make shade/shelter mandatory across Australia and ultimately all countries where Farm animals continue to suffer without this basic right.

Facebook page.

(please also view BAN DOG CHAINING CAMPAIGN https://www.facebook.com/BAN-DOG-Chaining-2132219990372813/  https://www.thepetitionsite.com/create/edit-petition/236070867/ Petition lodged with QLD government  Dogs are dying in Australia on the end of a rope without adequate shade shelter (or an oven for a dog house)in direct sun.

Media Contact:  via Animals Need Shade facebook page
High-resolution images of animals exposed without shade on Queensland farms are available on request.

The embedded image in this email is available for one-time editorial use (print/online). Credit AAP Dean Lewins. A high-res version is available on request.

Other relevant links:There are a number of articles on the deaths of farm animals due to exposure to heat and sun however the media has been largley silent on this issue in the climate code red crisis we need journalists not afraid to tackle the truth about the suffering our farm animals are experiencing without shade shelter.  If you are one of them I want to hear from you.  The community has the right to know if farm animals are denied the most basic of rights and are suffering.

ZONES OF COMFORT FARM ANIMALS

Farm animal have zones of comfort (thermoneutral zone) before they experience heat pain or the effects of cold, rain, hail etc. No shade shelter heightens suffering. The following zones of comfort do not take into account the points below which only add to suffering. Internal organs and immune systems begin to fail.

Beef cattle (British breeds) 15 – 25°C
Beef cattle (tropical breeds) 16 – 27°C
Chickens & hens 10 – 20°C
Dairy cattle 5 – 20°C
Goats 10 – 20°C
Pigs 16 – 25°C
Sheep 21 – 31°C
Turkeys 10 – 24°C

SUMMER

• Humidity significantly impacts farm animals (Temperature Humidty Index) THI - is used to measure suffering. Suffering is often counted in number of pants per minute

• Temperature head load (THL) – consistent hot weather meaning there is no relief from the pain endured from heat,
• the inability of cattle to sweat & difficulty in dissipating heat leading to increased respiratory diseases
• solar radiation (no shade shelter from blazing sun),
• soil temperature of dirt– which is significantly hotter than air temperature
• young, sick, pregnant eg Ewes pregnant 5-6 months of the year, Dairy cows constantly pregnant and lactating suffering starts at 21 degrees and 75% humidity.

WINTER

• wind chill (e.g) if at 0 degrees with a wind of 20 kmph can feel like -5). 
• wet bodies from rain and hail,
• soil temperature – frost or ice in winter
• young, sick, pregnant eg Ewes pregnant 5-6 months of the year, mature animals all suffer more.

A second campaign to ban dog chaining is underway more details will be added in the next day. Already banned in many countries dogs are dying in Australia on the end of a rope without adequate shade shelter.  https://www.thepetitionsite.com/create/edit-petition/236070867/