The Animal Justice Fund

Animal Justice Fund

The Animal Justice Fund (AJF) is a multi-million dollar fund established to promote the cause of animal welfare through strategic litigation, public awareness campaigns and the prosecution of persons or businesses who commit offences against animals used in intensive farming or through commercial and/or recreational practices.

The AJF's aims will be achieved, in part, by the payment of rewards (maximum of $30,000) for information relating to animal cruelty – with a primary focus on animals raised in factory farms who have been exempted from the full protection of animal cruelty laws.

The Animal Justice Fund will provide rewards from $5000 to a maximum of $30,000 on the provision of information and/or evidence from employees/informants exposing animal cruelty that leads to a successful prosecution under state animal welfare legislation or a significant animal welfare outcome as judged by the AJF.

Information may be judged of value whether or not a practice involving cruelty may possibly be subject to a legal exemption. Information obtained will be referred where appropriate to the Barristers Animal Welfare Panel for advice. The AJF is administered by Animals Australia.

For enquiries please call: 0457 448 419

or e-mail: info@animaljusticefund.org http://www.animaljusticefund.org/

Businesswoman, animal advocate, and founder of Kathmandu Jan Cameron recognised this, inspiring her to financially back the fund.

"Just because animals are raised for food doesn't lessen their ability to suffer or our ethical responsibility to protect them from harm. I have funded the Animal Justice Fund because Australians don't realise that legislators have been selective about which animals laws will protect from cruelty and which they won't. To compound the injustice, in many states, governments have limited the powers of policing bodies to conduct unannounced inspections of factory farms despite the fact that these facilities can house many thousands of animals" said Ms Cameron.

The AJF will offer rewards of up to $30,000 to industry workers for information that leads to successful prosecutions or significant animal welfare outcomes. The AJF will also be working closely with state enforcement agencies, and will be advised by the Barrister's Animal Welfare Panel.

The launch of the AJF is currently making headlines around the country and will be followed with ongoing announcements in rural papers, to ensure it remains in the forefront of the minds of those involved in factory farming industries.

The objectives of the Animal Justice Fund are

1. Increase the reporting and investigation of animal abuse in intensive animal industries and in other commercial and/or recreational practices.
2. Increase the prosecutions of persons or businesses under Australian animal cruelty legislation who commit cruelty offences against animals used in intensive farming or during other commercial or recreational practices.
3. Achieve greater legal protection for animals by bringing to public notice exemptions in current laws, and through strategic litigation.
4. Increase public support for law reform by bringing to public notice cruel practices in intensive animal industries.
5. Achieve legal bans on cruel practices such as sow crates and battery cages.
6. Increase public awareness of cruel practices in intensive animal facilities so that consumers can exercise an informed choice as to whether to purchase factory farmed products.

Find out more about the AJF at AnimalJusticeFund.org

The Phoenix:

This is such a plus for the suffering animals and birds in factory farms. Animals need more Jan Camerons. Business people with ethics. Thats a rarity these days I am sad to say.I have heard that Jan is buying vast tracts of old growth Forrest from the defunct Gunns pulp mill in Tasmania. I am so glad Gunns lost out!