Formidable animal welfare challenges exist around Australia with regard to the unnatural use of animals in commercially-operated entertainment enterprises. These enterprises include: performing animal circuses; rodeos; horse and greyhound racing; jumps racing; horse drawn carriage rides; marine parks; zoos and other exhibits such as travelling farm shows (with animals for petting). Broadly defined, entertainment also covers such pursuits as recreational hunting.

The Animal Justice Party believes that animals should be enjoyed, appreciated, respected and cared for in as close to their natural state as possible. They should never be terrified as they perform unnatural behaviours or goaded into violent action to provide opportunities for humans to demonstrate ‘skills’ in taunting and subduing them for audience amusement.

Key Objectives

1. To work towards ending all animal racing, beginning with greyhound and jumps racing.
2. To immediately ban recreational hunting, game fishing, rodeos and horse-drawn carriage rides.
3. To immediately ban animals in circuses and marine theme parks.
4. To fund programs to ensure all animals involved in the above industries can be safely rehomed.
5. To redirect government funding and subsidies away from any industries that use animals for entertainment. Instead these subsidies should flow to education programs which raise awareness about the cruel realities in these industries. Our ultimate goal is to eliminate them.
6. To create government funded educational initiatives that promote alternative cruelty-free forms of entertainment and allow deductible gift recipient status (DGR) for approved not-for-profit organisations working in this area.