A Kynd Life

Jess quit her eight year career as a Midwife and founded Project Bali Dog to protect and restore the welfare of dogs in Bali, Indonesia.

Jess has sponsored Robbie, a rescued street dog in Bali for eight years. On her last visit, Jess walked out of the shelter where Robbie lives a safe and comfortable life and saw street dogs needing help on the other side of the gate.

Having always loved animals and being vegan since 2014, Jess knew she needed a change. She made the decision to quit her job and go to Bali in February this year, to find out what she could do on the ground to help Bali's dogs. Before leaving, Jess set herself a volunteer challenge to help at 30 animal organisations in a 30 day period.

Under the Project Bali Dog initiative, Jess has started Bowls for Bali, where she makes and provides 5L dog bowls, distributing them to local businesses to provide a fresh water supply to dogs in the area.

Jess recognises the importance of a sterilisation program for Bali dogs and has launched a fundraiser to help Bali Pet Crusaders perform mobile sterilisation of 217 cats and dogs. Jess needs to raise $5000 to fund the project and when the target is achieved, she will shave her long blonde hair.

In this episode, Jess teaches us about Bali dogs, the issues they are facing, as well as Sunny's rescue story and insights into her 30 day volunteer challenge.

Fundraiser - https://www.mycause.com.au/p/316465/unleash-the-power-of-the-clippers-shave-to-sterilise-balis-dogs

https://www.instagram.com/projectbalidog/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088277264909

Liz went vegan in the 80s and dived straight into activism. She got involved in chicken rescues from the broiler farm and egg industries and in 2013, Melbourne Chicken Rescue was born.

Liz grew up in England and moved to Adelaide when she was three. She went vegetarian in 1984, signed up to Animal Liberation SA a year later and went vegan in 1986.  Liz became heavily involved in the South Australian Anti-Vivisection Union, protesting at universities, as well as raising money to replace animals with machine models and purchase vivisection books for university libraries.

Following her passion for music, Liz moved to Melbourne in 1996.  She became involved in the Animal Save Movement and other activism opportunities which led Liz to rescuing day old broiler farm chicks. Her next rescue was of three battery hens Kath, Kim and Chrissie, who became Liz's first adopted chickens. 

Melbourne Chicken Rescue focuses on rescue, rehabilitation, rehoming and education and has helped thousands of chickens over the last ten years. Liz shares life with her partner of 41 years, rescue chickens, a rescue dog and cat.

In this episode, Liz shares an insight into animal rights activism in the 80s, caring for chickens and some of her rescue chickens stories.

https://www.instagram.com/melbourne_chicken_rescue/
https://www.facebook.com/Melbournechickenrescue

Geelong Duck Rescue actively worked to protect native waterbirds at Lake Connewarre and Lake Modewarre for the 2023 duck shooting season.

Opening day of the season was met with the presence of a Parliamentary Inquiry Committee and barrage of media, a lack of regulatory authorities and shooters breaking the rules. 

Three weeks into the season, Lake Connewarre was closed due to the presence of the Orange Bellied Parrot, a threatened native bird species. The team then moved to Lake Modewarre, adapting to the different geography, waterbird species and shooting strategies.

In this episode, the Geelong Duck Rescue team share their first hand experience of what they witnessed at the wetlands as well as confrontation with shooters, sea lice encounters and the next stages of the Inquiry.

https://www.instagram.com/geelongduckrescue/
https://www.facebook.com/geelongduckrescue

Alix identified there was a gap in the advocacy of Australian wildlife and created a coalition initiative called Defend The Wild. 

Defend The Wild focuses campaigning efforts where agriculture and wildlife intersects such as lethal dingo control, crocodile farming, emu farming and kangaroo culling. Last year the initiative launched a campaign highlighting the decimation of dingoes through the Victorian Government's lethal dingo control program. 

Alix's animal advocacy work started in the investigative space, working to uncover animal cruelty that is standard practice within Australia's farming system. She went on to co-found Kindness Project and soon realised that her concept of animal liberation had shifted towards protecting the integrity of wild animals. 

Growing up in a farming family, Alix witnessed things that made her question our relationship with animals. At age 16, Alix took an Animals Australia pledge and went vegetarian. At 21 she made the decision to stop her use of any animal products. 

In this episode, Alix chats about collaboration with stakeholder groups, her passion for dingoes and growing a community of people dedicated to protecting Australia's wildlife and their natural habitat.

https://www.instagram.com/defendthewild/
https://www.defendthewild.org/

Defend the Dingo Event - 1st July 2023
https://events.humanitix.com/defend-the-dingo

Ingrid, her husband and two children went vegan during lockdown.

A friend suggested she watched Seaspiracy and Ingrid was blown away, it was the catalyst that changed everything. Ingrid first went vegetarian and then went vegan after seeing male chicks being ground alive in Dominion.

Last year Ingrid became involved in activism, starting with Animal Rights Activism Sydney cubes, protests and outreach events. She has found a love of visiting and volunteering at animal sanctuaries, as it is not only rewarding to help the animals, but has also helped Ingrid connect with other vegans.

Being a primary school teacher for 13 years, Ingrid identified that the current curriculum is not a true representation of the animal agriculture industry and nutritional needs. Ingrid hopes to change this, allowing future generations to make more informed choices.

Stepping outside her comfort zone, Ingrid recently stood as an Animal Justice Party candidate in the NSW state election, which was a rewarding experience.

In this episode, Ingrid chats about raising a vegan family, finding community and her drive to help teach children kindness to all beings.

https://www.instagram.com/ingrid.living.vegan/

Kate's maritime journey began when she moved to Australia almost ten years ago and started volunteering for Sea Shepherd and Coast Guard.

By chance, Kate and her friends attended a Sea Shepherd screening of Cowspiracy. It turned out to be a life changing experience, as Kate changed her diet immediately and signed up to be a Sea Shepherd volunteer. Her time as an onshore volunteer has seen Kate be involved in ship tours, events, merchandise sales, beach cleans and outreach events.

It wasn't long until Kate signed up to the offshore crew and experienced her first campaign as a deckhand on the Steve Irwin for Operation Nemesis in Antarctica. She has been involved in Operation Milagro, a campaign to save the most endangered marine mammal in the world – the vaquita marina porpoise, as well as a clean up of illegal fishing equipment from the Cocos Islands.

Kate co-founded Daughters of the Deep, an organisation that supports women in the marine industry by addressing and exposing gender inequality. The organisation raises funds and advocates for women to pursue careers in marine industries and has projects running in Nicaragua, Thailand, Madagascar, Melanesia and Indonesia.

In this episode, Kate highlights the importance of veganism for ocean conservation, building maritime skills with Coast Guard and suggests documentaries to learn more about the ocean.

https://www.instagram.com/ladyparker1984/
https://www.instagram.com/daughtersofthedeepofficial/
https://daughtersofthedeep.org/

Recommended documentaries 
Racing extinction - https://www.opsociety.org/our-work/films/racing-extinction/
Sea of Shadows (about Operation Milagro) - https://films.nationalgeographic.com/sea-of-shadows
Bag it (about plastics) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1612246/
How sentient can a fish be? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QevWGsd96xQ
Feral (book) by George Monboit -
https://www.booktopia.com.au/feral-george-monbiot/book/9780141975580.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpPKiBhDvARIsACn-gzATp9f-CYKWNsB6BxyBH3CkfEQMbq6NKy0xoWS8Grk8zr0d0yavT28aAgBlEALw_wcB

Astrella created Cause & Events to support small vegan businesses, encourage people to implement a vegan lifestyle and showcase organisations fighting animal cruelty.

Born and raised in Bombay, Astrella's childhood was influenced by western culture. At ten years old, she had an epiphany and went vegetarian after realising meat came from an animal who didn't want to die. Seven years ago, Astrella went vegan overnight when she learnt about the dairy industry in Cowspiracy. 

Astrella's vast career experience across many corporate roles led her to venture out on her own and create Cause & Events.  Since it's inception last year, Cause & Events has hosted high tea fundraisers, wine and cheese tasting, networking, dating and workshops and raised over $5000 for charities. 

In this episode, Astrella shares her hopes for the future of her organisation, upcoming events and lessons learnt.

https://www.instagram.com/cause.events/
https://www.facebook.com/vegancauses
https://www.cause.events/whatson

Em has been meat free for 18 years and counting!

Em has always been passionate about animals and their wellbeing. She recalls witnessing animals being poorly treated while growing up, which led her to no longer consume them at age 12. As a teenager, Em would go between vegetarian and vegan, until six years ago when she researched the dairy and egg industry and went vegan.

Like many of us, Em enjoys good vegan food and has started creating vegan versions of traditional Maltese dishes to share with her family. She also loves showcasing delicious vegan food that is easy to prepare while camping.

In this episode, Em chats about her boyfriend going meat free after their visit to Edgar's Mission, supporting vegan events and sanctuaries and attending her first protest.

https://www.instagram.com/melbvegangal/

Located 20 minutes north of Byron Bay, The Owl & The PussyCat Farm Animal Sanctuary is home to 70 rescued animals. The sanctuary's mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome animals from the farming industry, as well as provide opportunities for people to spend time with, and learn about, farmed animals.

Starting over five years ago, the sanctuary grew quickly as animals in need found their way to a safe haven. Even though the sanctuary is family-run and supported by a very small volunteer base, they continue to rescue animals, provide emergency and long term accommodation, and help rehome unwanted individuals.

The Owl & The PussyCat invites everyone to enjoy time with the rescue residents, holding regular tours and events. For something a little more intimate, you are welcome to stay onsite in the sanctuary accommodation or hold a private event at the 130-acre paradise.

The sanctuary was hard hit during last year's floods, experiencing five flooding events in a six month period. Thankfully all of the animals were safe, however the property sustained significant damage. 

Learn more about how the sanctuary started, plans for wellness events and ways to support their work in this episode. 

https://www.instagram.com/owlandpuscatfarmsanctuary/
https://www.facebook.com/OwlandPusCatFarm
https://www.owlandpussycatfarm.com.au/

I want to be like Ruth when I grow up.. here's why!

Ever since going vegan at age 62, Ruth has given the animals her all. An absolute all-star at Edgar's Mission, Ruth retired and began mucking out barns twice a week. It wasn't long before she moved closer to Edgar's and was trusted to transport surrendered animals to the sanctuary and veterinary appointments. Ruth extends her support to other sanctuaries and rescue organisations in Victoria.

If that's not enough, Ruth is equally as passionate about activism. Having found activism through Facebook, Ruth joined the Save Movement to participate in rallies and vigils. Recognising the benefit in disrupting activities that exploit animals, Ruth has been involved in disruptions at slaughterhouses, factory farms and a rodeo with Direct Action Everywhere, Meat The Victims, Dominion and most recently Vegan Rising. 

In this episode, Ruth also chats about abolition vs welfarism, the concept of animal "ownership" and the importance of activists not taking on too much. 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002844522819