All during Saturday night the rain fell in sheets and at 7.00am on the Esplanade reserve in Fremantle on Sunday, the weather didn’t look any more promising.  My trusty team of SLE volunteers battled on regardless and by 11.30am we were ready to go and like a sign from above, the sun came out!  And the people came, a trickle at first and then in ever increasing waves, placards held high. It’s hard to gauge crowd numbers at a glance but we estimate that the final turnout was in excess of 1,500!

We started at noon with some great music from Dilip and the Davs followed by passionate and rousing speeches from Lisa Baker MLA, Member for Maylands, Senator Rachel Siewert, Chris Tallentire, MLA Member for Gosnells, Lyn MacLaren MLC Member for the South Metropolitan Region and Lyn Bradshaw, National and State President of the RSPCA.  Lyn White’s speech was also played over the airwaves during which you could have heard a pin drop and there wasn’t a dry eye on the Esplanade reserve.

The spirit of the day was amazing – happy, friendly, supportive and caring.  Children planted their wishes in the Wish Garden and coloured in pictures of lambs and cows.  Levy the sheep put in an appearance, as did a beautiful calf called Daisy, a goat and dogs of all shapes and sizes.  There were babies and pensioners, bankers and teachers – just ordinary Australians from all walks of life coming together to speak out for those that cannot.

This is how together, this cruel trade will end....

As you may have heard, two Bills are about to go before Federal Parliament next week. One is being presented by Greens Senator, Rachel Siewert and the other by Nick Xenophon and Andrew Wilkie.

Please contact your Federal MP and Federal Senator and ask them to support these Bills.

You can do this via a letter, phone call or email, although a personal letter is often the best if you have a spare few minutes.

You can send an automated letter via the Animals Australia website

Or you can send a general letter asking for an end to the trade via WSPA's Humane Chain website.

To find out who your Lower House MP is, click here

To find out who your Senator is, click here

If you arent sure which Federal electorate you are in, please click here to go to the Australian Electoral Commission search

It would be very worthwhile to contact your State MP in WA, please click here for more information

Other things you can do...

1. Contact the Prime Minister

Let Julia Gillard know that you think this treatment of Australian animals is completely unacceptable and you want the see the trade in live animals end to not only support animal welfare, but local jobs in meat processing facilities around Australia.  The most powerful way to be heard is an individually written letter.  The PM's contact details are:

The Hon Julia Gillard MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

Send an instant message to the PM here

For more info on what the Australasian Meat Workers have to say, click here

2. Social Media

Please use Twitter (#BanLiveExport) and Facebook to get the message out there to all your friends and family.

3. Check Out Animals Australia's National Week of Action page

Check out more details on the National Week of Action. You can also download a letter on this page and ask family, friends, neighbours and workmates to sign - or you can take to the streets!

4. Stay in Touch

Join up to our newsletter (we only send 1-2 per month about how to help, events and heaps more) by clicking here or stay in touch via Facebook. You can also unsubscribe at any time.

5. Join Us

You can help keep the campaign in alive in WA by becoming a member of Stop Live Exports, a grass-roots group that has been campaigning for an end to this trade for many years! We have a huge volunteer base that is getting the message out to the community, media and politicians. Click here to join. A good strong membership sends a message to decision makers that this is an important issue.

Thank You

PS. Some of you have asked about the rally against live exports. This is not being organised by Stop Live Exports.

Please direct all enquries to this website.

Four Corners - The Shocking Truth behind the Live Export Industry

If you were shocked along with the rest of Australia regarding the treatment of Australian cattle in Indonesia, this is your time to get involved.  We have outlined some easy things you can do. Our Campaign Manager is standing by to help, so please feel free to contact Jodie on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1. Contact the Prime Minister

Let Julia Gillard know that you think this treatment of Australian animals is completely unacceptable and you want the see the trade in cattle to Indonesia suspended immediately along with an overall end date to live animal exports.  The most powerful way to be heard is an individually written letter.  Please feel free to ask for help with this.  The PM's contact details are:

The Hon Julia Gillard MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

Send an instant message to the PM here

2. Contact your Federal and State MP

Please also contact your State and Federal MP!

If you live in WA, contact your State MP.  You can find a listing of MP contact details here.

http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/web/newwebparl.nsf/iframewebpages/Members+-+Current

You can find a listing of Federal MP contact details here

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/index.htm

In your letter, to avoid a standard response that is generated by a computer, be sure to ask specific questions. Questions could include asking about Government spending on live exports, how they could possibly trust anything the industry says and what is being done about local jobs.  Please ask us for help.

3. Social Media

Please use Twitter (#BanLiveExport) and Facebook to get the message out there to all your friends and family.

4. Dedicated Animals Australia and RSPCA Website

Check out the dedicated website put together by Animals Australia and RSPCA here

6. Join the Get Up Campaign

7. Stay in Touch

Join up to our newsletter (we only send 1-2 per month about how to help, events and heaps more) by clicking here or stay in touch via Facebook. You can also unsubscribe at any time.

8. Join Us

You can help keep the campaign in alive in WA by becoming a member of Stop Live Exports, a grass-roots group that has been campaigning for an end to this trade for many years! We have a huge volunteer base that is getting the message out to the community, media and politicians. Click here to join. A good strong membership sends a message to decision makers that this is an important issue.

If you missed Four Corners, it will be replayed on Tuesday 31st May ay 11.35pm and Saturday 4th June at 8pm on ABC News 24.   You can also see a replay at http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/

Thank you