Lyn White
You have to admire someone who is so dedicated to their profession that they are willing to interrupt their holiday abroad to take care of important business. This is exactly what Lyn White did when she visited Britain recently. But this is not the only reason why she and her work should be recognised. You see Lyn is Campaigns Director for Animals Australia and is responsible for exposing the cruel treatment of farmed animals from Australia when they are slaughtered in Indonesia. You will recall I wrote about this here. Lyn interrupted her vacation and travelled to Godalming to meet with me and the folks at Compassion. I want to share with you part of the conversation we had.
Philip: Welcome to Compassion!
Lyn: Thank you! Technically, I’m on holiday but I can not be in the UK without visiting Compassion as I greatly admire you and your work. This is my first proper leave in about eight years and I’m looking forward to spending time in the UK, including walking in the Lake District.
Philip: You joined as a 17-year-old cadet the South Australian police force. Did you handle animal cruelty casework as a police officer?
Lyn: The RSPCA in Australia is responsible for enforcing animal cruelty legislation. As a police officer from 1979 to 2001, I handled animal cruelty primarily when they were part of domestic violence incidents. Now, I believe it is inappropriate that RSPCA inspectors go into potentially violent situations to enforce animal welfare legislation and it is ludicrous that any government legislation is enforced by a charity which is dependent on public funding. It should be the responsibility of the police to enforce these laws and by doing so it will also highlight that legislation relating to animal cruelty is treated equally seriously, and with the same resources as other legislation.
Philip: How did you become involved with animal welfare? Was there a defining moment?
Lyn: Yes! I was leafing through a magazine and saw a photo of a bear confined in a cage in China. I couldn’t believe people could be so cruel. The utter helplessness of the animal was shocking. The bars of the cage literally constrained her from the most basic movement. How could anyone inflict this on any animal and not realise it is wrong? The accompanying story spoke about Animals Asia’s Founder Jill Robinson and her efforts to free the bears. I realised I could sit there in tears looking at this photo or I could see if there was something I could do to help.
Philip: How did you become involved with Animals Asia Foundation? What did you do for them?
Lyn: I contacted Jill Robinson. I will be eternally grateful that she took the time to encourage me to work in animal welfare and helped me to see that it was my life’s work. She was my inspiration and my mentor. I participated in investigations with Jill. It was at this time that the China bear rescue – the rescue of 500 bears from the worst bear bile farms – began and I was immensely privileged to be present at Animals Asia’s rescue centre in Sichuan and witness the efforts to heal and rehabilitate these bears. An important part of my work was back in Australia speaking about the plight of these bears, the rescue underway and raising funds for their care. But it was during this time that I started becoming aware of what was happening to animals in my own country, particularly the breeding and farming of pigs for their meat. Such was my awakening of this commercial exploitation of animals that I felt I could no longer stand in front of Australians to tell them just about animal cruelty in China when animals in my own country were so clearly in need of having their plight known as well. Australia likes to think of itself as a world leader in animal welfare but we subject 500 million animals a year to the cruelty of factory farming and are the world’s largest exporter of livestock – and to this time many in the community were unaware of these facts.
Philip: What were the circumstances that led you to joining Animals Australia in 2003?
Lyn: At about the same time that I became passionate about animal cruelty in my own country, Animals Australia received a bequest from a former President, Necia Page. Her generosity meant that the organisation had, for the first time, sufficient funds to employ our first campaigner – and Executive Director Glenys Oogjes asked me to accept this role. Necia was a tremendous advocate for animals and her premature death from cancer was a tragedy. So, making her dream come true of Animals Australia becoming a more powerful voice for animals in Australia also became a motivating force.
Philip: What do you do at Animals Australia?
Lyn: I am responsible for our campaigns and strategic direction. Also, I do political lobbying and lead the investigations.
Philip: How many people work at Animals Australia?
Lyn: We now have 11 full-time and four part-time staff. Whilst our campaigning team is only small we are recognised as ‘punching above our weight’ simply because we share a life-commitment to revealing the truth and creating needed change. This past year has been our most challenging with the Indonesia investigation and subsequent campaign requiring unprecedented efforts from all of us. The positive response from the public that it generated meant that we’ve been able to grow this year and through doing so, we are absolutely determined to ensure that more animals are helped next year.
Philip: What are you most proud of accomplishing with Animals Australia?
Lyn: Our investigations into the live export trade have resulted in a ban on the export of sheep to Egypt; toughened regulations on exports to the Middle East; significant changes in Jordan where 80% of animals are now stunned before slaughter; an end to the private sale and slaughter of Australian livestock in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar; and as a result of our investigation in Indonesia this year, all animals exported from Australia to any country can now only go through approved and audited facilities. Also as a result of this investigation, pre-slaughter stunning is being rapidly introduced in Java and Sumatra, where we witnessed some of the worst slaughterhouse conditions.
We also worked with H.R.H. Princess Alia Al Hussein to form the Princess Alia Foundation in Jordan. I am an advisor to the foundation which has achieved so many things including a spay and return program for wild dogs and rescuing some of the most abused animals from zoos and establishing a rehabilitation centre for them.
Our strategic campaigns have also significantly increased public awareness of farmed animal issues in Australia. The pig industry was forced to voluntarily announce a ban on sow stalls from 2017. Our work in Indonesia created an awakening among Australians to the suffering of animals for food. This led to a reduction of meat consumption in my country of 15-20% in the initial months of the campaign. Generally, meat consumption is at the lowest point it has ever been.
Philip: What are the challenges and opportunities that Animals Australia faces?
Lyn: The Indonesian investigation and subsequent coverage led to 40,000 individual media reports. This was extraordinary and unprecedented. We are keenly aware that the increased interest in the media of animal welfare issues will provide opportunities to advocate for other animals in need in 2012. As always, finding the funding necessary to keep animal welfare issues in the public spotlight will also be a key. The situation in Indonesia was so appalling that it created a tidal wave of outrage. However whilst I hate to compare, I would suggest that the lives endured by factory farmed animals in Australia outweighs this considerably in terms of extended suffering . But factory farming doesn’t have the same sensational element, nor can we place the blame at another country’s door. Finding the way to fully expose what is happening right in our own backyard and appeal to consumers to use their buying power to end factory farming will be a key challenge of 2012.
While animals are still exported from Australia we will continue to call for an end to the live trade. Having witnessed so much terrible suffering in the Middle East and Indonesia, I am relieved that our work has resulted in positive changes in those countries. But whilst live export continues Australia remains responsible for setting the worst possible example to these countries. Animals are nothing more than chattels to be traded and slaughtered for profit.
Philip: Why is animal welfare important to you?
Lyn: My policing career taught me the importance of advocating for and representing victims. But I was unaware that there were so many animal victims in Australia which speaks to how carefully issues are protected from community view. I did not know, for example, the extent to which farmed animals are exempted from animal protection laws. This is so carefully hidden in the legislation. Our animal protection legislation discriminates in ways that can not be justified. If we have determined that as a society we have ethical responsibilities to protect animals from cruelty, we have a responsibility to protect them all. That these exemptions are justified by commercial gain make them even more unacceptable.
For me, this is not just about animals. It’s about the human journey, our journey, as well. The same elements that cause human suffering cause animal suffering too. The willingness to put our own interests before the interests of others. As such, you cannot address one without addressing the elements of both. I never call myself an animal rights advocate. Animal rights wouldn’t be needed if human wrongs were addressed.
So much cruelty occurs to animals because it is hidden from public view. Or because we have been conditioned by past generations to think that practices that have occurred for years are acceptable. Despite all the suffering I have witnessed I retain an absolute belief that somewhere in each human heart rests the knowledge that we are not meant to harm those who share this world with us. Part of our work as animal advocates is to peel back the layers that surround this knowledge and allow it to find its voice.
