ACTRESS Asher Keddie and designer Alex Perry have joined the likes of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and musician Paul McCartney in calling for formal recognition of animals at the United Nations (UN).
Keddie and Perry are leading a growing number of people worldwide who are pushing for World Animal Day to be formally recognised by the UN, as part of a global campaign by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).
Other celebrities who have joined the global campaign include Kyly Clarke, wife of cricket captain Michael Clarke, Collingwood AFL captain Nick Maxwell, singer Leona Lewis, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, musical star Kristin Chenoweth and actor John Hurt.
Achieving recognition for World Animal Day will put animals firmly on the global agenda and will generate new opportunities to further animal welfare issues on the global stage. UN member states would be obliged to recognise and celebrate the day, putting animal welfare firmly on the agenda. Recognition could involve review of government policies and organisation of public events.
Keddie says: “I want animal protection on the global agenda because it is important that we acknowledge that animals significantly and positively contribute to our own moral progress, whilst also making an important contribution to sustainable development. It is time that it were officially recognised that animals help people.”
Perry says: “I want animal protection on the global agenda to ensure that the animals that become part of our families and that we love so much can live their lives free from cruelty and abuse.
“By formally recognising the importance of animals to our world, we can not only secure their welfare, but ensure they live healthy peaceful lives… it is the right of every living being.”
WSPA is encouraging Australians to sign at wspamove.org/theun/
Source: WSPA Australia
