Animal welfare falls under state and territory jurisdiction in Australia, which means there is no, one uniform law across the country regarding animal welfare. For the interested reader, the relevant legislation for each state and territory is provided in the bibliography at the end of this article. Because animal cruelty falls outside of the Federal Government’s jurisdiction, it is left to non-government organisations (NGOs) to compile a register of companies who do and do not test their products on animals. However, as multiple national and international companies offer certification to various standards, compassionate consumers must inform themselves to determine if a cruelty free certified product meets their personal ethical standards. This article will provide a guide to Australian certification of cruelty free products.
How the animals in the Chinese Zodiac were chosen
A long time ago, Jade Emperor decided to create a calendar in order to keep track of time. He decided to create a cyclical calendar of 12 years, and that each year would be named after an animal. To determine which 12 animals would be featured, he organised a race and invited every animal to participate. The first twelve across the line would be included in the calendar. This is the story of how the 12 animals were chosen.
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