Welcome to Paws & Claws Newsletter. Every month we will bring up to date information on what is happening in the pet and animal world. Your news, thoughts, ideas and suggestions are always welcome.

Our aim is to bring you the most informative and educational articles while promoting responsible pet ownership and care for our wildlife. To date, we have donated over $130,000 of advertising and article space in Paws & Claws Journal to non-profit animal organisations. We donate a further 10% of our profits to the Animal Welfare League of Qld and the RSPCA Qld so please support our advertisers.

Awareness, appreciation, respect for all animals. Gold Coast will be host the world's first ever Animal Action Day where all animal lovers are asked to come together to take action against all animal cruelty and help raise awareness on animal welfare issues. The idea is to encourage responsible pet ownership and take positive steps towards protecting animals across the planet.

Cr Dawn Crichlow will launch it and author Lynn Santer will do a reading & giveaways from her Magical Scarecrows book. There are lots of fun activities instored such as the jumping castle and face painting for the little ones and great entertainers like Dean Vegas doing his Elvis performance, Roger Davy's Pavarotti and Raymond Symes as Neil Diamond. There is also the judging of the Puppia Best Dressed Owner/ Pet Look-alike competition, the many food and artistic stalls to visit and over $3000 in raffle prizes.

"Animal Action Day is about taking action and standing up for our fellow earthlings. There are too many cases of neglect, abuse and outright cruelty towards animals and action needs to be taken" says event founder Aldwyn Altuney from AA Xpose Media.

"Bring the whole family, bring your friends along and stand as one for our animal friends. It's going to be a whole lot of fun!".

The exciting event is the start of what is hoped will lead to annual Animal Action Days across the planet. So come and join us on Sunday, 26th August, for a great day of fun and appreciation for our animal friends. All two and four-legged friends are welcome. Starts at 10am at Owen Park & Southport Tigers Junior Rugby League Club on Queen St, Southport. See you there!

For more info please visit www.aaxpose.com or contact Aldwyn on 0409 895 055 or Kahrissa Holz on 0424 639 229. Stalls available.

Olivia Newton-John, a long-time supporter of Animals Asia, has made a TV advert with them in support of their work to end bear farming. Olivia’s impassioned plea is being broadcasted on National Geographic Wild and Star World in Asia. Channel 7, Channel 9, National Geographic and SBS are also running the advert for free in Australia.

"It is simply heartbreaking that these poor bears are put through such unnecessary torture," Olivia said recently.

"Some of them are kept in tiny cages for up to quarter of a century. This is cruelty beyond belief. It is so important that people understand that there are plenty of effective and affordable alternatives to bear bile," she said.

< < < DREAMWORLD OFFICIALLY OPENS NEW BILBY EXHIBIT

Frank Manthey & Honourable Rod Welford

The Animal Welfare League of Qld (AWL) continues to campaign tirelessly to end the euthanasia of healthy pets here on the Gold Coast. 2007 is the fifth year running of their de-sexing campaign which urges people to de-sex their pets before they give birth to unwanted litters of puppies and kittens.

Up to 200,000 healthy cats and dogs are killed in pounds and shelters around Australia every year simply because there are too many being born without homes to go to.

During August, eight vets across the Gold Coast, from Jacobs Well to Palm Beach, are offering reduced prices for de-sexing to encourage the community to become part of the solution.  Pet owners wanting to de-sex their pets will only pay $45 for a male cat/$60 for a female and $95 for a male dog/ $120 for a female. Founder and director of the National De-sexing Network (NDN) and AWL board member, Sylvana Wenderhold, said that although there are still too many animals euthanased each year on the Gold Coast, the situation is getting better.

“The numbers are decreasing every year but there is still work to do – we still need people to keep talking to their friends, family and neighbours about why de-sexing is so important,” she said.

“There are so many benefits to de-sexing your pet – they are less likely to roam and therefore less likely to be hit by a car or injured in a fight. They can also be much more affectionate once de-sexed, making better companions.”

AWL Qld firmly believes that they can reach their goal of ‘Zero Euthanasia of Healthy and Treatable animals’ if the public act now by de-sexing their pets and adopting cats and dogs who are already homeless and waiting for a home at the AWL sanctuary instead of breeding more animals.

Discounted de-sexing is available at the following veterinary clinics (click here)

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