Businesses can align themselves with animal welfare or they can ignore it. Businesses can promote animal welfare in a variety of ways or they can shun it and even directly or indirectly by association encourage animal abuse. In all depends on senior management and whether they are enlightened and observant enough to think out of the box and embrace the benefits that a positive association with animal welfare can bring their company.
Animals Australia have produced a brilliant chart which tells us which banks measure up to the modern demands of animal welfare. It’s important for banks to be cognisant of animal welfare issues and to promote it because a lot of concerned animal loving customers have savings accounts in their banks. A lot of modern customers are becoming increasingly switched on to animal welfare and they want to see their rich banks do their bit. There is a desperate need across the globe to improve animal welfare particularly with respect to farm livestock but also in regards to trade in wildlife both dead and alive and we must not forget the domestic animals in our homes.
The push for improved animal welfare must be relentless because there is an inherent problem with humankind which is that the human species regards itself as far more intelligent than nonhuman animals and therefore they feel that they can use animals to their advantage. A superiority in respect of intelligence or rational thought (which may not actually apply judging by the behaviour of a lot of humans) does not provide humankind with a passport to abuse and use animals. I have written about this so if you are interested you might either click on this link. It’s about the woke movement and speciesism. An unusual topic!
Returning to Australia’s banking companies, we can see that Bank Australia tops the charts in terms of being aware of animal welfare and ensuring that they at least in some ways promote it. They are the only bank in this list that does not finance intensive farming. That’s obviously a very positive review but shocking at the same time because all the rest of them do finance the intensive farming industry or have allowed themselves the freedom to do so.
The worst bank in the list is the Arab Bank Australia which is equal to both the Commonwealth Bank and the ANZ bank. All three are in the same bracket as the worst in Australia with respect animal welfare based on this chart.
Animal Australia tell us that collectively the National Australia Bank, ANZ, and CBA (presumed to be the Commonwealth Bank) support more than 80 percent of live export companies in Australia. Your savings in these banks supports animal suffering and you might wish, therefore, to review the situation.
Six banks in Australia do not have an animal welfare policy namely Westpac, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, AMP, HSBC, or Suncorp. These banks could finance the export of live animals whenever they choose to.
Animal Australia remind us that customers of banks can influence their policies with respect to animal welfare. They simply have to pull their accounts and go somewhere else. I know that this is troublesome but ultimately it is customers who have the power to change things. It just takes a bit of time, an awareness of animal welfare issues and the commitment to do something about it.
SOME PAGES ON ANIMAL WELFARE:
