Dear Supporters,

As we wrap up 2025, one thing stands out. This community showed up for animals again and again.

This year has not been easy. Animals are still treated as “resources”, industries still fight to protect profit, and governments still move too slowly. But across NSW, our members, supporters, volunteers, working groups and regional groups refused to give up and it changed the course for animals.

Just recently, many of us came together to celebrate that collective strength at our AJP NSW End of Year Members Meeting and Celebration. It was an uplifting afternoon of connection, reflection and renewed purpose. Fighting for animals takes resilience, compassion and community and that’s exactly what we saw in the room.

🎥 Watch the celebration reel here

We loved hearing from our MP Emma Hurst as she reflected on this year’s wins and shared a powerful vision for 2026. A huge thank-you as well to Funky Pies Bondi and Compassion Creamery for the incredible vegan food that made the celebration even brighter.

Some other highlights from just this past month captured what this movement looks like in action. The Young Animal Justice Party crew volunteered their time for rescue greyhounds, supporters showed up loud and proud at Nup to the Melbourne Cup in Sydney, and others took part in the People’s Blockade to challenge coal expansion and the climate harm that threatens animals and the planet.

When people show up in different ways and stand alongside each other, that collective effort creates change for animals.

Becoming a member means being part of a community that consistently turns concern into action for animals.

A special message from our MP Emma Hurst

I want to say a massive thank you to all our incredible AJP members and supporters for your dedication to animal protection throughout 2025.

This year we’ve faced some tough battles - from opposing the Shooters’ Hunting Bill, to standing against the killing of Kosciuszko brumbies, to fighting industries and governments that continue to profit from harming animals.

But together we’ve also secured enormous  wins. We passed a bill to protect animals from sexual abuse, we banned puppy farming, and we passed the milestone of more than $100 million in government funding for animals - just to name a few.

Thank you to everyone who signed a petition, attended a protest, made a submission, or wrote to your MP. And a huge thank you to our regional groups who took on their own campaigns and kept the pressure on for positive change. 

I want to give a special shout-out to our Greyhound Working Group, who secured the massive victory of ending greyhound racing at Wentworth Park. This track has long been one of the deadliest in NSW, causing injuries and deaths to so many dogs. Thanks to the tireless advocacy of this extraordinary group of volunteers, Wentworth Park will now close - saving future dogs from harm and returning this land to the community.

Their success is a powerful reminder of what our regional and working groups can achieve. A small, determined group of individuals can truly change the world for animals.

I hope you all have a safe and happy festive season. I’m looking forward to working with you all in 2026 - my final year in Parliament before the next NSW election - as we continue pushing for major progress for animals.

If you’ve ever thought about becoming a member, this is one of the most impactful moments to do it.

Without enough members across the state, the truth is we lose strength and animals lose the only political voice dedicated solely to their protection.

🌟 Big Events Coming in Early 2026
Mark your calendars!

Before we dive into the full wrap up for 2025, here are two exciting events we’d love you to join us at:

📅 Fair Day 2026 – Sunday 15 February

One of our biggest community days of the year. We’ll be there with a vibrant stall, meeting people, sharing our message of kindness, and growing momentum for animals.

📅 Animal Rights Forum 2026 – 21 & 22 February

A major gathering of animal advocates and campaigners, featuring Animal Justice Party MPs Emma Hurst and Amanda Dorn discussing recent wins for animals, the challenges they have faced and their work in Parliament.

We’d love to see you there!

2025 Wrapped Up For Animals 🐾

You helped make history for greyhounds

After years of petitions, emails, rallies, submissions and relentless pressure, the NSW Government announced that greyhound racing at Wentworth Park will end. The lease will expire in 2027, the track will be demolished, and the site will become community sport and green space - not a place of gambling harm, injury and death for dogs.

Every petition you signed, every email you sent, every rally you joined and every conversation you had about greyhound racing helped push this over the line. Wentworth Park proves something powerful. If a 90-year-old track can fall, the whole industry can fall.

The newly released Drake Inquiry report confirms what animal advocates have long known. This industry cannot keep dogs safe. With that confirmation now public, the balance has shifted and the pressure to end greyhound racing in NSW has intensified.

Your efforts drove global change for kangaroos

After years of campaigning, protests and petitions, Adidas officially ended the use of kangaroo leather in its sports shoes, joining other major brands in stepping away from this brutal industry.

Members and supporters across NSW and around the world took action - from street protests and outreach to online organising and petitions targeting company leadership. This year also saw more brands commit to dropping kangaroo skin, and Emma took the fight from Parliament all the way to international decision-makers.

You helped pull the commercial slaughter of kangaroos out of the shadows and onto the global stage.

You spoke up for so many, including marine animals, wildlife and farmed animals

Across the year, your actions stacked up ✨

• You protected blue gropers. More than 5,900 people signed a petition after the killing of Gus, and when protections were at risk of ending, over 1,100 letters went to the Minister. That pressure secured a three-year-ban on all blue groper fishing.
  
  
• You helped push back on shark nets. From beach outreach to petitions and letters, hundreds of people contacted councils and MPs, helping secure key council votes against shark nets and supporting trials of safer, non-lethal alternatives.
  
  
• You helped deliver more than 10,000 signatures to free hens from battery cages. Across NSW, people held signs, started conversations and asked strangers to care about hens hidden from view. That collective effort pushed the petition past its goal and put the issue directly in front of the government.

• You defended the live sheep export ban. As the Federal Election loomed and some parties promised to overturn the phase-out, AJP supporters stood up to protect this hard-won ban on one of the cruellest trades in the world.
  
  
• You fought the dangerous Hunting Bill. Over 1,000 people wrote to their MPs to oppose handing over vast areas of public land to recreational hunting. That pressure stalled the Bill, pushed it into an inquiry and weakened support. It resurfaced later in the year and Emma is continuing to fight it.
  

When you zoom out, the year’s work speaks for itself. This community commits and it leaves a mark.

You stood up for animals in the political space

This year, AJP NSW ran in federal and local elections, giving voters a voice for animals on the ballot. Volunteers handed out how-to-votes, letterboxed, had conversations at pre-poll and on election day.

Behind the scenes, members and supporters also helped shape formal submissions and local actions on:

• • Feedlots and intensive farming
  • Kangaroo culls and habitat destruction
  • Aerial deer shooting in the Royal National Park
  • Companion animals, pounds and housing insecurity
  • Shark net policy and marine life protection
  • Thoroughbred racing and industry welfare failures
  • Licences to kill native animals and the lack of oversight in wildlife harm
  • Reindeer in shopping centres and used as live Christmas displays

The submissions, complaints and letters from this community backed Emma’s work in Parliament and showed decision-makers that animal issues are a genuine political concern.

Our regional groups and young advocates strengthening the movement for animals

While a lot was happening in Parliament and in the media, our Regional Groups and Young Animal Justice Party were out in their communities, building the kind of ground-level support that makes change possible for animals.

Across 2025, AJP groups:

• Ran regular stalls at community markets, vegan fairs and major events like Alive Festival, Dog Lovers Festival, Crows Nest Fest and the Granny Smith Festival

• Took part in Clean Up Australia Day in multiple regions, proudly wearing AJP shirts while caring for local environments

• Held trivia nights, picnics, film screenings, sanctuary volunteer days and social catch-ups to keep people connected and energised

• Protested rodeos, racing, circuses and other exploitative events, and stood up for community cats, making sure animals were not forgotten in the noise

• Started new local groups, strengthened quieter regions and saw strong growth in Young AJP participation

These are the foundation for wins like Wentworth Park and growing global pressure against the use of kangaroo skins.

Young AJP - A rising generation stepping up for animals 💖

This year has been a huge one for the Young Animal Justice Party! We launched an enthusiastic new committee and kicked off a year full of action. We rolled up our sleeves at Moo to Ewe Animal Sanctuary for a rewarding working bee, lent a hand at Greyhound Rescue, and proudly marched together at the Sydney Animal Rights March. We hosted engaging online member meetings and ran a special International Shark Day online event with marine researcher Christopher Bie. We also spoke up for animals during the federal election by handing out how-to-vote cards.

✨ A special highlight was Jessica, a Young AJP Committee member stepping up as MC for the Million Dollar Disgrace rally, powerfully amplifying the voices of animals in front of a passionate crowd.

With so much momentum and even bigger plans already taking shape for 2026, we’re excited for what’s ahead and grateful for every member who helped make 2025 such a strong year for animals.

Ending the year together – and looking ahead! ☀️

We closed out the year with our AJP NSW End of Year Members Meeting and Celebration, a chance to stop, breathe, and recognise everything this community achieved for animals, people and the planet. Emma reflected on the wins you made possible and shared a powerful vision for the next phase of this fight.

It was a reminder that together, we are building a kinder future for all.

And we’re not slowing down. Early next year, we’ll be back out in the community at major events, deepening our campaigns on greyhounds, kangaroos, shark nets, battery cages, desexing programs and more - all while gearing up for the NSW election in 2027.

Here’s how you can help, animals, people and planet 👇

Every year we move things forward. Sometimes the steps are small and sometimes they’re big, but each one shifts the course toward something better.

But animals still need more from us. If you’re able to, you can support the work ahead:

🐾 Sign up or renew your membership - so we go into the next election with as much weight as possible.

💝 Make a donation - this will be our chance to re-elect Emma and keep a strong voice for animals in Parliament. Everything we build in 2026 helps make that possible.

✨ Get involved - join a regional group, a working group, or sign up to volunteer at events.

We say it often because it’s true. Every petition you sign, every festival or market you attend, every email you share and every conversation you have all add up.

Thank you for everything you did for animals this year.
We’re so proud to stand alongside you.

We wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season! 🎄

In solidarity with all animals,

The Animal Justice Party NSW Team and NSW State Committee

Animal Justice Party NSW
nsw.animaljusticeparty.org

 Suite 55/20 Meagher St, Chippendale, NSW 2008