ANIMAL
DEFENDERS
OFFICE
Go Team ADO!
Team ADO is on track for 2025!
TEAM ADO is gearing up for the
Canberra Times
Marathon Festival
on
Sunday 13 April 2025
#Run #Sweat #Challenge #Inspire🧡
On Sunday 13 April 2025 Team ADO will take part in the Canberra Times Marathon Festival in Canberra, the tenth annual fun run we've participated in since our centre began.
If you'd like to join Team ADO you can register here:
https://tinyurl.com/39ax9v9t
All ages, paces, and distances welcome!
The Team ADO 'base' will have vegan refreshments throughout the morning😋
Team ADO disappointed at use of petting zoo at 2017 Canberra Times Fun Run
We were very disappointed to see a petting zoo as part of the so-called ‘family entertainment’ at the 2017 Canberra Times Fun Run.
There are significant animal welfare concerns associated with petting zoos, which confine very young and vulnerable animals in small areas for human‑animal interactions.
The ADO sent a letter to the race organisers setting out our concerns. You can find our letter here.
Three-week-old baby goat at the 2017 Canberra Times Fun Run
In their response, race organisers politely dismissed our concerns.
In January 2018 we drew the organisers' attention to the decision by the University of Canberra not to use petting zoos at its student events due to animal welfare concerns. The University's decision was fully supported by RSPCA ACT.
Read about the University of Canberra's decision as (ironically) reported in the Canberra Times here.
In our latest communication we urged race organisers to consider forms of entertainment that do not cause distress to animals by being ‘touched, handled and loomed over by many people at once’ (quoting RSPCA ACT).
As far as we are aware, the Australian Running Festival does not use petting zoos at its events.
