1. Precinct2 Precinct 3
New Bill divides animal
activists & pet store ownersEllie Bayliss
Pet shop owners are sceptical about a new
law limiting the display of animals in pet stores,
believing that it will not stop abandonment.The
Animals (Regulation of Sale) Bill, which was
introduced into state parliament, proposed cats
& dogs could only be bought from registered
breeders, pounds, shelters or vets.
Animal rights activists believe that pet shops
promote impulse buying and irresponsible
breeding for profit, which contribute to
abandonment. RSPCA manager Vicki Beer said
the main problem driving abandonment was the
cost of caring for a pet,“a lot of breeders don’t
micro-chip, de-sex or vaccinate their puppies so
when the owner realises how expensive it is to
keep the dog, they abandon them,” she said. Ms
Beer also said that pet stores were being unfairly
targeted. “There is no way of actually knowing
where these abandoned dogs are coming from.”
The demand for pets is declining, according to
Chief Executive of the Pet Industry Association
of Australia, Colin Bransgrove.“There has been a
significant drop in the number of cats and dogs
that are sold through pet stores,” he said.
Mr Bransgrove said the bill would only
promote further abandonment. He said,“the bill
will only stimulate trade through mediums like
the internet which is worse because the owner
can’t see and interact with the animal. What
happens then is they become dissatisfied if the
cute little puppy in the picture turns out to be
a menace”.
Manager of pet shop Dog Vouge in Manly
and Bondi Junction, Margaret Hennessy said,
“the whole industry needs more regulation”.
However she believes that the Bill is far too
generalised, as pet abandonment could not only
be tied to impulse buying from pet stores.
Entertainment & Lifestyle
What started as an exhibition in
Berlin is now a travelling message of
world peace, writes Maureen Lam
S
tanding at two metres tall and weighing 50
kilograms, more than a hundred bears have
enjoyed breathtaking views of the Sydney
Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
As a world-renowned exhibition, United Buddy
Bears presents a collection of 124 life-sized bears,
each representing a member of the United Nations. They
have been distinctively painted in the spirit of the artist’s
country of origin.
The troupe of Buddy Bears arrived in Sydney directly from
South Korea. Up to one million people have visited the free
exhibition during its four-week stay in Sydney.
Stefan Kirschner, an executive at Hamburg Süd, one of
the companies that co-organised the Sydney tour, believes
despite the slight modification, the display was still a
wonderful way of promoting world harmony.
“I think this concept and the way they’ve put it together
is a great effort which shows the people in the world that
even if you are from Israel, Iran or Iraq,” he said, “you can
have bears next to each other, paw in paw so why have all
this fighting in the world?”
Deputy Consulate General of Germany, Dr
Claus Peter Woerner also shares this view. Speaking
at the official Sydney launch he reflected upon
how the exhibition celebrated cultural tolerance.
“Whilst all Buddy Bears are different, they all share
the same form, emphasising that we all belong and
live in the same world.”
What has essentially become an exhibition promoting
cultural individuality and international understanding has also
become a way of raising funds for charity.
Since its inaugural tour of Berlin in 2003, the display of
bears have generated an excess of $1.8 million for the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other local
children’s organisations. Money is raised through public
donations, fundraising activities and also by auctioning off
bears that enter retirement.
The United Buddy Bears concept was created in 2002
by German couple, Eva and Klaus Herlitz. They originally
planned to keep the tour limited to Berlin, Mr Kirschner said
it was only a matter of coincidence which saw the project
expand overseas.
“Jackie Chan was filming the movie, Around the World
in 80 Days in Berlin at the same time as the exhibit and
he somehow got all these bears and he loved them,” Mr
Kirschner said.“So he spoke to Dr Herlitz and his wife and
said, ‘Look you can’t just have the exhibits here in Berlin, I
want them to come to Hong Kong’. ”
Since this exchange, the United Buddy Bears has been on
a whirlwind tour which has taken it to cities such as Kitzbühel,
Seoul and Istanbul, with eight million people worldwide
having already viewed the display.
Balmain resident Susan Kirby took her young daughter to
seen the exhibit. She said the newly unveiled Australian bear
was a sentimental favourite.
Painted by Ken Done, the Australian bear captures the
colour and excitement of the Sydney’s famous New Year’s
Eve fireworks display. Since Australia’s previous bear entered
its early retirement and was auctioned off, Done’s bear has
become the official Buddy Bear representing the country.
Mr Kirschner said organisers are currently trying to
arrange stopover in Athens, Los Angeles, Cape Town, Addis
Ababa, Buenos Aires and Amman.
“It’s very much depending on how the city and how the
country is lobbying for a stopover. I think nowadays it would
be much more difficult to actually get even an opportunity
to become involved because it has become very popular.”
Buddy Bears
touchdown
in Sydney
Yasmin Parry
A recent study from the the University
of Sydney has found that managers
hiring staff in Sydney’s fashion retail
stores consider physical appearance
significantly more important than
previous experience or qualifications.
The survey, conducted by Professor
Richard Hall, included almost 200
Sydney fashion stores.
The findings have prompted Professor
Hall to question whether laws preventing
appearance-based discrimination should
be instated in New South Wales. He
said,“people who may well be very well
equipped and very able to do the jobs
are missing out because employers are
simply hiring on the basis of looks.”
When asked what was important
when hiring new staff, 97% of surveyed
store mangers said the right personality,
85% said the right appearance, and 78%
said previous experience, while just 44%
said the right qualifications. Hall said
that while the results aren’t surprising,
“it’s a problematic introduction to
the labour market for many young
workers if they’re missing out on those
opportunities because they’re not
sufficiently good looking,” Hall said.
Sarah Fox, manager of Paul & Joe, a
high-fashion clothing store in Paddington
said that physical appearance often
trumps other qualities including
personality and style when she hires
new staff. “People are going to walk
into the store and see the product
on a person. They don’t want to see
it on somebody that is obviously not
making it look good,” Ms. Fox said.
“I wouldn’t employ a girl who
was a size 14 or 16 because she
wouldn’t fit the clothing.There’s
not any point of having her in the
store trying to sell something that
she can’t wear herself.”
Current New South Wales laws only
go so far as to prevent discrimination
on the basis of such factors as race,
sex, gender, age and disability. Professor
Hall said that even if the laws included
discrimination based on appearance,
employers would probably not change
their hiring patterns. However he said,“it
certainly would have an indirect effect in
terms of raising the consciousness both
of employers and job seekers around
their rights around employer obligations
and responsibilities”.
Anya Prive, a retail assistant at Gucci’s
Sydney store said she would support
new laws preventing discrimination
based on appearance. “It’s definitely a
great idea. I know quite a few people
that didn’t get retail jobs just because
they didn’t fit in with the story or ideal
of the brand”, Ms. Prive said.
ButThea Manning, who has worked at
David Jones in the Sydney CBD for three
years, said it’s the nature of the industry
and young workers should understand
the type of job they’re getting into.
“If you want to work in a clothes store,
you have to realise they are presenting
their aesthetic to the community,” Ms.
Manning said.
In fashion retail, looks matter
Australia’s Buddy Bear represents the famous Sydney NewYear’s fireworks
The Animals Bill aims to reduce pet adandonment
Study shows that Sydney’s retail sector is almost as vain as fashion runaways
A sleuth of Buddy Bears converge at Sydney‘s harbour for funraising and world peace.
Photocredit:LindaSoo