ANIMAL GROUP BARRED FROM SYDNEY MARDI GRAS

An animal rights group's application to take part in the upcoming Sydney Mardi Gras Parade has been rejected because the organisation "isn't queer enough".

SX Magazine reports that Animal Liberation NSW (ALNSW) was refused entry to a float in the famous parade, taking place on 27 February, despite sending in its application two weeks before the closing date.

Organisers apparently left a voicemail message telling the organisation that it did not fit the criteria for eligibility. The group even changed its name to Sydney Queers for Animal Rights and resubmitted its application, only to b be rejected again.

"We feel marginalised and discriminated against, and that's really quite distressing, especially coming from Mardi Gras, which is all about making a stand against discrimination," ALNSW Communications Manager Lynda Stoner told SX.

The group has taken part in the parade for the past 13 years without any problems and most of the organisation’s participants at the event have been gay. In 2006, its float was chosen as one the "most creative" by the parade’s organisers.

“We’re really, really disappointed. In fact, I’m just gobsmacked," Stoner said.

Animal Liberation, founded in 1976, says that it works "to end the suffering of exploited and confined animals through legislation, consumer advocacy, actions and humane education".

Mardi Gras organisers have thus far refused to comment.