Vegan protests: Scott Morrison says animal activists are ‘green-collared’ criminals

Protesters have targeted Scott Morrison during a speech after the PM blasted vegan activists as “green-collared criminals” for targeting farmers and causing traffic chaos.

Protesters have targeted Scott Morrison during a speech after the Prime Minister blasted “green-collared criminals” attacking farmers and producers this morning.

Mr Morrison was targeted by ‘Stop Adani’ anti-coal activists while giving a speech in Brisbane today.

He was interupted multiple times, with security having to drag one activist off stage.

Earlier, Mr Morrison said “green-collared criminals” should face the “full force of the law” after vegan protesters caused traffic chaos in Melbourne and a second group chained themselves to a machinery in a Queensland abattoir to disrupt meat production.

The latest protests follow a string of incidents where activists have targeted private farms after an “attack map” of farm addresses was posted online by the ‘Aussie Farms’ activist group.

“I think state and territory governments should ensure the full force of the law is brought against these green coloured criminals,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Brisbane this morning.

He slammed the protesters for targeting drought or flood-affected farmers, graziers and pastoralists who were “going through some of the hardest conditions we have seen in this country for more than a century”.

“I also say this, if there are pastoralists, farmers, graziers that are in a position to bring a civil action against these groups, looking to undermine their livelihood, the Commonwealth is totally open to supporting them in a test case to show these green criminals,” Mr Morrison said.

Police move in to remove vegan protestors who had been blocking the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street Melbourne in support of animal rights. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Animal rights protesters march through the business district in Sydney. Picture: AAP

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says vegan activists who break into farms should expect to be “arrested, handcuffed and taken away”.

The Minister released a statement this morning saying he had “no problem” with vegans but warned any protesters who invaded farms or production facilities, that they would face “enormous fines”.

“If the aim was to stop traffic they’ve succeeded, but if the aim was to convert Australians to veganism today then these people did huge damage to their cause,” Mr Littleproud said.

“Fair minded Australians find this behaviour extreme.”

He called for calm amid concerns clashes could turn violent but added: “Invading people’s properties is not the Australian way.”

“If I broke into a suburban house in Melbourne or Sydney, I’d expect to be arrested, handcuffed and taken away,” Mr Littleproud said. “Breaking into a farm should be no different.”

He called on states to beef up trespass laws so serious penalties applied for invading farms, noting the federal government had already brought the Aussie Farms’ ‘attack map’ under privacy law.

“I have no problem with any person’s choice to be vegan - vegans eat plenty of farm produce too - but making farmers scared of property invasions and stopping honest people getting to work shows no respect and wins no friends,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Morrison called the activists “un-Australian”.

“It is shameful, it is un-Australian,” Mr Morrison told 2GB radio.

“This is just another form of activism that I think runs against the national interest, and the national interest is being able to farm their own land.”

The Morrison government has put the Aussie Farms website under privacy laws, exposing it to much tougher penalties for refusing to take down the map.

Police move in to remove vegan protestors who had been blocking the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street Melbourne in support of animal rights. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Mr Morrison’s comments come after animal rights activists staged protests across Australia in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

Animal rights protesters were arrested and dragged into police vans after blocking a major Melbourne CBD intersection.

More than 100 activists are chanting: “what do we want? Animal liberation — now!” with some sitting on tram tracks near the Flinders-Swanston St intersection.

Protesters held signs that said: “This is a peaceful protest” and “SOS animal emergency climate emergency”.

Vegan protesters at MC Herd in Geelong. Picture: Alan Barber

Animal rights protesters march through the business district in Sydney. Picture: AAP

One man started jumping up and down before being detained by five police officers.

The action caused traffic chaos during the morning peak.

Some protesters chained themselves to vans, draped in black and emblazoned with the web address of a vegan documentary, that were parked in the middle of the intersection.

The vans have now been towed.

Nine arrested as part of a militant vegan protest at Goulburn abattoir. Picture: Facebook

Protests were also under way at abattoirs in Corio, Pakenham and Bacchus Marsh.

Organiser and director of animal rights documentary, Dominion, Chris Delforce, said Monday’s protest marked one year since his film’s release.

He laughed off Mr Morrison’s suggestion the protests occurring across the country were “un-Australian”.

“I think most Australians are opposed to animal cruelty,” he said.

“The industry is telling people these animals are being killed ethically, that they are being killed humanely — the reality is ... it’s the furthest thing from humane.,” Mr Delforce told AAP.

— with AAP

Originally published as Vegan protests: Scott Morrison says animal activists are ‘green-collared’ criminals