Tash Peterson reveals horror of attack while having dinner

The Perth local was enjoying a meal with her partner when she was suddenly struck by a stranger.

Prominent Australian vegan activist Tash Peterson has shared the terrifying moment a quiet evening meal with her boyfriend was interrupted by a violent targeted attack.

The 31-year-old Perth local and Jack Higgs were dining in the city’s party district Northbridge Friday evening when a member of the public suddenly approached her at about 7.30pm.

After asking: “Are you Tash Peterson?”, the woman threw a drink into her face before swiftly running out of the restaurant.

Security footage from inside the establishment showed Mr Higgs and Ms Peterson following the woman out of the store, where the activist said a further violent confrontation unfolded.

Tash Peterson was enjoying a meal with her partner when she was suddenly struck.

“I reacted and came out, and five people came on top of me and were ripping my hair. Jack came in to help me, and he got fu**ing punched,” she said in a video posted to her Instagram.

Speaking from hospital, she alleged the punch landed near Mr Higgs’ temple, leaving him with temporary blurred vision and headaches. He was discharged after a precautionary check-up.

“We were just in a state of shock that night,” Ms Peterson told news.com.au.

“I’m just so relieved Jack is all right now because that punch could have ended up a lot worse than it did.”

While Ms Peterson was no stranger to heated confrontations – having recently been ordered to pay $300,000 for defaming a vet – she had a strong message for people responding to her posts about the incident claiming she finally got what she “deserved”.

“I don’t advocate for violence, I do the opposite. I’m actually trying to advocate to stop violence against non-human animals,” Ms Peterson told news.com.au.

“I don’t go around assaulting people and throwing things in their faces.”

She speculated that people arguing she was getting “karma” were reacting with so much hatred “because people don’t want to face reality and be held accountable”.

“Most people would say that they’re against animal abuse and most people would be on my side if I were telling other nations to stop eating or exploiting dogs,” she said.

“But because that’s what I’m saying about other species, they don’t want to face it.”

The scary ordeal was not an isolated event, with the activist having recently had mobs of people show up at her house and inflict damage on her property.

Peterson claimed she had been assaulted countless times throughout her years of activism.

On top of that, she receives “really nasty death threats”, and has at times been “quite terrified just to be in my own home”.

Her partner got punched in the head. Picture: Instagram/tashpeterson

He was discharged after a check-up in hospital. Picture: Instagram/tashpeterson

“There are so many people out there who have so much hatred towards me that they’re willing to physically harm me, and the majority of people celebrate it,” she said.

Despite the insurmountable threats to her personal health and safety, Ms Peterson refused to be stopped or silenced.

“I’m not going to let it affect my day-to-day life,” she said.

“If people are willing to assault someone just for speaking up for animals subjected to slavery, torture, abuse and murder, it’s just a reflection of who they are.

“If they’re going to attack the messenger rather than hold accountability to their own actions, it shows who they are.

“Violence is never OK, and that’s exactly why we are animal rights activists.”

Perth Police confirmed it was “appealing for information in relation to an incident that occurred in Northbridge on Friday, 6 December 2024”.

“About 7.30pm, a woman in her 30s and a man in his 20s were seated at a restaurant on William Street in Northbridge, when an unknown person threw a can of drink at them.

“The couple went outside the restaurant where they became involved in a physical altercation with several people. During the altercation the man was punched to the face.”

Police asked for vision or information pertaining to the incident to be handed over to Crime Stoppers.

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Originally published as Tash Peterson reveals horror of attack while having dinner