‘F*** you’: Group of teenagers target vegan activist Tash Peterson’s Perth home

Dozens of teenagers, some wearing balaclavas, have allegedly targeted a well-known vegan activist, hurling offensive slurs outside her Perth home.

A well-known animal-rights activist has been repeatedly targeted by groups of teenagers at her home.

Footage shows some dressed in balaclavas allegedly loitering outside her Perth home, hurling offensive slurs, labelling the campaigner a “b*tch” and “s**t.”.

Tash Peterson – who has garnered national attention for her “disruptive protests” designed to raise awareness about animal exploitation – claimed dozens of youth have engaged in knock-and-run pranks outside her home in recent months, with some loitering outside her house for hours at a time.

Taking to Instagram, the 31-year-old shared footage of an incident in October involving a group of “20 to 30” young males, dressed in black and white hoodies and one in a face mask, who gathered on the street near her home.

“F*** you old lady,” one male appears to yell in the video, while the others watch on and smile.

In a separate clip, the group yell more slurs before eventually fleeing down the street, including one a bicycle and another on a scooter.

Tash Peterson said she has been targeted by dozens of young people in recent months. Picture: Instagram

She shared footage of a group yelling slurs at her on the street. Picture: Instagram@tashpeterson

It’s not the first time the activist has been targeted in such attacks.

Speaking to news.com.au, Peterson said her while most incidents have been “relatively harmless”, on this occasion it escalated to an “alarming level of aggression and intimidation”.

“A large group of teenagers — approximately 20 to 30 of them — gathered outside my home, many wearing balaclavas. They loitered in my street for hours, acting in a threatening and disgusting manner,” she said.

“Some individuals aggressively kicked my garage door while yelling slurs such as ‘Come out, you slut’ and ‘stupid b****’ among other vile comments.”

The group loitered outside her home for hours. Picture: Instagram@tashpeterson

They eventually ran away down the street, Picture: Instagram@tashpeterson

In a separate clip, Peterson shared footage of two young males dressed in back, standing near her home as they appear to look directly at her.

At one point, one of the males, dressed in a hoodie and face mask, walks over to a car parked on the property.

“You can hear them kicking the garage in this clip,” she captioned the video.

The 31-year-old said the recent incident became so bad she called police who claimed “nothing could be done”.

“I notified the police and provided clear footage of the individuals involved. However, I was later informed that it was unlikely any action would be taken,” she told news.com.au.

Teenage thugs target notorious vegan activist. Picture: Instagram@tashpeterson

Taking matters into her own hands, Peterson said she contacted local schools and was able to identify the students who, she was told, would receive “appropriate punishment” and have their parents notified.

“While I appreciate the school’s co-operation, it is deeply concerning that the authorities responsible for protecting the community continue to dismiss serious incidents of harassment and threats.”

Peterson claimed the incidents are “part of a disturbing trend of hostility I have faced for my activism”.

“Earlier this year, a group of over one hundred individuals publicly threatened to come to my home and hold a barbecue of murdered animals on my property.”

Peterson and boyfriend ordered to pay $300K for defaming Perth vet

Peterson last month was ordered to pay almost $300,000 in damages after she filmed herself accusing a veterinarian of “eating [her] own patients” Perth.

Peterson had confronted the owner of a Perth vet clinic in September 2021 over what she deemed to be the “enslaving” of two pet birds that lived inside the business, in an encounter filmed by her partner Jack Higgs.

That video and a caption accompanying it were published to Peterson’s popular Facebook page, sparking a chain of events that left owner Dr Kay McIntosh and her husband Andrew, who run Bicton Veterinary Clinic, deeply distraught, the West Australian Supreme Court heard.

Tash Peterson and her boyfriend Jack Higgs. Picture: Facebook

The post attracted “many thousands” of views and likes and was shared widely, with users from across the country adding their own damaging commentary.

In his Judgement, Supreme Court Chief Justice Peter Quinlan found Peterson and her partner Jack Higgs published defamatory claims.

The video and its publication on Facebook left Dr McIntosh “deeply affected”, with the implication she abused animals, from a hypocrite, and ate pets causing deep distress.

Peterson and Higgs were ordered to pay some $280,000 in damages.

“Disruptive protects”

Peterson became a vegan in 2017 after watching a documentary called Food Choices, before meeting Higgs, a fellow animal rights activist, in 2019.

Tash Peterson protests in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

The 31-year-old with a friend during a separate protest. Picture: Instagram

A few years later, she began engaging in “disruptive protests” that were often filmed and shared across various social media accounts. She has dressed in a cow costume to protest at fast food restaurants, donned bloodied clothes while brandishing a severed pug’s head, stormed stores with a lamb carcass, and worn lingerie while smeared with blood while walking into high-end retailers, among other stunts.

Peterson’s main source of income comes from two OnlyFans accounts, which totalled some $383,000 in 2021-22.

She previously worked as swimming teacher and lifeguard.

News.com.au contacted WA Police for comment; however, it was unable to assist with inquiries.