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Meat-loving Aussies hit back at animal rights protests

Backlash at animal activists following a nationwide protest against abattoirs and farms.

Jessica Cortis and Remy Varga
5 min read
9:20AMApril 08, 2019.
Updated 7:43PMApril 08, 2019
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Activists have stopped traffic in Melbourne's busy CBD. Picture: 3AW/Twitter
Activists have stopped traffic in Melbourne's busy CBD. Picture: 3AW/Twitter

A mass of meat-loving Australians have hit back at animal activists online following a nationwide protest against abattoirs and farms which saw more than 47 protesters arrested.

Trolls took to social media to post pictures of their lunch time steaks, claiming they would continue to eat a Big Mac burger for every day they were delayed by ongoing animal protests.

At a protest in Melbourne’s CBD, one man waved a packet of sausages at the vegan protesters yelling “what do we want? Animal immigration. When do we want it? Now.”

Another man posted to Twitter saying “I was going to have a salad for lunch, instead, directly due to the #vegan terrorists in Melbourne today, I’m having a juicy beef burger — with extra bacon.”

Vegan activists are unlikely to billed for the heavy police presence after their protest, causing widespread chaos for commuters on their way to work.

Police have now charged 39 people, including a 15-year-old and two 17-year-olds, after protesters blocked off the busy intersection at Swanston St and Flinders St.

Activists did not forewarn police of their protest, which meant officers were diverted from other frontline duties.

North West Metro Region Superintendent David Clayton said the protesters were unlikely to foot the bill for the heavy police presence, which included officers from the public order response team, because the protest wasn’t a commercial venture.

“We will look at it, but I’ll suggest the circumstances are not such that it's a commercial event that we’re able to bill people for,” he said.

“We’ll look at what legal authority we have but I would suggest in these circumstances it’s highly unlikely.”

The activists held placards advertising the documentary Dominion and the hashtag #WeWillRiseTogether. The film was also advertised by a large banner attached to the side of the vehicles used to block traffic this morning. The documentary’s director Chris Delforce organised the protest.

Controversial alt-right speakers Milo Yiannopoulos and Lauren Southern were billed by Victoria Police after protesters targeted their speaking events in Melbourne.

Sup Clayton made the point that there are five trauma hospitals within Melbourne’s CBD and said ambulances had to take alternative routes because of the protest.

“A peaceful protest is a protest which has no impact on the broader community, does not disrupt the transport services, does not disrupt the services in the CBD,” he said.

“There are five major trauma hospitals in the CBD, ambulances needed to be rerouted because the intersection had been closed.”

Police are continuing to monitor an active protest at Melbourne Aquarium and earlier today broke up similar protests at Bacchus Marsh, Laverton North, Pakenham and Corio.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison slammed animal activist protests being staged across three states as “shameful” and “un-Australian”.

Activists have chained themselves to equipment in abattoirs and farms at protests in NSW, Victoria and Queensland to mark the one-year anniversary since the release of Australian animal rights documentary, Dominion.

Vegan protesters block the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street Melbourne in support of animal rights. Picture: Andrew Henshaw
Vegan protesters block the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street Melbourne in support of animal rights. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“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,” Mr Morrison said on 2GB.

“It is shameful, it is un-Australian.”

The protests were organised by multiple activist groups and led by the documentary makers.

Director of the Dominion documentary, Chris Delforce hit back at Mr Morrison saying it was animal cruelty that was un-Australian.

“I think animal cruelty is un-Australian,” he said. “These businesses depend on animal cruelty, depend on secret. I don’t think they align with Australian values,” Mr Delforce said.

He said it was time for an “informed national conversation” about what Australians were doing to animals.

“These industries should not be able to continue operating in secrecy while hiding behind effectively meaningless buzzwords like ‘ethical’, ‘humane’ and ‘free-range’,” Mr Delforce said.

Dozens of activists chained themselves to the van in Melbourne and held black signs reading “This is a peaceful protest” and “You have been lied to” as well as signs urging people to watch the documentary.

Police have forcibly removed protesters and uncut them from their chains, with one officer telling a protester to “be a man”.

A young girl wearing gold hoops was screaming “they’re being arrested for standing up for the vulnerable.”

Meanwhile officers from the public order response team dragged individual protesters from the cluster they have formed, arresting a van full of people.

Nine people aged between 21 and 61 were also arrested at a Goulburn abattoir in NSW shortly after 2.30am this morning and had to be forcibly removed from the premises by police after they chained themselves to abattoir equipment.

Dozens of protesters and another van promoting the animal rights documentary was also seen blocking the entrance to an abattoir near Geelong in Melbourne.

Militant vegan group Aussie Farms said the protests against abattoirs and farms across the country would show “people around the world … that our work for animal rights is no longer a minority grassroots movement but instead a rapidly growing phenomenon that can’t be stopped,” they said in a Facebook post.

Police carry away individual protesters who have clustered themselves in the middle of the Melbourne CBD intersection. Picture: Remy Varga
Police carry away individual protesters who have clustered themselves in the middle of the Melbourne CBD intersection. Picture: Remy Varga

Aussie Farms instructed protesters to turn up to Hyde Park in Sydney’s CBD this morning with a “full tank of fuel” and comfortable shoes where they are said to be heading out to farms across the state.

In a letter addressed to state and federal agriculture departments, the makers of the documentary called on ministers to publicly commit to adding a screening of the documentary to the school curriculum and add warning labels to animal products advising of the ethical, health and environmental issues of the product.

Animal activists chain themselves to equipment at Carey Brothers meatworks in Yangan, Queensland.
Animal activists chain themselves to equipment at Carey Brothers meatworks in Yangan, Queensland.

In Queensland, activists chained themselves to equipment at Carey Brothers meatworks in Yangan and a number of other abattoirs across the state.

“They demanded three sheep before they would leave the premises. Disappointingly their demands were met and they exited,” Green Shirts Movement QLD, who is monitoring the protests, said on Facebook.

Detective Inspector Cameron Whiteside of the Rural Crime Prevention Team, said farmers should review their security, including signage and biosecurity.

Vegan protesters block the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street Melbourne in support of animal rights. Picture: Andrew Henshaw
Vegan protesters block the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street Melbourne in support of animal rights. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

The protests come a day after a Gippsland goat farm cafe was forced to cease trading in a separate incident. The owners said they feared for their health and safety from “abusive vegan activists”.

“Our staff and customers have been subjected to nearly four months of constant harassment, vile statements and threats from the abusive vegan activists,” the owners said in a Facebook post last night.

The current locations of the protests include AFG pig abattoir in Melbourne, Goulburn abattoir in NSW, Carey Bros house in Warwick QLD, Westside Meats abattoir in Bacchus Marsh Victoria and MC Herd abattoir in Geelong.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/activists-bring-melbourne-cbd-intersection-to-a-standstill/news-story/b4c85916e55714f37750e6d7dedd2db9