Gippy Goat Cafe closes amid constant vegan activist abuse
GIPPY Goat Cafe will close — for the last time — within hours, with the owners blaming “constant harassment” by “abusive vegan activists”.
GIPPY Goat Cafe will close — for the last time — within hours, with the owners blaming “constant harassment” by “abusive vegan activists”.
Announcing their decision, the owners said closing the cafe, at Yarragon, “was not an easy decision”, but added: “We do not have the heart to continue”.
GIPPY GOAT ACTIVIST FINED $1 STILL DOES NOT NEED PIC
ACTIVIST FINED $1 FOR BIOSECURITY BREACH
‘GIPPY GOAT’ STOLEN FOR SECOND TIME
It comes just weeks after The Weekly Times revealed an activist was fined just $1 for breaking biosecurity laws after stealing livestock from the Gippsland farm.
Owner John Gommans said while the farming operation will continue, the cafe — a hotspot for both locals and tourists — was “no longer a good and safe venue for staff”.
“The staff have been telling us they get phone calls every day (from vegans),” he told The Weekly Times.
“One (staff member) said one in every two calls were people saying how bad we were as employers, how our staff should go get a better job and what terrible people we are, and that we kill animals because we serve meat.”
Mr Gommans said after 70 activists stormed his farm in December, stealing three goats and a lamb, the “harassment never stopped” and included significant negative publicity on online review sites and social media.
Mr Gommans said he and his wife Penny had been speaking with staff regarding the closure for at least a month, and while the eight staff who will lose their jobs were “fully informed”, they were of course disappointed.
He said the harassment had also taken a toll on customers and the success of the business.
“Anyone who posted something on Instagram or Facebook sharing how they enjoyed the day and how their grandchildren played with the animals … we saw on numerous occasions people withdrew their posts because they didn’t want to be attacked,” he said.
Mr Gommans announced the closure today on Facebook, saying “society is the loser”.
“The anonymous bullies, hypocrites, law breakers and self-professed paragons of moral and social justice have won,” he wrote.
“Please know that your ignorant indignation, lust for outrage and the false reality you inhabit through your social media streams will prevent you from effecting any positive societal change — only harm to real human beings — and you only have yourselves to thank.”
A parliamentary petition launched recently by Mr Gommans, sponsored by Eastern Victoria state Nationals MP Melina Bath, to shut down the controversial Aussie Farms map and implement stronger trespass laws to protect farms against animal activist invasions has racked up nearly 2000 signatures.
Ms Bath will table Mr Gommans’ petition in parliament after it closes in June.
The petition is available here.
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