Recently in the news we heard about new fines coming into place for animal activists that break into farms and slaughter houses that could include hefty jail time as well as a very expensive fine.
Activism in Australia is becoming a ‘problem’ for farmers who say that their farms are suffering from thousands of dollars worth of damages as well as having their reputation tarnished online which is losing them sales and business.
Many of the farmers believe that activists are showcasing only the most extreme cases which are very isolated incidents and want to voice their story to the people of Australia and the world on exactly what they do to ‘care’ for their livestock.
The state of Victoria has agreed to publicly fund $710,000 to the campaign as well as funding an extra $190,000 to the Victorian Farmers Federation to support and work with the farmers affected by farm invasions and to better help counter animal activists.
They believe the campaign will help to combat the messages that activists are putting out to people on social media and online which they believe to be untrue.
Jaclyn Symes was quoted talking to The Weekly Times saying that they “are casting a view of the whole industry off isolated incidents” however we have seen more than a handful isolated incidents that have happened this year alone which showcase that they are not a rare sight and more of a common incident in todays world.
Animal agricultural in Australia is huge with the industry for 2017–18 being estimated at $65.7 billion! A lot of businesses in Australia are cattle farms due to their vast land and good climate year round its seen as a ‘easy moneymaker’ for many.
The Victorian Farmers Federation wants to work with police and farmers to counter animal activists as well as better inform them on what to do during an invasion as well as make sure everyone is up to speed on the laws and regulations surrounding them.
Activism can be very important in showcasing what farms are doing behind closed doors and for prosecuting the farms that are breaking the law, the farms would still be getting away with this had the activists not invaded some farms however this is not the opinion of all vegans as some believe it is still against the law and should not be promoted.
Janet Rice who is the Victoria Greens Senator was quoted saying that it was “sometimes necessary” for activists to break the law with her full quote reading
Civil disobedience is sometimes necessary to expose cruel and illegal practices
Many meat eating citizens of Australia have converted to a plant based diet following watching the footage of the farms who are breaking the law.
We would love to know what you think about these new fines and jail penalties which will come into place in Australia next year as well as the funding which has been very generously provided to farmers.
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