Animal rights activists warn farms campaign ‘will never end’

UNREPENTANT animal activists have warned they will keep trespassing to take animals from farms until “everyone is vegan”.

A rambling collective of activists, who meet through secretive Facebook groups, have been targeting Victorian farmers.

There has even been a website set up where the personal details of thousands of farmers have been uploaded with vigilantes encouraged to visit and film alleged animal cruelty.

But an outraged Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said the activists had gone too far and it was time for the courts and politicians to stop them.

“Why should farmers have to put up with this? The police need to be directed that this is a serious matter,” he said.

“The reality is that people should be allowed to eat whatever they choose.”

A string of activist groups, including Direct Action Everywhere and Melbourne Cow Save have stepped up their protests in recent months.

Cara Garrett, 24, a vegan in an underground “leaderless” group that targets Victorian farms, was fined $1 in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court this month for removing an identification tag from a goat stolen from a Gippsland farm.

Ms Garrett, who avoided conviction, said she would do it again.

“I will definitely continue raising awareness of animal exploitation, I’m not going to stop until everyone is vegan,” she said.

“It’s a human rights issue as well because people believe animal exploitation is acceptable.

Direct Action Everywhere and Melbourne Cow Save targeted diners at the Rare Steakhouse in Melbourne last year, shouting at them with a megaphone over their meals.