Scott Morrison has called animal rights activists “un-Australian green criminals” following protests around Australia, including a major one in Melbourne which led to the arrest of 38 people.
The prime minister said Australia was prepared to join a legal challenge if any landholder wanted to launch legal action against animal rights activists protesting on their farms.
Campaigning in Brisbane on Monday, Morrison blasted recent protests by activists he dubbed “green collared criminals” and declared “if there are pastoralists, farmers, graziers, that are in a position to bring a civil action against these groups looking to undermine their livelihood, the commonwealth is totally open to supporting them in a test case to show these green criminals [it is not on]”.
The comments follow protests around the country, including a demonstration in Melbourne on Monday morning involving more than 100 activists that brought a busy CBD intersection to a standstill.
Two 17-year-olds, a 15-year-old and 36 adults were charged with offences relating to obstructing a roadway and resisting police.
Other protests in Victoria targeted abattoirs at Corio, Pakenham, Laverton North and Bacchus Marsh in Victoria.
In a series of protests across the country, nine people have been charged after chaining themselves to machinery at an abattoir run by Southern Meats in Goulburn, New South Wales in the early hours of Monday. Police were called to cut the protesters free.
The group consisted of three men, one 46 and two aged 22, and six women, aged between 21 and 61.
Another cohort of animal rights protesters say police tailed them to a Queensland abattoir where they broke in and chained themselves up before negotiating their way out with three sheep.
No one was arrested or charged after 19 activists invaded the Carey Bros Abattoir near Warwick before dawn on Monday.
However, the owner of the business, Greg Carey, indicated on Monday that he wanted the activists charged.
“They are trying to bring our primary agricultural industry to its knees using stand over tactics … this is un-Australian and harms the livelihood of many,” he told the ABC.
Morrison also urged state governments to take action.
Two people were charged with trespassing after an investigation following a mass protest on a southern Queensland feedlot last month.
The action was linked to a nationwide protest for animal rights which saw a cafe in Victoria close after what the owners said was “nearly four months of constant harassment”.
On Monday morning vegan activists blocked the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets in the heart of Melbourne for several hours.
This is what the intersection outside Flinders Street Station looks like right now... pic.twitter.com/YVwQpdkBHC
— 3AW Melbourne (@3AW693) April 7, 2019
The Melbourne protesters chained themselves to vehicles about 7am, preventing trams and cars from getting through, and held up signs saying: “This is a peaceful protest” and “SOS animal emergency climate emergency”.
Vans draped in black and emblazoned with the web address of a vegan documentary parked in the middle of the intersection. Protesters had set up a television screen at the intersection which was playing the footage.
Police covered some protesters in blankets while they used angle grinders to cut the chains, before leading them away into custody. They later confirmed 38 people, including two 17-year-olds and a 15-year-old, were arrested.
One protester, Joanne Lee, told Guardian Australia the demonstration aimed to shine a light on animal cruelty.
“Obviously there are some people who are a bit upset about their morning commute to work but the greater issue here is animals are losing their lives in their billions,” she said.
“Someone being disrupted on their morning walk to work is probably an inconvenience, what’s happening to animals is more than an inconvenience – it’s systemic oppression.”
Police denounced the “lack of engagement” before the protest.
“Police are able to facilitate planned protests when we are engaged with which doesn’t put the community at risk,” said Supt David Clayton.
“This lack of engagement puts the entire community at risk with road closures and delays to transport services.”
Animal activists are causing massive disruptions in Melbourne today. 11 tram routes and major intersections, including Flinders St/Swanston St, have been blocked. It's part of a national protest about the treatment of animals in agriculture. pic.twitter.com/jIT5S1Ec9B
— ABC Melbourne (@abcmelbourne) April 7, 2019
On Sunday the Gippy Goat cafe in West Gippsland announced it was closing its doors, blaming “nearly four months of constant harassment, vile statements and threats from the abusive vegan activists”.
“We have personally been subjected to an appalling stream of threats of extreme violence against ourselves, our family, our staff and even their families,” operators John and Penny said on Facebook.
“Our staff have been subjected to daily threats and harassment by phone, and we cannot in good conscience ask them to continue working under such a condition …
“Eight good people are now without a job, families no longer can enjoy the good food and open space, and children can no longer interact with our animals,” they said.
In Queensland on Monday morning, about 20 animal rights campaigners descended on the Warwick abattoir and chained themselves to equipment before police were called to remove them. Up to 200 others remained outside the facility, protesting against what they said was the barbaric slaughter of sheep and pigs.
The protest ended after police negotiated with the group and convinced them to come out.
“The people inside successfully negotiated the release of three sheep ... who are now on their way to a sanctuary,” a supporter, Chay Neal, said.
Brad King, from the activist group Farm Animal Rescue, was among those at the protest and said animals slaughtered at the site had endured terrifying deaths.
“There are numerous occasions where they’re not stunned properly, but even when they are, the footage unequivocally demonstrates that it’s impossible to ‘humanely’ kill an animal who desperately doesn’t want to die,” he said.
On Sunday the state agriculture minister, Mark Furner, said he’d had a “gutful” of activists putting farms at risk and said regulations were being drafted to allow police and agriculture ministers to issue on-the-spot fines.
The Department of Agriculture will also form a taskforce with the state police intelligence unit to try to prevent animal activism attacks on farmers.