Inquiry Into the Impact of Animal Rights Activism on Victorian Agriculture
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PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Economy and Infrastructure Committee Inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture Parliament of Victoria Economy and Infrastructure Committee Ordered to be published VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER February 2020 PP No 112, Session 2018-20 ISBN 978 1 925703 94 8 (print version), 978 1 925703 95 5 (PDF version) Committee membership CHAIR DEPUTY CHAIR Nazih Elasmar Bernie Finn Rodney Barton Northern Metropolitan Westerm Metropolitan Eastern Metropolitan Mark Gepp Bev McArthur Tim Quilty Sonja Terpstra Northern Victoria Western Victoria Northern Victoria Eastern Metropolitan Participating members Melina Bath, Eastern Victoria Dr Catherine Cumming, Western Metropolitan Hon. David Davis, Southern Metropolitan David Limbrick, South Eastern Metropolitan Andy Meddick, Western Victoria Craig Ondarchie, Northern Metropolitan Hon. Gordon Rich-Phillips, South Eastern Metropolitan Hon. Mary Wooldridge, Eastern Metropolitan ii Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee About the committee Functions The Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee’s functions are to inquire into and report on any proposal, matter or thing concerned with agriculture, commerce, infrastructure, industry, major projects, public sector finances, transport and education. As a Standing Committee, it may inquire into, hold public hearings, consider and report on any Bills or draft Bills, annual reports, estimates of expenditure or other documents laid before the Legislative Council in accordance with an Act, provided these are relevant to its functions. Secretariat Patrick O’Brien, Committee Manager Kieran Crowe, Inquiry Officer Caitlin Connally, Research Assistant Justine Donohue, Administrative Officer Contact details Address Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee Parliament of Victoria Spring Street EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002 Phone 61 3 8682 2869 Email [email protected] Web https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/eic-lc This report is available on the Committee’s website. Inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture iii Contents Preliminaries Committee membership ii About the committee iii Terms of reference ix Chair’s foreword xi Executive summary xiv Findings and recommendations xvii What happens next? xxi 1 The Inquiry 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 The Terms of Reference 1 1.3 Submissions 2 1.4 Public hearings 2 1.5 Site visits 2 1.6 Recent events 3 1.6.1 The Aussie Farms Map 3 1.6.2 Gippy Goat Café & Farm 5 1.6.3 Nationwide protests 8 April 2019 6 1.7 Victoria’s animal agriculture sector 7 1.7.1 Dairy 8 1.7.2 Beef 8 1.7.3 Sheep meat and wool 10 1.7.4 Chicken meat and eggs 11 1.7.5 Pigs 14 1.7.6 Related sectors 15 1.8 Victoria’s animal rights activism movement 17 1.8.1 RSPCA Victoria 17 1.8.2 Animal Liberation Victoria 18 1.8.3 Online community 19 1.9 Animal rights activism in other countries 19 2 The main types of unauthorised animal rights activist activity on Victorian agriculture 21 2.1 Introduction 21 2.2 ‘Open rescue’ 21 2.2.1 Case study—Luv-a-Duck 23 Inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture v Contents 2.3 Covert action 23 2.3.1 Legal or not? 25 2.4 Overt action 26 2.4.1 Case Study—LT’s Egg Farm 27 2.4.2 Case study—Diamond Valley Pork 27 2.4.3 Case Study—Mornington Peninsula chicken farm 28 2.5 Civil disobedience and whistleblowing 28 2.6 Data on activist‑related activity in Victoria 30 2.6.1 Other data sources 31 3 Animal rights activists’ impact on individuals and communities 35 3.1 Introduction 35 3.2 How trespass affects farmers and others in the sector 35 3.2.1 Direct experience of trespass 35 3.2.2 The threat of trespass 37 3.2.3 Animal rights activists’ views in relation to trespass 38 3.3 Biosecurity 39 3.3.1 The biosecurity framework in Victoria 39 3.3.2 Livestock Management Act 2010 40 3.3.3 Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 40 3.3.4 The biosecurity threat from animal rights activists 41 3.3.5 Non-activist threats to biosecurity 44 3.3.6 Preventative biosecurity measures 44 3.4 Health and safety 45 3.4.1 Health and safety obligations 45 3.4.2 Risks to animals 46 3.4.3 Risks to activists 46 3.5 Economic impact and international reputation 47 3.5.1 Economic impact of animal rights activism 47 3.5.2 International reputation 49 4 The response of law enforcement to animal rights activism 51 4.1 Introduction 51 4.2 Offences that may apply to animal rights activists 51 4.2.1 Trespass 51 4.2.2 Animal welfare 52 4.2.3 Surveillance and privacy offences 53 4.2.4 Biosecurity offences 54 4.2.5 Promotion of unauthorised activities 55 4.3 The courts: sentencing trends for offences by animal rights activists 57 4.3.1 Judicial education 58 4.3.2 Increased penalties for trespass 59 vi Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee Contents 4.4 Victoria Police 61 4.5 Responses to activist activity in other jurisdictions 66 4.5.1 Commonwealth 66 4.5.2 New South Wales 66 4.5.3 Queensland 67 4.5.4 Western Australia 69 4.5.5 International responses 70 4.6 The Committee’s view 71 5 The motivations of animal rights activists 73 5.1 Introduction 73 5.2 Standard industry practices 73 5.2.1 Transparency 73 5.2.2 Examples of standard practices 75 5.2.3 Community awareness of animal welfare: influencing market choices 77 5.2.4 The scale and nature of the industry 79 5.3 Animal agriculture’s social licence: right to farm 80 5.4 Is there a disconnect between urban and rural communities? 82 5.5 Ways to improve public awareness of standard animal agriculture practices 84 5.6 Mistreatment of animals and illegal practices 85 5.6.1 Industry’s response to policing animal cruelty 87 5.7 Transitioning to alternative practices 88 6 The regulatory framework for animal welfare in Victoria 91 6.1 Introduction 91 6.2 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 91 6.2.1 Codes of practice for animal welfare under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 91 6.3 Development of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines 92 6.4 Livestock Management Act 2010 93 6.5 Industry quality assurance schemes that include animal welfare 95 6.6 Modernising the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986, the stalled national standards process and the role of industry quality assurance programmes 97 6.7 Closed‑circuit television (CCTV) 99 6.7.1 CCTV in other industries 100 6.7.2 Areas in Victorian agricultural facilities suggested for CCTV monitoring 101 6.7.3 Monitoring CCTV footage 102 6.7.4 CCTV and animal welfare in other jurisdictions 102 Inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture vii Contents 6.8 Animal welfare oversight agencies 103 6.8.1 Agriculture Victoria 104 6.8.2 PrimeSafe 108 6.8.3 RSPCA Victoria 109 6.8.4 Victoria Police 110 Appendix 1 About the Inquiry 113 Extract of proceedings 125 Minority reports 149 viii Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee Terms of reference Inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture That this House requires the Economy and Infrastructure Committee to inquire into, consider and report, by Thursday, 28 November 2019, on the effectiveness of legislation and other measures to prevent and deter activities by unauthorised persons on agricultural and associated industries and in particular, the Committee should— 1. consider— a. the type and prevalence of unauthorised activity on Victorian farms and related industries, and the application of existing legislation; b. the workplace health and safety and biosecurity risks, and potential impacts of animal activist activity on Victorian farms, to Victoria’s economy and international reputation; c. animal activists’ compliance with the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994, Livestock Management Act 2010, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986; d. the civil or criminal liability of individuals and organisations who promote or organise participation in unauthorised animal activism activities; e. analyse the incidences and responses of other jurisdictions in Australia and internationally; and f. provide recommendations on how the Victorian Government and industry could improve protections for farmers’ privacy, businesses, and the integrity of our biosecurity system and animal welfare outcomes, whether through law reform or other measures. *The reporting date for this inquiry has been changed to 1 February 2020. Inquiry into the impact of animal rights activism on Victorian agriculture ix Chair’s foreword Throughout 2018 and 2019, Victoria experienced a series of events where animal rights activists intimidated farmers, stole livestock and disrupted businesses. These events caused a great amount of stress to the agriculture community and rural and regional Victorians in general. That is why in May 2019 the Legislative Council acted and referred this Inquiry to the Economy and Infrastructure Committee. This report addresses each of the Terms of Reference in a systematic way. The evidence is reflected in the 12 Findings and 15 Recommendations that appear throughout the report and which cover three key themes: • Support for the right of farmers and everyone in the animal agriculture industry to do their job without fear • Rejection of activists who break the law and intimidate farmers, their families and staff, and other workers in the sector • An awareness that public confidence in the industry and its animal welfare practices protects the sector from unfair and misleading criticism.