Farmers fear payments by animal activists to live export workers incentivise animal cruelty cases
NSW Farmers is calling on decision makers to closely scrutinise the claims and practices of animal activist organisations.
This week the Daily Telegraph ran a cover story outlining allegations that Animals Australia may have offered financial incentives to vulnerable live export ship employees to obtain footage of distressed animals.
President of NSW Farmers, James Jackson, said politicians need to closely examine these organisations and their practices.
“It is time for politicians to recognise that these groups have clear agendas, business models based on sensationalism, and hence are conflicted when it comes to genuine discussions on animal welfare.
“They are focused on removing agricultural trades and practices they do not agree with, and not on improving welfare outcomes.
“We are deeply concerned if financial incentives were being provided to gather footage of welfare incidents.
“There is a great risk that these incentives actually encourage workers to achieve poor animal welfares outcomes."
Mr Jackson requested that the practices of animal activist organisations be thoroughly and openly investigated.
“Australian agriculture has been proactive in welcoming a myriad of reviews into the trade in recent months in order to improve itself.
“It is now time that activist organisations demonstrate the same level of transparency. They need to be open with the Australian public and politicians.”
NSW Farmers’ highlights that there is increasing evidence that the views of these activists don’t align with the broader community.
In 2018 a CSIRO Research Program conducted a survey into the community’s opinions on welfare practices within the egg industry. The results demonstrated that the views of RSPCA’s members did not reflect those of the greater public.
“These organisations claim to be furthering the views of the community but it appears that the Australian public may have been taken for a ride,” Mr Jackson concluded.
Date: Friday 18 January 2019
Media Contact: Kathleen Curry | Public Affairs Director | 0429 011 690