An anonymous animal activist map called the Aussie Farms Map has drawn strong criticism from industry, with the Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud describing it as despicable.
The website is run by charity Aussie Farms and allows uses to post information on farms and abattoirs anonymously to help expose animal cruelty and force transparency on the industry.
The minister said, however, that it lacks official checks and balances, offers no real outcomes for animal welfare, and could also potentially result in illegal behaviour by activists.
“This website is irresponsible at best,” Minister Littleproud said. “Putting the locations of farms online could be creating an attack map for activists.
“Further, we don’t know if the footage posted on this website is actually from the farm it is attributed to. Content such as graphic images or video can be uploaded and attached to any farm by anonymous users.”
The minister said this potentially encourages activists to trespass and worse after being misled about the practices on that farm, and had the potential to cause significant bio-security issues.
“Australian producers are some of the cleanest and greenest in the world, are proud of the work they do and are a key pillar of the Australian economy.
“Our farmers play an important role in feeding and clothing people across the world. They deserve to be thanked, not have their addresses published and possible be harassed in their own homes” the minister said.
