vimeo/117656676 Aus Day lamb social media backlash ANIMAL rights activists have targeted the successful Australia Day lamb promotion through video footage allegedly taken at Victorian abattoirs about nine months ago. Separate videos posted on social media by Animal Liberation Victoria and AussieFarms took umbrage to the long-running Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) marketing campaign to increase lamb consumption around the patriotic national holiday. A six-minute video posted on the AussieFarms Facebook page on January 24 starts with images of a pet lamb playing and being fed from a bottle by a child, before switching to critical vision of slaughter practices, introduced by dramatic music. “Every year 17 to 19 million lambs are killed in Australian slaughterhouses at around six months old,” a caption in the video says. The video contains a range of strategic still photographs taken inside an abattoir facility, with date-stamp information from 01/05/2014 to 28/04/2014. In the final scene, a frustrated abattoir worker kicks a lamb which is accompanied by audible swearing. A statement from AussieFarms released on Australia Day alleges the hidden camera footage was taken at Gathercoles Abattoir in Wangaratta, Victoria. “Its Australia Day and as usual weve been bombarded with advertising from Meat and Livestock Australia telling us to eat lamb,” it says. “The high demand for meat (not just lambs) means that slaughterhouses cant afford to slow down the line if an animal makes it through to the killing table improperly stunned, so their throats are cut open while they are fully conscious. “Moreover, the fear shown by these animals as they are forced up the race to the kill floor highlights that even with adequate stunning there is no humane way to kill an animal who wants to live. “This Australia Day - and every other day - choose compassion over violence and leave the lambs alone.” theland.au/news/agriculture/sheep/general-news/aus-day-lamb-social-media-backlash/2722022.aspx
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 07:02:59 +0000