Riverina farmers have been caught up in an online animal activist campaign that they say has left their businesses open to break-ins and sabotage.
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Animal activists this week launched an ‘Aussie Farms Repository’ that identifies more than 5700 farms across Australia, including dozens across the Riverina, on an interactive map.
The map lists addresses and contact details for farms, horse studs, race tracks and abattoirs, along with the ability for activists to upload pictures and videos.
The site claims it is an “effort to force transparency on an industry dependent on secrecy”.
Euberta’s Murray Darling Fisheries owner Noel Penfold told The Daily Advertiser that he felt being listed on the site would encourage trespass.
“I’m a bit disgusted that I’m being placed on it,” he said.
“We’re currently the largest native fish breeder in Australia and we are breeding fish and restocking the rivers and waterways.”
Mr Penfold said his fishery was being blindly targeted despite trying to help the Murray Darling recover from incidents like the Menindee fish kill.
“They wouldn’t even know what we do. We don’t kill fish here. They have wrongly targeted us for sure,” he said.
Riverina MP and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said those behind the ‘Aussie Farms’ site should be ashamed of themselves.
“They’ve probably never worked a hard day in their life. They don’t understand where their food and fibre comes from,” he said.
“I’m growing tired of people bashing up farmers. If it’s not this mob, it’s allegations that cash is being paid to stop live animal exports.
“The actions of Aussie Farms and these people prepared to pay cash for cruelty are un-Australian.”
Mr Penfold said break-ins by activists were “a bit of a concern” and he wanted the site “taken down”.
“We have very tight security here because we have had trouble before with people breaking in and stealing fish,” he said.
“If they want to come here, they’re in for a rude shock.”
National Farmers' Federation president Fiona Simson has called for Aussie Farms’ charitable status to be revoked, a move that Mr McCormack said he supported.
“The group’s business model is anything but charitable and the irresponsible publication of this map is purely designed to encourage potential attacks by animal rights activist,” Mr McCormack said.
“Facebook should also take responsibility and remove the map immediately because it serves no purpose other than to increase animal suffering and exposure to harm.
“Unauthorised entry onto farms and livestock facilities – when animal rights vigilantes, with no knowledge of animal husbandry, take the law into their own hands – creates significant risk of biosecurity exposure; including those located on farming properties and facilities in the Riverina.”
Mr McCormack urged farmers and their supporters to “register their concerns by making a formal complaint with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
Powered by tech giants
As well as using social media site Facebook to promote itself, the Aussie Farms Repository map was created using the Google Maps service.
Aussie Farms Repository also receives favourable search rankings on Google.
This means that the Aussie Farms website is often the first or second result when users search for individual farms in the Riverina using Google’s overwhelmingly popular search engine.
Google’s terms of use for ‘prohibited conduct’ include the clause “When using Google Maps/Google Earth, you may not...do anything inappropriate, illegal, or in violation of others' rights (including their privacy, publicity, and intellectual property rights).”
The Daily Advertiser asked Google’s Australian office if Aussie Farms was violating its terms of use.
“Google Maps Platform enables developers and businesses to use Google Maps data to build location-based apps and experiences for their end users,” a Google spokesperson said.
“We take abuse and misuse of our application programming interface products seriously, and actively enforce our terms of service.
“If we discover a customer is violating our terms of service, we will take appropriate action."
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