NSW PRIMARY Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson has slammed animal activists for risking the health of the very animals they are supposed to be helping.
Ms Hodgkinson gave the keynote address at the NSW Farmers Annual Conference this morning, where she said the actions of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in filming alleged animal abuse in a shearing shed, then failing to report the abuse to the RSPCA for six to eight months until a media opportunity presented itself was "about as abhorrent as the act (of animal abuse) itself".
"This organisation (PETA) is not about improving animal welfare... its agenda is shutting down the billion dollar primary industries sector."
Ms Hodgkinson said animal activists also presented a risk to the health of animals when they broke into farms for filming.
Farm animals such as hens and pigs were susceptible to viruses which could easily spread without strict biosecurity measures, and people trespassing onto farms could present a "huge biosecurity risk", she said.
"They put at risk the lives and welfare of all the animals," she said.
Ms Hodgkinson said ongoing education programs and compliance programs were the way forward for improving animal welfare standards in NSW.
Roderick Makim
Senior journalist for The Land.
Senior journalist for The Land.
