Dongara
28-04-2006, 23:36
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1626286.htm
The World Today - Friday, 28 April , 2006 12:40:00
Reporter: Melanie Christiansen
EDMOND ROY: It's not the first time police have had to respond to an animal liberation protest.
But in Queensland this morning, it was the protesters themselves who made the call for help.
The group of animal rights activists chained themselves inside an abattoir, only to be confronted by a meatworker armed with an angle grinder.
The protesters say it was terrifying experience, but there's been little sympathy for them.
Even the Queensland Premier says they got what they deserved, as Melanie Christiansen reports.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: The World Meat Congress has drawn the industry's leaders to Brisbane this week, closely followed by animal liberation activists, who've staged a series of protests.
This morning they invaded an abattoir at Ipswich just south of Brisbane, where they chained themselves in.
Protester Patty Mark says what followed was frightening.
PATTY MARK: The abattoir workers were very violent to us. We were chained right over the killing room floor. The owner came in with an angle grinder and started to… We begged for the police.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: But before police arrived, she said, things got even worse.
PATTY MARK: He then came back with the whole lot of… how many were there? About 40 abattoir workers.
They were yelling and screaming, and he got the angle grinder himself and started to cut right within… near where we were chained.
It was terrifying. We didn't have protection on our eyes. The sparks were flying.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Fellow protester Noah Hannibal says he couldn't believe what was happening.
NOAH HANNIBAL: Like, this guy was basically coming at us with an angle grinder, so there were people shaking, there were people in tears and he was just saying, you know, "I'm enjoying this."
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: He says the abattoir owner overreacted, although he did have a right to be upset.
NOAH HANNIBAL: Yeah, I'm sure he was upset he was on his property, but that's no excuse to assault people.
The only reason we were there was to prevent violence to animals, like to prevent unnecessary cruelty to animals.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: The Queensland Premier, though, has no sympathy for the protesters.
PETER BEATTIE: Look, don't go out and chain yourself to a building if you don't want to.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Peter Beattie says in this case the protesters went too far.
PETER BEATTIE: I mean, look, I've been one of those people in my university days at law school. I've been involved in protests. I've always done them peacefully. I don't believe you damage property.
And if you chain yourself to a fence or somewhere on private property, then, frankly, people are going to cut off the chains.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: It was a subject that also stirred passions among talkback callers like this one.
TALKBACK CALLER: Look, I'm absolutely disgusted. If they'd have walked onto my property this morning and I owned the abattoir, they would have got more than got cut off with angle grinders.
I mean, how many of these people are on the dole? They're walking around the streets, want to hand around pamphlets and all this.
We work hard to make money for ourselves. We pay our taxes. And then most of these people are on the dole and we've got to pay for them.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: The abattoir's owner wasn't commenting this morning. Police say no charges have been laid.
EDMOND ROY: That report from Melanie Christiansen in Brisbane.
The World Today - Friday, 28 April , 2006 12:40:00
Reporter: Melanie Christiansen
EDMOND ROY: It's not the first time police have had to respond to an animal liberation protest.
But in Queensland this morning, it was the protesters themselves who made the call for help.
The group of animal rights activists chained themselves inside an abattoir, only to be confronted by a meatworker armed with an angle grinder.
The protesters say it was terrifying experience, but there's been little sympathy for them.
Even the Queensland Premier says they got what they deserved, as Melanie Christiansen reports.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: The World Meat Congress has drawn the industry's leaders to Brisbane this week, closely followed by animal liberation activists, who've staged a series of protests.
This morning they invaded an abattoir at Ipswich just south of Brisbane, where they chained themselves in.
Protester Patty Mark says what followed was frightening.
PATTY MARK: The abattoir workers were very violent to us. We were chained right over the killing room floor. The owner came in with an angle grinder and started to… We begged for the police.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: But before police arrived, she said, things got even worse.
PATTY MARK: He then came back with the whole lot of… how many were there? About 40 abattoir workers.
They were yelling and screaming, and he got the angle grinder himself and started to cut right within… near where we were chained.
It was terrifying. We didn't have protection on our eyes. The sparks were flying.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Fellow protester Noah Hannibal says he couldn't believe what was happening.
NOAH HANNIBAL: Like, this guy was basically coming at us with an angle grinder, so there were people shaking, there were people in tears and he was just saying, you know, "I'm enjoying this."
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: He says the abattoir owner overreacted, although he did have a right to be upset.
NOAH HANNIBAL: Yeah, I'm sure he was upset he was on his property, but that's no excuse to assault people.
The only reason we were there was to prevent violence to animals, like to prevent unnecessary cruelty to animals.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: The Queensland Premier, though, has no sympathy for the protesters.
PETER BEATTIE: Look, don't go out and chain yourself to a building if you don't want to.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: Peter Beattie says in this case the protesters went too far.
PETER BEATTIE: I mean, look, I've been one of those people in my university days at law school. I've been involved in protests. I've always done them peacefully. I don't believe you damage property.
And if you chain yourself to a fence or somewhere on private property, then, frankly, people are going to cut off the chains.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: It was a subject that also stirred passions among talkback callers like this one.
TALKBACK CALLER: Look, I'm absolutely disgusted. If they'd have walked onto my property this morning and I owned the abattoir, they would have got more than got cut off with angle grinders.
I mean, how many of these people are on the dole? They're walking around the streets, want to hand around pamphlets and all this.
We work hard to make money for ourselves. We pay our taxes. And then most of these people are on the dole and we've got to pay for them.
MELANIE CHRISTIANSEN: The abattoir's owner wasn't commenting this morning. Police say no charges have been laid.
EDMOND ROY: That report from Melanie Christiansen in Brisbane.