by John M. Simpson.<\/p>\n
Aussie Farms, an animal rights organization in Australia, recently published an interactive map<\/a> on its website and Facebook page that provides particulars on a wide range of animal enterprises in Australia.\u00a0 The map includes street addresses and actual map grid coordinates for farms and similar enterprises located throughout Australia.\u00a0 Each of the map locations has a live link to a database of information that Aussie Farms claims it has assembled on the targeted businesses.<\/p>\n The posting of the map was strongly condemned by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), a prominent organization\u00a0representing farmers in Australia.\u00a0 An NFF press release<\/a> quotes an\u00a0NFF spokesperson as remarking that farmers:<\/p>\n “are rightly distressed that their name has incorrectly been linked to \u2018animal cruelty\u2019. …\u00a0 They are extremely anxious and very angry that their workplace, and their home, has become the target of extreme and dangerous activities.\u00a0 …<\/p>\n Almost every day, we\u2019re seeing examples of activists accessing farms and businesses without permission, seeking to disrupt the work our farmers do.\u00a0 These types of stunts risk human and animal well-being and are deeply offensive.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Aussie Farms describes itself as “an animal rights charity, dedicating [sic<\/em>] to ending commercialized animal abuse and exploitation in Australian animal agriculture facilities by increasing industry transparency and educating the public about modern farming and slaughtering practices.”\u00a0 One of Aussie Farms’ stated “core values” is to “[b]elieve in the rights of non-human animals to not be exploited, owned, abused or killed for human purposes.”\u00a0 Aussie Farms claims that the map and repository are simply intended to improve transparency — “to bring all of this evidence together so that we can all freely view, share and use it in our efforts towards a common goal.”\u00a0 The Australian Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources saw it differently, reportedly<\/a> stating as follows:<\/p>\n “What this animal activist group has done is effectively put out an attack map for their activists to go out there and to trespass. …\u00a0They are not going to stop until we are all eating grass.\u00a0 That\u2019s the reality.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The map and repository cover multiple categories\u00a0of businesses in Australia involving a plethora of different animals — “food animals” like beef cattle, broiler chickens, goats, honey bees, kangaroos, pigs and rabbits; “pets,” including dogs, cats and fish; “wildlife;” “entertainment,” including\u00a0circuses and zoos; “clothing,” including fur, leather and wool; and “science,” including cosmetic and medical testing.<\/p>\n Each position on the Aussie Farms map leads to a tabbed chart that gives the name (apparently where known) of the facility, its street address and map coordinates and a summary (apparently where known) of the\u00a0activity at the location.\u00a0 The entry also contains tabs for photos, videos, documents and news articles about the facility.\u00a0 In many instances, there are no particular photos and the like about the facility but the chart contains a live link to what is claimed to be photos and the like “from similar facilities.”\u00a0 The basis for this claim of “similarity” is not disclosed.<\/p>\n The map further invites members of the public to submit information and to upload photos, videos, documents and news articles\u00a0about the businesses portrayed on the map.\u00a0 It is unclear what the standard for publication is.\u00a0 Aussie Farms claims that “[a]nything that gets uploaded unless it comes from a reputable organization such as the various Animal Liberation groups, will be screened\u00a0 by the Aussie Farms Repository team before being published to ensure nothing malicious, deceptive or irrelevant slips through the cracks.”\u00a0 A standard that seems to regard as “reputable” the “various Animal Liberation groups” is not likely to be of any comfort to a farmer targeted by this map.<\/p>\n The Aussie Farms map — particularly\u00a0the posting of addresses and map coordinates about individual businesses (many of which are family farms that combine the agricultural operation with the homestead) — is\u00a0reminiscent of a tactic that was employed by an animal rights organization that operated in the U.S. and U.K. several years ago.\u00a0 Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) dedicated itself to stopping\u00a0the use by Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) of animals in pharmaceutical testing.\u00a0 One of SHAC’s tactics was to publish, on its website, information about the home addresses of individuals who either worked for HLS or were employed by companies doing business with HLS.\u00a0 The information was used by activists, some of whom had no\u00a0discernible connection to SHAC,\u00a0to\u00a0stage “protests” at these various private residences, some of which led to vandalism, property damage and threats of\u00a0physical violence.\u00a0 In the U.S., the publication of the home address information of the targeted victims was a central part of the evidence that led to the criminal conviction of SHAC and certain of its members for, inter alia<\/em>, a conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. \u00a7 43, as well as a conspiracy to commit interstate stalking in violation of\u00a018 U.S.C. \u00a7 2261A.\u00a0 See<\/em> United States v. Fullmer<\/em>, 584 F.3d 132 (3d Cir. 2009).\u00a0\u00a0The same conduct —\u00a0publication of home addresses and the like — also supported\u00a0an injunction against SHAC in a case involving claims for\u00a0violation of the California\u00a0statute prohibiting harassment and for the torts of intentional infliction of emotional distress,\u00a0 invasion of privacy, intrusion into private affairs and trespass.\u00a0 See Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc. v. Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty USA, Inc.<\/em>, 143 Cal. App. 4th 1284 (2006).\u00a0 The courts in both cases rejected the argument that SHAC’s actions were covered by the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.\u00a0 In 2014, after several additional SHAC members were sent to prison in the U.K., SHAC reportedly<\/a>\u00a0ended its campaign against HLS.<\/p>\n Whether the Aussie Farms actions will generate similar legal difficulties for that group in Australia\u00a0remains to be seen.\u00a0 The NFF has demanded that the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission retract the charitable status of Aussie Farms and has stated that it will contact the police departments in each state and territory about the Aussie Farms map and its implications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by John M. Simpson. Aussie Farms, an animal rights organization in Australia, recently published an interactive map on its website and Facebook page that provides particulars on a wide range of animal enterprises in Australia.\u00a0 The map includes street addresses and actual map grid coordinates for farms and similar enterprises located throughout Australia.\u00a0 Each of … <\/p>\n