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Outlawed animal suffering is ignored
while campaigning for animals is being criminalised!
The phase-out period for battery farms expired
in January of this year (2009). But, Austrian
conservative mayor Karl Latschenberger continues
to operate a battery farm north of Austria's
capital Vienna! VGT has presented recent photos
of the farm, which keeps around 50,000 laying
hens. The photos show typical, now illegal,
battery cages each housing 5 hens.
The farm was occupied by VGT activists
for over six hours on 2nd November
Activists climbed onto the roof with banners
highlighting the fact that the farm is illegal.
Furious, the farm manager threatened the peaceful
protesters with violence and opened a water
hose on a 70 year old activist, soaking her
from head to foot on a day with minus temperatures.
Martin Balluch from VGT commented:"We
want to draw attention to the fact that a conservative
mayor can break the law, allowing thousands
of animals to suffer, while the animal protection
work that goes into exposing these kind of scandals
through actions such as this occupation and
the research that led up to it are being criminalised.
We are asking, who is the criminal organisation
here - Producers of animal products with their
political protection and their greed for profit
who break the law and abuse animals or animal
protection with its campaigners who, often at
personal risk, bring the public's attention
to animal cruelty?"
After reassurance from from the regional
authorities that charges would be made against
the farm the peaceful occupation ended.
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