Page 2 - National Poultry Newspaper

Poultry Industry Calendar of Events
2019
SEP 4-6 – International Poultry Science Symposium, Polanczyk Poland www.wpsa.pl
SEP 10-11 – Ideas Exchange 2019, Sydney NSW www.poultryhub.org/ ideas-exchange-conference-2019
SEP 16-20 –World Veterinary Poultry Association Congress, Bangkok, Thailand www.wvpac2019.com
SEP 17 – Poultry Meat Conference Northamptonshire, UK www. poultryconference.com/PMC/Default. aspx
SEP 20 – Judging – Royal Melbourne Poultry Show, The Grand Pavilion, Melbourne, VIC www.rasv.com.au/ royal-melbourne-poultry-show
OCT 23-25 – European Symposium on Poultry Genetics, Prague, Czech Republic www.espg2019.org
NOV 3-4 – Egg and Poultry Industry Conference, Celtic Manor, Usk, Wales www.epiconference.co.uk
NOV 5-7 – Poultry Tech Summit, Atlanta, US www.wattglobalmedia. com/poultrytechsummit
2020
May 17-19 – PIX/AMC, Gold Coast www.pixamc.com.au
How to supply event details: Send all details to National Poultry Newspaper, PO Box 387, Cleveland, Qld 4163, call 07 3286 1833 fax: 07 3821 2637, email: design@poultrynews.com.au
poultrynews.com.au
07 3286 1833
Punishment and prevention needed for animal activists
IN response to an in- crease in co-ordinated activist attacks on in- tensive animal farmers across Australia, the Federal and Queensland governments are consid- ering separate bills that seek to better protect businesses and individu- als from trespass.
The Federal Govern- ment’s Criminal Code Amendment (Agricultur- al Protection) Bill 2019 criminalises the action of publishing material, via a carriage service, with the intention to incite tres- pass, property damage and theft on to agricul- tural land.
While at the state level, the Criminal Code (Tres- pass Offences) Amend- ment Bill 2019 introduces three new criminal tres- pass offences – aggra- vated trespass, serious criminal trespass and or- ganised trespass – which come with potential im- prisonment and fines significantly greater than the current penalties for trespass under Queens- land law.
Other jurisdictions across Australia are also considering new laws to protect farmers from ani- mal activists.
The Victorian, South Australian and Western
Australian governments have vowed to review their legal protections for farmers against trespass- ing protesters; the NSW government recently fol- lowed Queensland’s lead by amending its bio- security legislation to en- able on-the-spot fines but also enabled fines of up to $440,000 and poten- tial time in prison to be enforced; while Tasmania already has laws in place to protect farms from in- vasion by protesters.
Clearly, other jurisdic- tions have seen a need for greater intervention to combat rising trespass ac- tivity and so the question now is, do the Queens- land and Australian par- liaments?
The actions we have seen from activists invade farmers’ privacy, threaten the welfare of their ani- mals, pose unacceptable
risks to their businesses and have implications for food security.
The view that ‘one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws’ is one many animal rights activists use to justify trespassing on farmers’ properties and wilfully disrupting and creating unacceptable risks to their businesses.
Considering the com- plex animal welfare framework in place and government law set- ting and enforcement, Queensland Farmers’ Federation challenges this view.
Under these circum- stances, it is perfectly justifiable to counter this view with ‘one has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey what are just laws’.
There are several issues with the enforcement of
the current trespass law in Queensland. Offenders are only being charged with the offence of un- lawfully entering farm- ing land, which interest- ingly is only half that which can be imposed for general trespass (at $1334.50 or six months’ imprisonment) when they are arrested by Queens- land Police, who in some cases see no need to take that step.
For example, during a co-ordinated animal ac- tivist incident at a Darling Downs feedlot in March 2019, over 100 protest- ers entered onto the busi- ness’s land despite the property owner’s objec- tions, and police made no arrests.
Repeat offenders, who the Queensland Police Union have labelled ‘pro- fessional protesters’ and accused them of wasting valuable police time and resources, are not re- ceiving fines significant enough to curb this law- breaking behaviour, and they continue to escape conviction.
Further, crowd funding is often being used to pay for their fines and legal fees, so effectively there is no punishment at all.
It is clear the current trespass laws on farm-
ing land in Queensland do not provide adequate protection for legal and legitimate farming busi- nesses.
QFF recognises and respects the right of in- dividuals and groups to meet and engage in peaceful protest to pursue common goals.
However, this right does not extend to entering onto another’s property without their permission to interfere with their legitimate farm business activities.
The behaviour we are currently seeing does not meet the expectations of farmers and the commu- nity.
A law is the product of the social conditions at the time it is made – it is not static and should change to respond to the current social and politi- cal values of a commu- nity.
It is incumbent upon the Queensland and Austral- ian parliaments to ensure they deliver adequate protections and suitable deterrents for would-be and repeat offenders so farmers and society can operate without threat of disruptive, costly and damaging law-breaking behaviour.
PoultryGrad 2019 an inspirational experience
☛ from P1
chicken breeder farm. Each group became completely immersed in what it is like to work and manage these farms. The students were very engaged, asking the farm managers lots of
questions.
Many of the students
who attend PoultryGrad have never been on a farm and have had little or no direct contact with the poultry industry.
Hence, many of the students were amazed by how much technol- ogy is involved in the poultry industry and how passionate the farmers are.
The students stated the experience was “phe- nomenal” and “a won- derful event for young poultry researchers”.
Poultry Hub Australia is excited to watch and aid these students in establishing successful careers in the poultry industry.
We would like to thank all those involved in making PoultryGrad 2019 a huge success. Ideas Exchange 2019
It’s that time of year again when researchers and industry get togeth- er for a great time of networking, reconnect- ing, learning and devel- oping ideas.
In the past, Ideas Ex- change has been a great avenue for industry per-
sonnel and researchers to come together and de- velop relationships and collaborations that ben- efit the poultry industry.
This year’s meeting will focus on build- ing capacity in our industry as well as highlighting some of the fantastic research funded by PHA.
We will also include demonstrations of some of our recent innova- tions such as Vicky the virtual chicken.
Ideas Exchange 2019 will be held on Septem- ber 10 and 11 in Sydney at the Mercure Sydney Hotel.
The meeting includes talks, discussions and
invaluable networking opportunities over two days and a conference dinner.
The conference is free for members of
Poultry Hub Australia. A limited number of scholarships are avail- able for farmers and re- searchers who are part of the Australian poul-
try industry to attend the conference.
For any more infor- mation, visit poultryhub. org/ideas-exchange- conference-2019
The hatchery visit was well received by PoultryGrad attendees.
PoultryGrad attendees enjoyed a group dinner.
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Page 2 – National Poultry Newspaper, August 2019
www.poultrynews.com.au
by TRAVIS TOBIN CEO
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