The militant vegan behind protests across Australia has said he became an animal rights activist to make up for his ‘white, male, middle-class privilege.’
Chris Delforce, the director of animal rights documentary Dominion, runs the group Aussie Farms, which organised a day of national protests on Monday.
Melbourne was brought to a standstill by 100 activists sitting on tram tracks while others in rural New South Wales and Queensland invaded farms and chained themselves to abattoir machinery.
Chris Delforce (pictured), the director of animal rights documentary Dominion, runs the group Aussie Farms which organised a day of national protests on Monday
Mr Delforce, a web developer in his day job, used to volunteer for poverty relief charities and travelled to Zanzibar and Indonesia to promote human rights before turning his hand to animal rights
Mr Delforce, a web developer, used to volunteer for poverty relief charities and travelled to Zanzibar and Indonesia to promote human rights before turning his attention to animal rights.
In a newspaper interview on Wednesday, he said he felt a duty to help because of his privileged background.
‘As a white male in a middle-class upbringing, a lot in life is pretty much handed to me,’ Mr Delforce told The Australian.
‘As a person who has it pretty easy in life, I think it’s my responsibility to do as much as I can to use my opportunities.’
Mr Delforce made similar comments at the protests in Melbourne on Monday, saying: ‘As someone born into a position of considerable opportunity and privilege, I have a moral opportunity to do whatever I can to help those less fortunate than myself.’
Mr Delforce started an interactive map showing farms across the country. It has been slammed by the agriculture minister as an ‘attack map’ for activists
National protest: Dozens of activists chained themselves to machinery at Carey Bros Abattoir at Yangan in remote Queensland and demanded the release of three lambs
Born in Canberra, Mr Delforce (centre) has been an activist in Melbourne for nine years and even ran for the Animal Justice Party in last year’s Victorian election
He is the brains behind the controversial Aussie Farms interactive map, which names and shames livestock farmers and details their addresses, photos and even business numbers
Born in Canberra, Mr Delforce has been an activist in Melbourne for nine years and even ran for the Animal Justice Party in last year’s Victorian election.
He is the brains behind the controversial Aussie Farms interactive map, which names and shames livestock farmers and details their addresses, photos and even business numbers.
The organisation – a registered charity – was recently branded a ‘despicable attack map for activists’ by Agriculture Minister David Littleproud following a spate of vigilante acts against farms.
Mr Delforce protested in Melbourne on Monday, telling reporters the event was about ‘making as much noise as we can’ for animal rights.
‘The industry is telling people these animals are being killed ethically, that they are being killed humanely – the reality is… it’s the furthest thing from humane,’ he said.
Taxpayers will be forced to pay for the disruption caused by vegan activists who shut down the Melbourne CBD (pictured) and targeted abattoirs
In Melbourne, 39 people were arrested and charged – including a 15 year old – and commuters were left delayed and outraged (pictured)
Mr Delforce believes Australians would embrace veganism en masse if they learned the ‘inherent cruelty involved, the environmental damage and the detrimental effects on their own health’ from meat-eating.
On Tuesday, Mr Delforce said farmers should show footage of their animals being slaughtered to make people more aware of animal cruelty.
He told Sunrise that farmers should show their pigs being gassed to death so customers can better understand where their food comes from.
‘They need to be showing the footage of every single pig going into that chamber screaming and thrashing in agony,’ said Delforce.
‘The fact is these animals don’t want to die.’
‘They fight to the very last breath and there are plenty of cruelty-free alternatives.
‘We can live happily without killing animals, so why wouldn’t we?’
In Melbourne on Monday, 40 vegan activists were arrested and charged – including a 15-year-old – and commuters were left delayed and outraged.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the protests as ‘un-Australian’ and said the activists were ‘green-collar criminals’ who were harming Australian farmers.
Victorian Farmers Federation President David Jochinke also slammed the protests during the interview with Sunrise.
He said he respected vegans’ right to abstain from meat but said they should not disrupt family businesses and force their views on others.
‘What we saw yesterday is completely unacceptable,’ he said.
‘We are open to having a discussion from where your food comes from and we encourage people to do that but we have to get down to the facts here, and that is that we have the world leading practices in agriculture.
‘We don’t accept anybody who doesn’t adhere to the high standards that we have… and targeting farmers and their families is something we won’t stand for.’
The Morrison government has vowed tougher penalties for the Aussie Farms website after those running it refused to take down a map of farmers’ addresses and contact details.
Mr Morrison said the activists were ‘green-collar criminals’ who were harming Australian farmers