AN AGRICULTURE industry giant has rejected claims it engages in animal cruelty after its Limestone Coast properties were identified on the controversial Aussie Farms website.
Established in 2014, the website features an interactive map of Australian agricultural properties it claims engages in “animal cruelty or exploitation”.
It displays icons representing the location of primary production sites across the country and also contains personal details of individual properties, including the coordinates of sites.
The sites of Pedra Branca, Ashwood and Kurleah – owned by Beston Global Food Company – are listed on the website, but the company said there had been no animal welfare issues during its ownership.
Company spokesperson Maryanne Noon labelled the claims as distressing and said animal welfare was at the forefront of the business.
“Without proper care of livestock, we would compromise our entire operation,” she said.
“Our company has developed an animal welfare policy which is based on Dairy Australia’s, along with Meat and Livestock Australia’s code of practice.”
Further, the property marked as “possibly Pedra Branca – Ashwood” is incorrectly labelled on the website.
Though the company does own properties with those names, the site labelled is not in its portfolio.
“It is not our property marked on the map but a large dairy several kilometres from our own farms,” Ms Noon said.
“Pedra is now two farms – Landour and Kingsley – both have never in Beston’s ownership had a complaint or compliance issue in relation to any animal welfare issues.
“Ashwood is not an operational dairy and has not been since Beston has owned the property, it is a young stock and fodder block and it also has never had any issues.”
Although the website claims not to condone or encourage using the information contained on it for trespass, it has been widely criticised as encouraging people to trespass on farms.
Ms Noon said trespass was a concern for the company and its staff.
“It is something we are concerned about especially for the welfare of our staff and animals,” she said.
“We do not want to be put in a position where either people or stock are hurt or injured due to the interaction of trespassers on the properties.
“We have had several staff meetings over the last 12 months to talk through what could happen if we were to be intruded on by activists and have created a communications plan around this which is essentially to not engage with them and to call the police.”
Aussie Farms executive director Chris Delforce was asked by The Border Watch on multiple occasions whether he had physical evidence of the Beston properties – or other South East properties – operating outside the bounds of the South Australian animal welfare code of practice.
Mr Delforce did not directly address the question and said “all commercial animal agriculture involves exploitation and some level of cruelty”.
The Aussie Farms Map’s frequently asked questions page says a farm consisting of a paddock with a few hundred sheep or cows does not meet the criteria to be placed on the map.
When asked if all farms are cruel why small enterprises are exempt from the map, Mr Delforce said they were not in public interest.
“Anyone who goes for a drive can see paddocks with animals in them, so identifying them on a map is not considered to be in the public interest or even feasible, especially given that animals are often moved from paddock to paddock,” he said.
“The types of facilities identified on the map are those generally hidden to consumers yet integral to the industry and it is in these facilities where the most common acts of cruelty occur and the vast majority of animals used for food are raised and killed.”
The Border Watch alerted Mr Delforce to the Beston Global Food-owned mislabelled properties and it was rectified at print time.
