SOUTH Australia’s peak organisation representing beef cattle and sheep producers has welcomed the State Government’s introduction of stronger trespass laws, with animal activists facing fines of up to $10,000 under the draft bill.
Individuals caught trespassing on private production land and interfering with the conduct of primary production activities on the land would face 12 months jail or a $10,000 fine under the proposed laws.
The bill, which is currently open to public consultation, creates a new offence specifically for farm trespassing, with a doubling of penalties and stronger enforcement of breaches.
Livestock SA president Joe Keynes welcomed the announcement on the tougher farm trespass laws, saying there was currently inadequate legislative structure around the laws of trespass.
“Farms are legal businesses and farmers are going about their businesses in a legal and ethical way,” he said.
“Quite often it is not just a place of business, it is a place of residence for families including young children which is a concern when people trespass.
“There are also very significant biosecurity risks that can flow from the offences and the penalties need to reflect the serious impacts.”
Currently under state law, the maximum fine for trespassing is $2500 and individuals caught trespassing on land can be banned for 24 hours.
The State Government’s draft bill proposes doubling the fine to a maximum of $5000 where trespassing occurs on a farm.
The penalties for interfering with farm gates would double to $1500 and penalties for disturbing farm animals would increase from $750 to $2500 or a prison term of six months.
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman said the changes struck a balance between the right to protest and free speech and the need to ensure adequate legal protections for the primary production sector.
She said vigilante activists who trespass onto a farm to promote their cause were breaking the law and must be held accountable.
“Animal rights activists are tremendously passionate about their cause but trespassing and causing damage on private property is not an acceptable way of getting a message across,” she said.
The State Government bill complements a proposed Federal law which will create new offences for the incitement of trespass, property damage or theft on agricultural land.
Fines of more than $12,000 and up to five years imprisonment have been floated by the Commonwealth Government.
