Kristy Alger has been campaigning for Tasmania’s animal welfare legislation to be changed for eight years.
WARNING: This story contains details of animal abuse which may distress some readers.
One of the worse cases of animal abuse that is still fresh in her mind was seeing the slaughter of a dairy cow at Gretna Meatworks in 2016.
Kristy Alger is a spokesperson for Animal Liberation Tasmania and leads the Defund Tasracing campaign. (ABC News: Jordy Gregg)
“We saw some horrific acts of animal abuse there, outside of what is standard in a slaughterhouse,” the animal welfare advocate said.
“A former dairy cow was sent to Gretna for slaughtering because she was no longer producing milk profitably.
“She was sent into the holding pens with a clearly broken leg, then made to stand for over an hour in the kill box, where they then shot her in the head with the bolt gun repeatedly, I believe it was about five times and failed to stun her.
“They then tipped her onto the kill floor and started hacking into her neck.”
It still haunts her today knowing no criminal charges were ever laid.
One Tasmanian MP says Tasmania’s animal welfare legislation is “woefully inadequate” and needs to be reviewed. (Caddie Brain)
The allegations against the abattoir were the subject of a prolonged investigation by the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment — but ultimately the decision was made that no further action be taken.
“Our ongoing audits of the facility have found the facility is complying with its requirements in relation to animal welfare,” Biosecurity Tasmania general manager Lloyd Klumpp said in 2018.
Gretna Meatwork’s owner at the time, Michael Munnings, said he had cooperated with investigators.
A still from a video taken inside Gretna Quality Meats in Tasmania, in which a worker strikes a pig with a metal pipe. (Supplied: Animal Liberation)
Tasmanian Labradoodles, the latest case of animal welfare concerns
Former workers at Tasmania’s then-largest puppy farm have broken their silence, revealing details about what they saw happen and were asked to do while working at Tasmanian Labradoodles.
One worker said they were asked to put live puppies in the freezer, while others saw evidence of over-breeding, a dog being hit with PVC pipe and puppies shaken to the point of being stunned so they would sit still for a photo for prospective buyers to see.
“We did have animal welfare laws in place that should have prevented what happened there… you’re not allowed to put a live dog in a freezer, there are laws pertaining to the over-breeding of dogs in a commercial setting, we had legislation in place, and they still did what they did,” Ms Alger said.
“Legislation of this kind might penalise those people who cross that legal threshold, but it doesn’t prevent it from happening.”
Noodle, from Tasmanian Labradoodles, has taken some time to adjust to life outside the facility. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
Ms Alger is now calling for an independent office of animal welfare to be set up with the powers to investigate and prosecute animal welfare breaches.
The puppy farm was closed in July after an out-of-court agreement was signed with the RSPCA, which included the immediate closure of the facility and the surrender of all 239 dogs.
Tasmanian Labradoodles has been contacted for comment.
‘Countless’ examples of legislation being ‘weak’
Labor Leader Dean Winter said Tasmanians had seen example after example of animal welfare standards being breached, but no action being taken by authorities.
“In the Ben Yole saga we had a trainer who had appalling conditions, in my opinion, at his training facility, and in the opinion of hundreds of others in the racing community. In that instance the Office of Racing Integrity and the RSPCA said they’d been conducting inspections, but nothing had happened,” Mr Winter said.
Leading Tasmanian harness trainer Ben Yole has since been charged by an independent stewards’ panel with the mistreatment of horses under the Australian Harness Racing Rules.
He’s also been charged for administering an intra-articular injection to a horse nominated to race within eight clear days of the commencement of the race.
It followed the ABC in March 2023, airing allegations of team driving, race fixing and animal welfare concerns in the state’s harness racing industry.
Mr Winter said the latest example at Tasmanian Labradoodles, where the former workers self-reported to the RSPCA up to six times, is an example of the system being “broken”.
“Tasmanians have been let down and the workers have been let down. Those workers were brave, putting in those complaints about what they were being asked to do at work… but nothing appears to have been done and that’s a huge issue,” Mr Winter said.
“If workers are reporting that they’re being told to put puppies into freezers and they’re reporting it to the relevant authorities and nothing is happening, that tells you that something drastically needs to change.”
Animal welfare advocates say greyhound racing is rife with abuse of dogs. (Greyhound racing, Michoff, CC License)
Action needs to be taken, review needed, says MP
Independent Member for Clark, Kristie Johnston, said Tasmania’s animal welfare legislation was “woefully inadequate” and needed to be reviewed.
“It hasn’t been properly reviewed in 31 years. It is an old piece of legislation,” Ms Johnston said.
“Tasmanians would have a higher expectation of animal welfare standards.”
Animal welfare researcher at the University of Melbourne, Mia Cobb, said it was distressing seeing the video and photos from the puppy farm.
“It feels ridiculous to say in 2024 out loud that putting puppies who are alive into a freezer with the intention of killing them is not acceptable,” Ms Cobb said.
“The Australian public are outraged to know this has been happening and we really need to think about where the puppies we buy are coming from.”
Dr Mia Cobb says it is “safe to say Tasmania’s legislation is being left behind at the moment”. (ABC News: Sean Warren)
Dr Cobb said she would like the “system completely flipped”.
“Rather than the burden of proof being on the public or the authorities, needing to find evidence people are doing the wrong thing, large scale breeding facilities like this should need to prove they have everything in place to ensure the welfare of the dogs in their care.”
Tasmania’s Minister for Primary Industries says she wants “really strong animal welfare standards in Tasmania”. (Supplied: TQM)
How do Tasmanian laws compare to other states?
Alexandra Whittaker, Associate Professor in Animal Welfare and Law at the University of Adelaide, has been studying and researching methods to assess animal welfare for the past decade and is trained in veterinary science.
She said many states had recently, or were in the process of, reforming their animal welfare laws.
“Tasmania’s laws are very similar to other states and territories in terms of animal cruelty. They’re broad in terms of provisions and obviously there’s an evidentiary burden to get those cases to court,” Dr Whittaker said.
“There’s very little specific provisions around puppy farming, for instance, or dogs even and that might be a barrier for them (RSPCA).”
She said Victoria and Western Australia were currently leading the way in terms of specific laws to crack down on puppy farms.
“What they do in their legislation is cap the number of breeding females a dog breeder essentially can have and the number of litters they can have.”
The Tasmanian Quality Meats abattoir in Cressy was investigated over animal cruelty allegations and later given the green light to continue exporting sheep. (Supplied: Farm Transparency Project)
RSPCA CEO Andrea Dawkins said in a statement the RSPCA was “eagerly awaiting” the release of the draft Dog Regulations Discussion Paper.
“The reality is that the existing laws in Tasmania have failed us, and those laws must change,” Ms Dawkins said.
Minister for Primary Industries Jane Howlett said she was currently working on the paper and it would be released in coming weeks.
“I want to make sure that we have the best animal welfare outcomes, whether it be in the racing industry, for example, as far as the labradoodle puppy farm, I want to make sure that things like that never, ever occur again,” Ms Howlett said.
“I want to have really strong animal welfare standards in Tasmania.”
On Sunday, the Tasmania government released its Livestock Processing Taskforce report in response to secret videos filmed inside Tasmanian abattoirs last year.
The government has said it would accept 11 recommendations within the report and one in principle.
‘Need to have strong laws’
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re ever going to stamp out animal abuse, it’s like any kind of crime, it will happen,” Dr Whittaker said.
“Having said that, the increase in penalties across the country is at least sending a message. We hope it’s sending a deterrent message that this is serious and this is going to be treated seriously.
“We do need to have strong laws and actually make reforms based on science and what we know and also shifts in public attitudes towards animals and animal welfare.”
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