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Farm invader fined

By Geoff Adams

Sep 17, 2020

A woman who breached strict biosecurity laws at two Darling Downs farms as part of a vegan protest has been targeted by death threats, a Brisbane court has been told.

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Leah Ava Whetton, 30, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, September 16, to two counts of trespass after more serious charges were downgraded.

Whetton was a member of the Meat the Victim animal rights group which broke into the large-scale piggery Cameron Pastoral, at Pittsworth, and Canningvale poultry farm Williams Eggs in 2018 and 2019.

The court heard she disregarded clearly signed biosecurity procedures and handled piglets and laying hens. The court was told Whetton had a history of similar offences and her offences were "of a continual nature".

After the vegan raids, the activist's personal details were released on social media, and she and her mother had received death threats.

“One of those was a phone call to cut off her fingers and her jaw broken,” Whetton's defence solicitor told the court.

“Other than this offending, which is grounded in her conscience, she has no criminal history.”

Whetton was fined $1000 and no conviction was recorded.

— AAP