It’s exciting to announce that the proposed mega battery-hen factory farm in Tooradin has been rejected by the VCAT tribunal! This is an outstanding victory for the countless hens who would have suffered and died there, and for the township of Tooradin.

You may remember months ago we told you Tamarix Poultry wanted to build five massive sheds, each holding 50,000 battery hens in cages four tiers high, and three sheds for rearing chicks with 17,000 babies in cages three tiers high. You can imagine how the residents of Tooradin felt, when they realised their quaint little seaside town was to play host to a putrid death camp plonked right on the main highway, next to a new housing estate and tourist highlights they were developing! The ‘Gateway to Gippsland’ was about to become the ‘Gateway to Gomorrah’!

The residents of this small town quickly lodged 42 objections. When ALV heard about it we told everyone who would listen, circulated it on our enews, set up a web page, made leaflets, drew up petitions and ran a stall at the local Tooradin market. Pretty soon the objections swelled to almost 600!

The local council unanimously rejected the application, and Tamarix Poultry Pty Ltd took the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Outrageously, ALV was denied standing at the tribunal hearing as VCAT didn’t accept that animals and their interests were under their jurisdiction. VCAT refuses to take animal welfare concerns seriously, despite our constant objections that the Codes of Practice (that are supposed to prevent cruelty) are a complete joke and are only recommendations that subsequently allows the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (which is under their jurisdiction) to be ignored.

So it was up to the residents and local council to put the case forward. ALV attended the whole hearing and I felt exactly like a battery hen… that is I had to sit there and listen to the whole thing and not say one word! After three nail biting days of evidence from both sides, the Tribunal decided to visit the proposed site personally before handing down their decision. YIPPPEEE!!! it was a NO to yet another torture centre for the intelligent hens we all care so deeply about. I heard about the decision while still in the USA and I wonder if you all heard me yell with delight. I know the tears were streaming down my face.

Reading the transcript of VCAT’s decision is quite interesting. Most of the concerns raised, such as odour, noise, traffic and environmental damage were deemed inconclusive. It would seem the Tribunal was most swayed by the outpouring of objections from the local community. This shows just how important it is for people to participate when injustice arises, and that every signature, phone call, letter to the editor, protest, placard and pamphlet can have the power of life and death.
So thank you to everyone who took part, who fought the good fight, and saved millions of lives from abject misery. With you in solidarity until everyone is free.