Веганский фильм «Dominion» набрал 55 000 просмотров за 48 часов после серии скоординированных акций протеста по всей Австралии, сообщает Plant Based News.
Activists from Australia defending the rights of animals held powerful protests across the country aimed at raising awareness of animal suffering with a request to watch a documentary, but politicians did not like it.
Events marking the anniversary of Dominion included protests at the slaughterhouses across the country, including Corio, Pakenham, Toowoomba, and Bacchus Marsh, among others.
In addition, the campaign blocked traffic at one of the largest intersections in Central Melbourne, holding posters with the captions: "You are being deceived, look Dominion" and "this is a peaceful protest."
Speaking on television about the protests, the Director of "Dominion" Chris said Delivers:
"I urge everyone who felt annoyed today to watch the film Dominion or at least two minutes of footage from the gas chamber at the slaughterhouses of Australia.
If you look at this footage, you'll understand why we had to be there today. What happens to animals on farms and slaughterhouses is deliberately hidden from consumers, but we believe that people have a right to know."
"We believe this industry needs to be more transparent so that consumers can make informed choices about what they support, because we believe most consumers are against animal abuse."
On the photo: search terms "Dominion" has increased dramatically in Australia after protests
Delforce told PBN that the actions of vegans led to a surge of activity of people who decided to watch the movie. "Over the past 48 hours, the film has been viewed approximately 55,000 times," he said.
In addition, Google Trends data show that the number of search queries on the terms "vegan" and "Dominion" in Australia has increased dramatically.
However, the activists ' actions also sparked a dispute with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who called them "shameful" and "non-Australians" during an interview on 2GB radio.
"It's just another form of activism that I think is contrary to the national interest, and the national interest is to cultivate their own land," he added, speaking on Monday.
After his initial outrage, Morrison confirmed that if he were re-elected, he would introduce a law to imprison activists involved in direct-action actions that infiltrate farms and slaughterhouses to film what's happening there with a hidden camera.
Pictured: searches for the term "vegan" also peaked in Australia after protests
Vegan Business Media and vegan Business Talk podcast host Katrina Fox told PBN that the protests sparked "a debate about veganism and animal rights in Australia."
"We saw a large number of media reports, some of which were negative, but some were pleasantly surprised, — she said. — Australian TV presenter Meshel Lori publicly thanked the protesters for what they made her think about what is happening.
"Vegan organizations and animal rights societies, as well as individual activists, have faced streams of hate speech and abuse via email, phone, SMS and social media, but have also received support," Katrina Fox stressed.
To mention the fact that Morrison has promised to introduce a law on the punishment of activists engaged in direct action, she added: "I believe that the government and the livestock industry may use the protests as an opportunity to overcome the mentality of "us versus them", United to cooperation, so the country switched to the cultivation of plant foods".