Media Release – 7 September 2023
Rockhampton Billboard (the Rockhampton Billboard is the first of many designed to correct the deceptive messaging of activist groups)
The time has come to rally rural and regional communities to correct the record, to stand up and unite and tell the truth to our fellow Australians – that activist groups like the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and many others are pushing deceptive messaging that damages the reputation of our agricultural industries.
These activists continue to run the narrative that rural and regional Australians are environmental vandals. “This is clearly false and communities have had enough. Farmers were one of the original instigators of the Landcare movement in Australia, we are the communities that produce the food and fibre that feeds and clothes Australians and many other people around the globe and we are the communities that continue to call out the environmental destruction and industrialisation of our landscapes from the reckless roll out of renewables,” Chairman of Property Rights Australia (PRA) Jim Willmott said.
“For example, take the recent messaging put forward by PETA stating eating meat kills Koalas. The reality is Beef producers work tirelessly to harmonise their farms with the natural environment – predators and weeds are proactively controlled and cattle grazing on private property and State forests reduces undergrowth leading to potentially less intense fires which create habitats that foster larger Koala populations.”
This view is consistent with those expressed by Dr Bill Ellis in early June 2023 in published research following 35 years of in field study.
“The Queensland Government notes that Koalas face a range of environmental stresses including loss of grasslands from thickening, encroachment, and weeds, urban development, impacts from high intensity bushfires and climate variability, disease, dog and feral cat attacks and car strikes. If we continue to let activist groups lead the narrative the community will believe we are killing Koala populations and destroying the environment. This is simply untrue and misleading,” said Mr Willmott.
PRA calls on the community to support our fighting fund to help produce a series of billboards and other supportive initiatives that promote the true reality regarding what is really happening in our rural and regional landscapes.
Jim Willmott | PRA Chairman | M: 0439 451 473 | E: jimmytecnam@yahoo.com
Property Rights Australia Fighting Fund
BSB: 484-799 | Account: 037 224 400
References
Queensland Government – South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy 2020–2025
Beef Central – Why some of the largest and healthiest koala populations are found in cattle grazing areas