No evidence of activists tampering with cattle trucks

FactCheck October 25, 2019

The Statement

AAP FactCheck examined a Facebook post from October 23, 2019 by BP Glendambo which claims vegans and animal activists are tampering with the rear pins of cattle trucks at rest stops.

*A Facebook post from October 23, 2019 claims vegans and animal activists are tampering with the rear pins of cattle trucks at rest stops.*

The post reads: “URGENT WARNING to all cattle truck drivers. Roadhouse’s (sic) are issuing warnings of vegans and animal activists pulling the rear pins on stationary cattle crates. Please check your vehicles for tampering!” The text accompanying the post reads: “Just seen this on another site boys and girls be careful. Please check your trucks before leaving Glendambo.”

The BP Glendambo page is for the service station at Glendambo on the Stuart Highway in South Australia.

The post has been shared more than 1900 times, and has attracted more than 130 reactions and 60 comments on Facebook.

The Analysis

The “URGENT WARNING” post has previously circulated on social media. In May 2019, news website 10 daily noticed the post trending and labelled its claim as “fake” in a report. The warning post was shared by the page Queensland Through Your Eyes before the content was removed.

The 10 daily report noted there was no indication of who was behind the warning, “nor when or where the activity has taken place”.

*Police in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia received no reports of vegans and animal activists pulling the rear pins of stationary cattle trucks.*

AAP FactCheck was unable to track down the origins of the Facebook post, but contacted police in the country’s three biggest cattle producing states – Queensland, NSW and Victoria – and also South Australia, the state where the Facebook page BP Glendambo is based, to verify the claim.

Queensland Police’s Major and Organised Rural Crime Squad had not received any reports of the tampering described in the Facebook post, a police spokeswoman told AAP FactCheck.

Similarly a spokeswoman for NSW Police told AAP FactCheck the Head of their Rural Crimes Investigation Unit had not received reports about such incidents as did Victorian Police’s Farm Crime Unit and South Australia Police.

A National Farmers’ Federation spokesperson confirmed the group also did not have any evidence of such a practice happening.

The Verdict

Based on the above evidence, AAP FactCheck found the claims in the Facebook post to be false. Police in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia received no reports of vegans and animal activists pulling the rear pins of stationary cattle trucks.

False – The primary claim of the content is factually inaccurate.

First published October 25, 2019, 14:49 AEST

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