Perth vegan activist Tash Peterson stages topless protest with influencer friends in Melbourne

Perth vegan activist Tash Peterson has wasted no time since arriving in Melbourne, taking to the streets topless with fellow animal rights protestors to spread the message, “wool is just as cruel as fur”.

Days after drawing the ire of West Aussies with a stakeout at Perth Zoo, just after Tricia the elephant’s death, the controversial anti-meat protestor announced she had landed in Victoria

On her third day in her new home, she staged a protest in true Peterson style at the bustling Burke Street Mall – topless, of course, smeared in red paint, and holding signs to draw attention to the Australian wool industry’s “appalling treatment of sheep”.

The 28-year-old was joined by hardcore vegan model Stefania Ferrario, who was pictured front and centre holding a prop of a bloody lamb above her head, along with another activist who goes by the name Vegan Stace.

The protest was supported by PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – Australia, which is dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals.

In an Instagram post to her 16,500 followers, Peterson shared that she had hit the streets of Melbourne to “bring attention to new undercover footage exposing serious cruelty in a shearing shed in Birregurra, Victoria”.

“The video shows a sheep who has been badly wounded on the chest during shearing. Blood pours out of the animal as the shearer uses a huge needle and thread to crudely stitch up the bloody gash. No pain relief or veterinary care is provided,” she posted on her account @vganbootyy, adding people could find the truth via PETA Australia.

Ferrario echoed Peterson’s statement in her own post to her 1.1 million social media following on her Instagram page @stefania_model, sharing the horrific details they claim take place at shearing sheds.

“Standard industry practice involves lambs’ ears being hole-punched, tails and the surrounding skin cut off, as well as males being castrated, all without any painkillers,” Ferrario wrote.

“Shearers are usually paid by volume, not by the hour, leading to hasty work resulting in frequent injuries … Strips of skin, teats, tails, and ears are often cut or ripped off during shearing.”

Ferrario goes on to say that sheep shearing is “a business born out of genetic manipulation that puts the welfare of animals second to the money that can be made off their backs,” and calls on her followers to, “please stop supporting animal abuse by living vegan.”

In a media release, PETA Australia praised the trio for “braving a cold winter morning” to draw attention to the Aussie wool industry.

“Just last week, we released new eyewitness video footage filmed earlier this year inside a shearing shed in Victoria,” the release stated.

“The video shows a badly bleeding sheep – injured during shearing – being held between the knees of a shearer, who crudely stitches up her gaping wound without administering any pain relief. The shearer then mops up the animal’s blood with her own fleece.”

PETA claims its entity investigators have visited more than 100 wool industry operations around the world and have documented cruelty at every single location.

There is a strong global demand for Australia’s wool, which is regarded as among “the world’s best”, according to the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

“Australia is one of the world’s largest wool producers, producing around 25 per cent of greasy wool sold on the world market,” the government website states.

“The value of Australian wool exports in 2016-17 is estimated to be around $3.615 billion.”

Over the years, those in the wool industry have come out to condemn animal cruelty on the job.

In a statement back in 2017, WoolProducers Australia came out strongly in response to a sentencing of four shearers being convicted of animal cruelty in Horsham’s Magistrate Court in Victoria.

“WoolProducers strongly condemns animal cruelty and anybody found committing these offences has no place in the wool industry, as they are jeopardising the reputation of the vast majority of wool growers and shearers who treat animals humanely and with care on a daily basis,” they said.

The statement went on to highlight that shearing is “an extremely difficult job, but it is done so across the country in varying conditions at least five days a week and there is never a need for cruelty to be inflicted on an animal.”

WoolProducers Australia also said animal welfare was a key priority for the wool industry and one they take very seriously.

Earlier this month, Peterson declared she was “getting the f*** out of WA” and had booked a one-way ticket to Melbourne with her partner Jack Higgs in reaction to her eight-month pub ban and her freedom of speech being “taken away.”