Meat Producers Threaten Legal Action Over Vegans ’ Parody

After a whirlwind of media attention and furor from vegans, the creators of a controversial Australia Day advertisement are issuing a take-down notice to an animal-rights group that created its own parody version of the ad. Aussie Farms, an organization “fighting to end commercialized animal abuse and exploitation” posted its response to Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) video, in which armed militiamen storm a vegan’s home and take a flamethrower to his kale salad in an attempt to have him eat lamb for the holiday. Using the opening seven seconds of the ad, featuring famed news anchor Lee Lin Chin, the Aussie Farm’s version, entitled “Behind the Scenes of the Australia Day Eat Lamb ad,” incorporates recent disturbing footage from a lamb slaughterhouse, bringing to light “the reality behind lamb consumption.” Two days after its posting, Aussie Farms says it received an express-posted letter from MLA claiming copyright infringement and threatening legal action if the video remained online. However, according to Aussie Farms, “as the video falls squarely within the definition of Fair Use/Dealing, we have instead chosen to launch an urgent fundraising campaign to boost the video’s reach …” Reaction to the subversion has garnered applause from supporters, with one saying, “This is fantastic news. Love it when lambs frighten big business,” while another quipped, “This is why you don’t attack vegans. We have far too much evidence on our side!”