Right to Know: the Game Meats Cruelty Case: Media Releases

Media release: Thursday 4 Dec 2025

The High Court of Australia has today granted Farm Transparency Project (FTP) special leave to appeal a decision by the full court of the Federal Court, which awarded the Game Meats Company (GMC) slaughterhouse copyright over footage captured by FTP while trespassing in early 2024. Approximately one in twenty special leave applications are granted.  The High Court will be the final arbiters on this case, with the outcome setting a binding precedent for future animal cruelty investigations in Australia. FTP will argue that the footage, which shows numerous instances of animal cruelty in breach of welfare requirements, as well as...

Media release: Wednesday 12 Nov 2025

The federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has been referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and a formal complaint lodged over breaches under the Privacy Act, for its bungled handling of serious and illegal animal cruelty at the Game Meats Company (GMC) slaughterhouse in Eurobin, Victoria.  In May 2024, animal protection organisation Farm Transparency Project (FTP) submitted an urgent report to DAFF regarding the operations at the slaughterhouse, after hidden camera footage revealed daily cruelty towards goats. DAFF is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with animal welfare standards at export-accredited slaughterhouses such as the Eurobin facility. ...

Media release: Wednesday 13 Aug 2025

The Full Court of the Federal Court has allowed an appeal from the Game Meats Company slaughterhouse, ordering a permanent restraint on the publication of footage depicting animal cruelty and illegal activity at the company's facility in Eurobin, Victoria, which was illegally obtained by animal protection organisation Farm Transparency Project last year. The court granted copyright of the footage to the slaughterhouse, setting a new legal precedent likely to have wide-reaching ramifications for press freedom and political discourse over public interest matters. Farm Transparency Project has been ordered to destroy all copies of the footage.  The appeal was launched...

Media release: Friday 1 Aug 2025

A Victorian slaughterhouse is appearing before the Federal Court to appeal a decision which allowed the publication of footage of the slaughter of animals, which was illegally obtained by animal protection organisation Farm Transparency Project last year at the Game Meats Company slaughterhouse in Eurobin, Victoria.  The slaughterhouse claims that the court erred in its decision to not grant a permanent injunction to block the footage, which contains evidence of animal cruelty and illegal activity.  The appeal follows a five-day trial in August 2024, where FTP admitted to trespassing at the facility and installing hidden cameras to capture footage...

Media release: Thursday 19 Dec 2024

The Federal Court has refused to block the publication of footage of the slaughter of animals, which was illegally obtained by animal protection organisation Farm Transparency Project earlier this year at the Game Meats Company slaughterhouse in Eurobin, Victoria. The organisation will be allowed to publish the footage - which contains evidence of animal cruelty and illegal activity - once the month-long appeal window has passed.  The judgment follows a five-day trial in July where FTP admitted to trespassing at the facility and installing hidden cameras to capture footage of the slaughter of goats. In its judgment handed down...

Media release: Thursday 24 Oct 2024

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Cassy O’Connor and Abigail Boyd join state MPs to call for independent oversight of Australian slaughterhouses Farm Transparency Project, who wrote the letter, says that the government has failed to appropriately investigate hundreds of cases of alleged animal cruelty. The organisation is accusing the government department of corruption, claiming that their actions have raised doubts about their integrity and suitability to monitor and regulate animal welfare. Read the open letter View photos and footage An open letter, signed by a senator, several state MPs and animal protection organisations, is calling on the Prime Minister's office...

Media release: Thursday 24 Oct 2024

Dear Mr Albanese, I am writing on behalf of Farm Transparency Project, a non-profit animal protection organisation focused on raising public awareness about commercial animal farming and slaughter practices through comprehensive investigations into Australian animal use facilities. Over the past decade, our organisation has investigated a number of facilities and practices, catalysing significant animal welfare reforms. In recent years, this has included: Publishing footage of the foothold trapping and killing of native dingoes in Victoria by government contractors, stimulating debate and likely contributing to the Victorian government ending the practice in parts of the state. Investigating the failed phase-out of...

Media release: Monday 5 Aug 2024

A landmark legal trial has begun this week in the Federal Court of Australia, to determine whether animal protection organisation Farm Transparency Project will be restricted from publishing footage from a Victorian slaughterhouse operated by the Game Meats Company. In May, The Game Meats Company sought an urgent court order against Farm Transparency Project to censor the publication of hidden camera footage showing the slaughter of hundreds of goats at their slaughterhouse in northeast Victoria. Farm Transparency Project says that this lawsuit is an attempt by the slaughterhouse to hide its practices from the public, and that Farm Transparency will...

Media release: Monday 20 May 2024

Farm Transparency Project is being sued by a northern Victorian slaughterhouse, after it gave the government footage showing acts of extreme animal cruelty at the slaughterhouse and published that footage on its website The slaughterhouse sought an urgent order from the Federal Court to block the footage from being published, without notifying Farm Transparency Project Farm Transparency has taken down the footage to comply with the order but intends to defend its right to publish it Prominent animal advocacy organisation Farm Transparency Project is being sued by the Game Meats Company, a slaughterhouse in Eurobin, Victoria, following the release of...