Right to Know: the Game Meats Cruelty Case: News Coverage

#1. Wednesday 6 May 2026 by Fiona Myers (The Weekly Times)

Export abattoirs have generated 2700 animal welfare incident reports in four years, but bureaucratic confusion between state and federal authorities has left investigation outcomes unclear.

#2. Tuesday 5 May 2026 by Ben McKay (The Canberra Times (AAP))

The ownership of footage of slaughtered goats may affect future press freedom in Australia, whistleblower advocates say, as the case heads to the High Court. The odd set of events has come about due to a novel legal strategy employed by a Victorian abattoir, accused of mistreating animals. In 2024, animal...

#3. Tuesday 5 May 2026 by Elizabeth Byrne (ABC)

A goat abattoir, a group of animal rights activists and the copyright act will be the focus today in a High Court challenge over who owns the rights to footage captured by secret cameras. The court is being asked to determine a tricky issue, that could hamper the use of...

#4. Tuesday 5 May 2026 by (The Conversation)

Over the decades, journalists and activist groups have revealed horrendous animal cruelty using covert recordings. A 2011 Four Corners investigation of abuse of Australian cattle in Indonesia is among the most well-known examples.

#5. Thursday 30 Apr 2026 by Tallis Miles (The Weekly Times)

Animal activists and an abattoir have lodged their submissions ahead of a court date which will determine if 14 minutes of secretly filmed abattoir footage ever sees the light of day.

#6. Wednesday 22 Apr 2026 by Paul Gregoire (Sydney Criminal Lawyers)

A Federal Court ruling caught many off-guard last year, as it found Game Meats Company (GMC) owned the copyright relating to images, including a 14 minute film, taken by Farms Transparency Project (FTP) at a goat slaughterhouse, which, if not overturned by a High Court appeal, will serve to preserve extreme...

#7. Wednesday 8 Apr 2026 by Press Release (Human Rights Law Centre)

The Human Rights Law Centre and the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom have applied to participate in an important High Court case as a friend of the court, to raise public interest concerns relating to whistleblowing and press freedom. The application, in the case of Farm Transparency International v The Game...

#8. Wednesday 8 Apr 2026 by Christopher Knaus (The Guardian)

Finding set to have significant implications for the use of covertly recorded footage by media outlets to expose wrongdoing

#9. Thursday 5 Mar 2026 by Conor Fowler (The Weekly Times)

An animal activist wants a public apology after the government admitted it “likely” breached her privacy by revealing her identity to the abattoir she reported for alleged cruelty.

#10. Friday 5 Dec 2025 by Sue Webster (Beef Central)

Animal activists are claiming a victory after the High Court yesterday agreed to consider their right to screen illegally-filmed abattoir footage.

#11. Friday 5 Dec 2025 by Tallis Miles (The Weekly Times)

Animal activists have won the right to challenge a ban on publishing controversial abattoir footage in Australia’s highest court.

#12. Tuesday 18 Nov 2025 by Monique Patterson (Stock & Land)

Farm Transparency Project alleges animal cruelty cover-up linked to DAFF at Victorian abattoir. Activists seek anti-corruption probe.

#13. Friday 14 Nov 2025 by Tallis Miles (The Weekly Times)

Animal activists have claimed the Department of Agriculture has been referred to the national corruption watchdog for its handling of an animal cruelty complaint.

#14. Saturday 23 Aug 2025 by Katherine Wilson (The Saturday Paper)

Chris Delforce accepts his films may one day land him in jail. His footage has generated public inquiries, government taskforces and law reform. In the past fortnight, the Melbourne filmmaker has endured legal threats from a meat processor and, early on the morning of Tuesday, August 12, police raided his Southbank...

#15. Thursday 21 Aug 2025 by Sul Nowroz (Real Media)

An Australian court has granted a permanent injunction against the Farm Transparency Project (FTP), a not-for-profit charity dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of farm animals. The injunction was applied for by The Game Meats Company, a slaughterhouse based in Eurobin, Victoria, in an effort to censor reporting on...

#16. Wednesday 20 Aug 2025 by Dr Elizabeth Hicks (The University of Melbourne)

The Australian Federal Court's recent copyright judgment on footage filmed covertly could deter rights advocacy groups and undermine media freedom and public debate

#17. Monday 18 Aug 2025 by (ABC Media Watch)

Animal rights reporting faces an uncertain future due to a legal ruling. 

#18. Monday 18 Aug 2025 by Kim Wingerei (Michael West Media)

When animal rights group Farm Transparency Project blew the whistle on unlawful practices at an abattoir, they didn't expect copyright laws to stop them.

#19. Wednesday 13 Aug 2025 by Tallis Miles (The Weekly Times)

Animal activists must delete secretly filmed abattoir footage and pay $130,000 in damages after losing a Federal Court battle against a Victorian meat company.

#20. Tuesday 5 Aug 2025 by Tallis Miles (Herald Sun)

Federal Court judges will decide if controversial footage showing alleged animal cruelty can be published, following an appeal hearing last week.

#21. Wednesday 5 Feb 2025 by Alexandra Laskie (The Weekly Times)

A notice of appeal has been lodged by the abattoir which lost its bid to stop the publishing of footage illegally obtained by animal activists. See the latest.

#22. Thursday 5 Sep 2024 by Tallis Miles (The Weekly Times)

A Victorian abattoir is seeking a permanent injunction and a potential six-figure sum for damages against an animal activist group. See the details.

#23. Tuesday 3 Sep 2024 by Katherine Wilson (The Guardian)

Closing arguments in a landmark case brought by a Victorian abattoir against an animal advocacy charity were heard at the federal court of Australia on Tuesday.

#24. Friday 9 Aug 2024 by Tallis Miles (The Weekly Times)

Key witnesses have taken the stand in a Federal Court trial regarding whether animal activists can publish footage from inside a slaughterhouse.