Rabbit Factory Permit Denied!

This is the Rabbit Campaign Victory of the Century!!! Thank you so much to ALV & all their members for objecting to the intensive battery cage rabbit farm that was intended for Leongatha, Victoria.

This victory is even more outstanding as the South Gippsland Council had originally approved the permit and fought tooth and nail for it to receive the go ahead, despite objections from locals and of course ALV.

In early July, ALV and two neighbors to the property appealed the local council's decision to approve the rabbit factory at a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). ALV President Patty Mark prepared and presented a submission on behalf of the rabbits, including in the appendix an excellent paper prepared especially for the tribunal by leading UK rabbit expert Colleen McDuling.

The application to battery cage rabbits was mainly knocked back due to concerns about how the enormous volumes of faeces deposited by thousands of rabbits each month would be dealt with in an area also prone to flooding. Photos taken by ALV's rescue team of battery cage rabbit factories featuring huge piles of built up manure would have definitely impacted on the decision.

Although the Tribunal were generally unwilling to deal with issues related to animal cruelty, at least some concern was raised that the current Codes of Practice governing rabbit farming are "out of touch" and "carry little weight".

(Note: the applicant was originally so confident their proposal would pass they already had two semi trailers loaded with a shed and cages on the property, ready to assemble).