ALV is the victim of a vicious and deceitful smear campaign being carried out by the RSPCA, a campaign seeking to draw attention away from the fact that the RSPCA is failing in its statutory duty to protect “all creatures great and small”.

ALV is an unequivocally non-violent organisation and would never endorse an action that would in any way cause harm to another being, whether human or non-human.

To put some light on the RSPCA’s tactics. Hugh Wirth reported a ‘security scare’ at the Million Paws Walk in today’s newspaper article. This ‘security scare’ referred to an incident where Dr Wirth and Stan the Man Longinidis were offered samples of mock chicken by a 5’ 3” tall woman in a lettuce costume!

The incident involving the washable red paint came about after the RSPCA continually refused to launch a prosecution against Australia’s largest battery hen farmer, despite being presented with clear documented evidence of horrific animal cruelty (including severely deformed and injured birds, and birds dying of starvation in piles of their own manure). What the RSPCA did do, to its disgrace, was enter into a business arrangement with the company abusing these animals, that saw the RSPCA receive hundreds of thousands of dollars.

To draw attention to this, a young vet student who was an ALV member and an RSPCA volunteeer, cast some water based finger paint (symbolising the blood of the animals suffering and dying due to RSPCA negligence) at Hugh Wirth. At no time was Dr Wirth in any danger, and the action served to bring to wide public attention the suffering of animals abandoned by the RSPCA. When police spoke to an ALV member involved in the action they said they viewed the incident as ‘trivial’.

If the RSPCA has any reason to be running scared, it is not because of the manufactured threat of animal rights activists, but rather because the organisation continues to lose relevance. The desperation of the RSPCA was clear when ALV recently shut down Australia’s largest puppy factory farm and the RSPCA dishonestly tried to take credit for a victory they had nothing to do with.

ALV President Patty Mark said today "ALV calls on the RSPCA to stop their vicious and deceitful smear campaign. The real issue here is the horrific suffering on factory farms that the RSPCA continues to ignore."