Australian farmers have demanded an animal rights group be banned from Facebook after creating a map which shows the location of farms.
Animal rights charity Aussie Farms has released an interactive map detailing the location of hundreds of farm businesses in Australia.
The map shows locations where they think animals are being exploited.
The National Farmers Federation (NFF), an organisation that represents farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia, has called the map a “malicious” social media campaign.
Hundreds of farmers now have concerns that activists will use the map to track down private addresses and trespass on them.
Some have called for the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission to retract Aussie Farms' charitable status.
'Falsely represented'
NFF president Fiona Simson said some farmers are “distressed' after being “falsely represented”
“They are rightly distressed that their name has incorrectly been linked to animal cruelty,” Ms Simson said.
“They are extremely anxious and very angry that their workplace, and their home, has become the target of extreme and dangerous activities.”
Agriculture and Water Resources Minister, David Littleproud said the radical campaign is “irresponsible at best.”
“Putting the locations of farms online could be creating an attack map for activists. This will potentially result in illegal behaviour by activists,” he said.
“Farms are people’s homes, not just their businesses. Some farmers have already complained the website claims they run businesses which they do not.”
The map follows news of British farmers criticising misinformation about the industry as a result of social media campaigns such as 'veganuary'.
According to NFU Cymru, farmers are becoming “increasingly frustrated” at the attempts of individuals and activist groups using 'misinformation and inaccuracies' to tarnish the industry’s reputation.
