Vegan activists vow to continue to ‘disrupt’ Melbourne restaurants

Vegan activists who stormed a steakhouse in Melbourne’s CBD and shouted at diners through a megaphone have denied it was an aggressive act and say they will do it again.

The protesters, from Direct Action Everywhere and Melbourne Cow Save, held up posters with graphic pictures from slaughterhouses and chanted at diners at the Rare Steakhouse restaurant on Saturday night.

One of the protesters, Joanne Lee, told Neil Mitchell on 3AW Mornings it was a non-violent protest to give a voice to animals.

“The media is reporting that it was directed at the individuals in the restaurant – that’s not what we were setting out to do,” she said.

“We are forcing people to pick a side, are you on the side of cruelty or compassion.”

She said there are a new wave of vegans and activists who would “continue to disrupt and occupy the spaces where this happens” and they were planning similar protests.

Neil Mitchell said chanting through a megaphone is an aggressive act and the group’s tactics were “abhorrent”.

“What you did the other night was indecent to the people in there – it was wrong. Fair enough be passionate about animals.. but to go in there and harass them was wrong.”

Click PLAY to hear the full exchange on 3AW Mornings