Two politicians have taken a fiery stoush outside parliament and onto the internet, sparring over a controversial issue.
Two politicians have become embroiled in a fiery internet clash after a damning report that highlighted cruelty in the fur industry was presented to parliament.
Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst’s attempt to draw government attention to crude fur production practices was shut down on Thursday by NSW One Nation MLC Mark Latham.
Mr Latham, who had not read the latest findings profiled in global animal charity Four Paws’ report, objected to Ms Hurst’s motion calling on the government to take action.
Ms Hurst later addressed Mr Latham in a scathing post to Twitter.
“Four Paws report on the fur industry was just objected to by Mark Latham because he doesn’t want people in overseas fur farms who skin raccoon dogs alive or kill them by anal electrocution to be ‘out of a job’. Hope your morning is going better than mine,” she wrote.
Mr Latham responded to the post confirming his stance writing, “No, because I don’t want Australians thrown out of work. Humans ahead of animals”.
Ms Hurst pointed out there were no Australians overseas working on fur farms, highlighting her confusion over Latham’s passion for the matter.
“I’m not aware of any Australians working on overseas fur farms – but regardless, it’s not a choice between human and non-human animals. We can protect both, indeed we have to,” she wrote.
Mr Latham subsequently sidestepped in his opinion, arguing that a change to the fur industry would negatively impact Australian workers in “retail, processing and manufacturing industries”.
“AJP policy is to ban all furs, of devastating impact for many thousands of Australian workers in the retail, processing and manufacturing industries. Humans ahead of animals,” he wrote.
Ms Hurst implored Mr Latham to consider caring about both animals and humans.
“I’ve seen videos of animals being killed in the fur trade, and I wish I hadn’t. Watching an animal die slowly after being skinned alive leaves you with a sense of hopelessness that is hard to describe. Care about both – people and animals.”
Mr Latham went further to label the AJP’s stance against animal cruelty as “intellectually limiting”.
“Animal Justice Party has a single lens view of our complex, diverse, pluralistic society.
Intellectually limiting. A great shame that otherwise smart people bind themselves up like Bonsai. Animals only,” he wrote.
The report found the fur trade was out of touch with modern consumer expectations and no longer had a “social licence to operate”.
“This is not a trade that can be regulated or improved to meet community standards,” it read.
