Mimi Bekhechi, PETA
Shock, horror: a bureaucrat who worked at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Agricultural Development and Food Security section follows the social media pages of animal protection groups! Dr Julie Delforce – a senior sector specialist in DFAT’s agricultural and food division – has resigned from the Department after being stood down for ‘following’ her son’s website, Aussie Farms.
In a year of budgeting bungles and dubious funding allocations, we should be pleased to learn that Dr Delforce is well-educated in aspects of animal welfare. As fair-minded Australians, we should support the employment of compassionate, informed people in our public service. Their insight might just help prevent the routine abuse of animals on Australian farms – the sort that would be illegal if enacted on household dogs or cats – and which often stays undocumented due to coercive ag-gag laws.
If more of us could see the way that animals bellow for their stolen children, suffer intense confinement, and fight for their lives, we would go vegan today. We can all support Aussie farmers by purchasing healthy, climate-friendly and cruelty-free ingredients from fruit and vegetable producers, and transition away from cruel animal ‘products’ immediately.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
