Stephanie Tretheway, Australian of the Year nominee, condemns ‘crazy vegans’ as her farm is targeted by animal rights activists

An Australian of the Year nominee is embroiled in a bitter feud with animal activists after a film emerged of a slaughterhouse she previously part-owned that treated animals harshly.

Stephanie Trethewey, who is automatically in the running for the national award as Tasmanian Australian of the Year for 2024, has hit back at what she called “hate and vilification by these … people”.

Ms Tretheway has been targeted by animal rights activists after hidden cameras at The Local Meat Co, a northwestern Tasmanian slaughterhouse then owned by Ms Trethewey and her husband Sam Trethewey, captured scenes of brutal animal treatment.

Ms Trethewey, a former television journalist who founded the online non-profit organization Motherland, which aims to “celebrate and connect rural mothers”, says that since the footage was made public earlier this month she has become “the target of a number of truly disgusting animal activists’.

“I have received death threats and been bullied all day long via messages, emails and phone calls,” she wrote on Instagram, adding that her name had been “dragged through the mud.”

“I have also closed comments on our farm and am genuinely concerned for the safety of my family.”

Ms Trethewey also said she is exploring “exciting ideas” on how to “protect other rural families from… hatred and vilification by these… people”.

In a statement sent to Daily Mail Australia on Friday, Ms Trethewey said she had “engaged with social media who spoke out against my co-ownership (of the abattoir).

“This has been personally taxing for someone with a history of mental health issues, while at the same time trying to be a proud representative of Tasmania,” she said.

Hidden camera footage at a slaughterhouse then partly owned by Mrs Trethewey shows animals being brutally treated

The statement also said Ms Trethewey was no longer a co-owner of The Local Meat Co as of December.

She “never had any management or operational involvement with the facility.

“When the animal welfare issues were raised – and immediately addressed by The Local Meat Co – we decided to remove myself from the ownership register to reflect the reality that I have no operational involvement with the facility,” she said.

“All I can say is that I have contacted lawyers, reported certain individuals to the police, spoken to journalists and trust the good people to do their research before relying on what a group of crazy vegans say.”

Footage taken by the Farm Transparency Project in September at the slaughterhouse, which prides itself on producing ‘sustainable’ quality meat, showed cattle being shot multiple times in the head but remaining conscious.

Disturbing footage shows cows’ necks and heads being clamped by hydraulic machines before being driven with a hammer and a metal pipe.

Sheep are roughly tossed, beaten with electric prods and used to move them past the races to the slaughter area.

Farm Transparency Project director Harley McDonald-Eckersall claimed the images were damning. There is no suggestion that Mr McDonald-Eckersall engaged in inappropriate conduct towards Ms Trethewey

The Farm Transparency Project said the shocking picture of animal abuse at Local Meat Co’s abattoir lasted just two days

“We only had cameras installed at the Local Meat Co for two days,” he said.

‘In that short time we have documented the most cruel treatment of cows and sheep we have seen in recent years.

“By allowing this slaughterhouse to continue operating despite these images, the state government is sending a message that this type of treatment of animals is okay and will have no consequences.”

The Local Meat Co described the ‘illegally acquired images’ as unacceptable in December and condemned ‘all mistreatment of animals’.

The statement ends by saying media reports ‘contain historical inaccuracies… Including wrongly naming someone as owner of The Local Meat Co who is not an owner or shareholder, as revealed by an ASIC search.

On Instagram, Mrs Trethewey said her husband took immediate action when the footage came to light in December.

‘Sam (who oversees the company but does not work with it on a day-to-day basis or has anything to do with its processing) fired two staff members last month when the images were sent to him, immediately made upgrades to the facility and has worked closely with the government,” she wrote on Instagram.

Ms Trethewey founded the non-profit organization Motherland, which aims to ‘celebrate and connect rural mothers’

The abattoir, along with several others, is being investigated by Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Despite the controversy, Ms Trethewey said she will ‘continue to advocate for rural mothers across Australia through my charity Motherland, which I work on full-time’.

“There is an absolute need to continue our incredible work supporting isolated rural women and improving mental health care for rural families,” she said in her statement to Daily Mail Australia.