Moment Aussie vegan activist receives death threat on Melbourne street
Controversial vegan activist Tash Peterson has detailed her latest altercation on the streets of Melbourne as a man told her "I'll beat you to death with your camera" after she and her boyfriend were caught filming him alongside a horse-drawn carriage.
It comes just months after the 28-year-old, who recently moved to Melbourne from Perth, admitted she was "fearing for her life" after receiving thousands of “abusive and disgusting” messages on social media, with threats to rape and murder her.
After noticing horse-drawn carriage services on the side of the road, believed to be near Southbank, Ms Peterson and her partner Jack Higgs approached the horse-and-carriage driver who was standing with his son.
"I noticed the horse carriages and was curious as I know recently they had been banned from the CBD and wanted to ask questions," she told Yahoo News Australia.
"I want to educate people on how immoral using animals as commodities and vehicles is."
As she approached, she began hurling abuse at driver who had "clearly dressed himself and his child in a 1900s theme to attract tourists and photos".
"Disgusting, you should be ashamed of yourselves!" Ms Peterson said on camera, slamming the practice of using horses to pull carts as "barbaric" and "animal abuse".
"I see a really depressed animal,” she continued in a the video shared on Facebook on Monday.
"Forced to stand and cart around people, it’s absolutely disgusting. Animal cruelty."
But the fed-up horse-and-carriage driver, wearing a red coat and top hat, perked up at the idea of his child being on camera.
"I hope you are not filming my child," he said to the couple
"If you do, I'll beat you to death with your camera, alright?"
Mr Higgs denied filming the children, with Ms Peterson adding: "We're filming animal slavery and exploitation."
Bystanders also chimed in to say the horse "looks pretty healthy" prompting another tirade about slavery from Ms Peterson.
The horse-and-carriage driver eventually rode off as the activist continued her rant about horses being "enslaved" and "commodified" being used as a vehicle.
Ms Peterson told Yahoo News Australia that she "wasn't bothered" by the altercation and it's something she gets on a regular basis.
"I'm used to people reacting in an aggressive and abusive manner and I'm willing to put myself in these situations for nonhuman animals who can't speak for themselves," she said
Series of 'disruptive' public protests
The public stunt is the activist's latest attempt to push her vegan messaging.
And they're very rarely tamed.
The outspoken protestor has made a name for herself in recent years due to her “disruptive style” of activism, which often involves nudity and shock value.
Last month, Ms Peterson sparked outrage after sharing photos of a dead baby lamb in the aisle of a Coles supermarket in Melbourne.
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Ms Peterson and a group of activists took the lamb into a Coles store in Kew.
The animal rights activist said "every single year 15 MILLION lambs freeze to death in Australia.
"If you're not vegan, YOU are responsible for her death."
And last year, the outspoken activist was dragged out of an event at the Perth Royal Show after she jumped the fence to stage a protest.
The serial protestor is known to target supermarkets, fast-food outlets, sporting events and even fashion stores, often posing nude with placards or covered in fake blood.
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