From the Brain of Tom Thomlinson...

Live Cattle Documentary- Completely Faked?

 

I have the utmost respect for Asian culture. I’ve always laughed along at Greg Ritchie’s “Mathatma Cote” on Ch 9’s Footy Show, and I quite often enjoy sweet and sour pork at my local Chinese restaurant. Which is why I wasn’t surprised when Senator Chris Black told the Rural Transport Senate Committee that the cameraman and driver from “Animals Australia” paid Indonesian abattoir workers $17 to mistreat cattle. This tell me two things, firstly that Animal Liberationists are quite tight (that’s not even a slab of Bintang) and secondly their real aim is not to protect animals, but to kick the honest Australian farming community in the nuts.

 

Personally I think this is just the beginning. I’ve studied this supposed “documentary” several times and many things don’t add up. The shadows are all wrong, the breeze changes direction halfway through, and the abattoir workers appear to be wearing foundation and lip gloss. It’s well accepted now that the moon landing was faked by NASA in the 60’s due to budget constraints (watch Capricorn One if you’re skeptical) and I think “Animals Australia” have done the same. 

 

It’s no secret that most Australian Directors have extremist views. Your Breresfords, Weirs and Luhrmans practically won’t read a script unless it’s been approved by Bob Brown. And the AFI won’t fund a script unless it contains drug addicts, drag queens or gay couples. Even kids films like “Babe” deliberately targeted pig farmers and many lost their jobs as ham, bacon and pork sales plummeted. Not to mention the drop off in subscriptions to fine Hog Hunting magazines like “Bacon Busters”. 

 

I propose this whole thing was shot in a studio, probably somewhere in inner city Sydney. You can CGI cattle onto green screens (quite appropriate really) and at the 22 minute mark there’s someone in the background who looks suspiciously like Kamahl.

 

Four Corners has never had a great reputation when it comes to documentaries. Their tabloid crass approach, and gratuitous product placement has long embarrassed the ABC. But even for them, this is a new low.