Animal Rights protesters block Melbourne CBD's busy intersections during peak hour

Photo credit: Justice for Captives

Animal Rights activists protested against animal cruelty in Australia's livestock industry on Monday, blocking Melbourne's Flinders Street intersection.

Police were at the scene, arresting protesters standing arm in arm in the middle of one of Melbourne's busiest intersections at peak hour.

The animal rights activists also protested at multiple slaughterhouses across the country.

"It's getting to a point where enough is enough, and we just need to put our foot down and make people listen" said Chelsea Hannah, a Justice for Captives activist.

Justice for Captives is one of the many animal rights activist organisations who participated in the protest, their main focus is anti-captivity.

"It's the element of surprise that gets people talking," she said.

According to Hannah, the protest might be considered extreme, but "something shocking" is needed to make people "stop in their tracks".

The protest was criticised for causing peak hour chaos.

Commuters and pedestrians were unable to pass the intersection.

Superintendent David Clayton told multiple news sources the lack of prior discussion with the police caused risky disruptions to thousands passing the intersection.

Hannah feels people are using the protest as a "leverage" to "hate on vegans".

"Vegans challenge people's way of thinking, they challenge people's lifestyle," said Hannah.

"Vegans are confronting because people don't want to know."

Protesters were promoting "Dominion", an Australian documentary released at 2018.

The documentary focuses on the exploitation of animals for a range of purposes such as entertainment and consumption.

Hannah says "Dominion" shows how humans are the most dominant species in this planet.

She also says the documentary is not something everyone wants to see, but it holds "the truth".

"There are animals in captivity wherever you look, you just need to know where to look." Hannah said.

Hannah said the Justice for Captives activists will "continue raising awareness on animals in captivity".