Last Updated on September 4, 2019
Cilla Carden, an Australian vegan, has taken her neighbours to court over the smell of meats and fish emanating from the barbecue in their backyard.
Carden, a massage therapist and dedicated vegan from Perth, started the legal saga in August 2017, claiming that she was being disturbed by the smell of barbecuing, chairs scraping on concrete, smoking, and basketballs being bounced against her house.
The meat-averse plaintiff claimed the actions of her neighbours were “deliberate”:
They’ve put [the barbecue] there so I smell fish, all I can smell is fish… I can’t enjoy my backyard, I can’t go out there… I’m a good person. I just want peace and quiet.
The suit was thrown out of the lower court in February, with the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia saying that all her neighbours were doing was “living in their backyard and their home as a family.” She then appealed to the Supreme Court of Western Australia, who also proceeded to dismiss the claims in July.
Chief Justice Peter Quinlan said the case had been handled fairly:
[I am not satisfied] that there is an arguable case that the tribunal denied Ms Carden procedural fairness or acted to her disadvantage so as to cause a miscarriage of justice… Ms Carden was given a fair opportunity to present her case, and the learned tribunal member conducted the proceedings fairly and appropriately… [All parties should] direct their considerable energies towards the resolution of their differences as best they can.
One neighbour told 9 News that he had stopped barbecuing and prevented his children from playing basketball in their backyard in an attempt to placate Ms Carden.
After the news broke, Carden faced backlash across social media.
A Facebook event was set up called “Community BBQ for Cilla Carden,” with over 4000 people saying they are going at the time of writing. The description of the event details the reason for their mini-protest:
Cilla Carden has a problem with her neighbours cooking meat on their BBQ, becuase she’s a vegan. Recently taking them to the Supreme Court! Don’t let Cilla destroy a good old Aussie tradition, join us for a community BBQ in protest of her actions, and help Cilla Carden GET SOME PORK ON HER FORK. BYO hotdog buns, p.s. NO VEGANS
Carden’s lawyer, John Hammond, told the Daily Mail Australia that anyone who attended the event would potentially be facing criminal charges:
Any person who seeks to attend Ms Carden’s property on Saturday, October 19, 2019, or at any other time in relation to this event or matter will be referred to the WA police on the grounds of trespass… Security cameras will be installed to obtain vision of any person attending the property and the vision will be provided to the police.
Hammond added that Carden “has no objection to meat-eaters… [or] anyone having barbecues… she belives barbecues are part of the Australian way of life.”
National File recently reported on other vegan shenanigans: vegan activists in Spain segregated hens from roosters “so the hens aren’t raped,” and other vegan activists in Argentina were whipped by cowboys when they attempted to stop a rodeo.
