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  • 2019-05-09 (xsd:date)
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  • No, this photo does not show animals killed by electric fences (en)
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  • A photo that appears to show dead cows in a field has been shared dozens of times on Facebook alongside a claim that electric fences are killing animals on farms. The claim is false; the photo has circulated online since 2018 when it was used in reports about cows that died after lightning struck a field. The photo was shared in this Facebook post on May 5, 2019. It has been shared more than 50 times after being posted to an Australia-based Facebook page with more than 33,000 followers. Below is a screenshot of the post: Screenshot of the misleading post The photo shows a row of cows lying next to a fence in a field. The text added across the top of the photo states: ELECTRIC FENCES = GENOCIDE. In the Facebook post, the lengthy caption states, in part: Too often, filthy farmers would surround ‘their’ animal prison with high powered electricity wire to not only hurt, but to KILL any animal trying to escape. These animals live a life of fear, slavery & hunger and sometimes they would pee on the fences to commit suicide because they just can’t handle it anymore and would rather die than to eat plain grass all the time... The animals are usually then left there to decompose, as it is a warning to other animals. The claim is false; the photo actually shows cows that died after lightning struck a field in Beaudesert, a town in Queensland, Australia, according to multiple media reports. A reverse image search on Google found this March 5, 2018, report published by the Beaudesert Times, a weekly newspaper in Queensland, Australia. Below is a screenshot of the report: The headline states: Beaudesert cattle found dead after storm. The opening lines of the report state: Six cows from the property of grazier Eda Shirley in Beaudesert were found dead after a storm on February 26. Ms Shirley’s son Derek said it appeared that they had been killed instantaneously after lightning struck the fence. The same photo was used in this report published on March 8, 2018, by ABC. (en)
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