A vegan activist who “rescued 16 rabbits” was chased down the highway and shot at by angry farmers.

‘I’m covered in blood’: Vegan activist says she was shot at after rabbit raid

A vegan activist who “rescued 16 rabbits” claims she was left “covered in blood” after being chased down the highway and “shot at” by angry farmers.

“This is what has just happened to us, look, I’m documenting the whole thing,” the Barcelona-based activist who goes by the handle “Mythical Mia” says in the video posted to Instagram earlier this week.

“I’m covered in blood. This is what the farmers have done. They shot through our window and chased us down the motorway. Oh my God, I’m literally covered in blood.”

In the post’s caption, the woman wrote, “Today we entered a rabbit farm and rescued 16 lives. The farmer was extremely aggressive and attacked us, strangling activists and smashing their heads with metal poles.”

The woman, who has a British accent, describes herself on her social media pages as “active for a world where veganism is the only option”.

She said police came and “told us to leave peacefully, which we did”, but “after we left the farmers chased us down the motorway at 200km for an hour”.

“We tried to lose them down a side road but they were on our tails,” she said.

“They blocked us into a dead end and surround the car with five other farmers’ cars. They were banging on the windows, shouting and threatening us. We called the police who arrived after an hour. They diffused the situation and escorted us to a ‘safe place’.”

She said her group asked police to escort them home but “they refused and said we would be OK”.

“They let us go and 10 minutes later back on the motorway one of their cars pulled up alongside us and shot at us,” she said.

“The window exploded in my face and there was a lot of blood from all the glass. We’re currently at the hospital and waiting to go to the police station to report this crime.”

She added that the “most important thing is that the non-human animals are safe”.

“They are far from that hell hole. I don’t want this to be about me at all, I just want people to know how evil farmers are. If this is how they treat humans, how can we expect them to care for animals?” she said.

“I had to deleted (sic) all the footage of the rescue from my phone when the police arrived but will find and upload as much footage as possible of the animals and the rescue as soon as I can. Despite everything, I am just happy that those 16 lives are free from harm. They make everything worth it.”

The woman has since raised $1150 (€710) on online fundraiser GoFundMe to pay for “vet bills, sanctuary costs including transportation, bedding, food etc”.

“Due to the filthy conditions that rabbits were living in, many of them have injuries, infections, parasites, E. cuniculi etc. Anything that you can contribute to these costs would be so greatly appreciated,” the page says.

Spanish police have been contacted for comment.

It comes as a number of so-called “direct action” vegan protests targeting farms and businesses spark calls for calm from authorities. In March, hundreds of militant vegans stormed a Queensland farmer’s property.

The previous month, a frustrated farmer was filmed firing a shotgun in the air after a heated altercation with vegans who refused to leave his property south of Perth. Police ruled out charges against Jason Parravacini over that incident.

Last year, a group of vegan protesters stormed a Melbourne steak restaurant chanting slogans through loudspeakers and yelling at customers, leaving a number of diners “very upset”.

frank.chung@news.com.au