Isy Veira was a ringleader of the protests in Sydney

A ringleader of the mass vegan protests across Australia runs a website which has infuriated farmers by naming and shaming factory farms, dairies and meatworks.

Another top protester has spoken of converting to veganism after she felt bad taking eggs off her hens, telling them: 'I'm not taking that from you, that's yours.'

And others involved in today's protests include professional 'rescuers' of cows, pigs and chickens who spirit animals away to leafy sanctuaries.

The faces of Australia's national vegan protests can be revealed as hundreds of protesters stormed city streets and country abattoirs to call for an end to 'the killing and exploitation of animals'.

Noisy demonstrators brought Melbourne to a grinding halt during Monday morning peak hour, with 38 people arrested. More than 100 activists chanted "what do we want? Animal liberation - now!" with some sitting on tram tracks near the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets.

Meanwhile, dozens of activists chained themselves to abattoir machinery at farms in rural New South Wales and Queensland, while protesters marched in Sydney and Brisbane.

Kitten-cuddling Chris Delforce directed the film the demonstration is celebrating and published a controversial map of livestock farms across Australia

Protesters in Melbourne waved signs advertising the Dominion film outside Flinders Street station

Police are pictured clearing the intersection of activists this morning for traffic to pass through

The demonstrations - criticised as 'shameful and unAustralian' by Prime Minister Scott Morrison - were loosely organised by a network of meat-free activists to mark a year since the release of a vegan documentary, Dominion.

The film was directed by controversial vegan activist Chris Delforce, an organiser of today's protest. Mr Delforce is the brains behind the controversial Aussie Farms interactive map, which names and shames livestock farmers and details their addresses, photos and even business numbers.

His organisation - a registered charity - was recently branded a 'despicable attack map for activists' by Agriculture Minister David Littleproud following a spate of vigilante acts against farms.

Mr Delforce protested in Melbourne today

Mr Delforce protested in Melbourne today, telling reporters the event was about 'making as much noise as we can' for animal rights.

'The industry is telling people these animals are being killed ethically, that they are being killed humanely - the reality is ... it's the furthest thing from humane,' he said.

Mr Delforce is a website developer in his day job and was a volunteer for 'poverty relief' organisations before turning his mind to animal rights.

'As someone born into a position of considerable opportunity and privilege, I have a moral opportunity to do whatever I can to help those less fortunate than myself,' he said.

Mr Delforce believes Australians would embrace veganism en masse if they learned the 'inherent cruelty involved, the environmental damage and the detrimental effects on their own health' from meat-eating.

Protesters are demanding their vegan documentary be shown to children and that the Australian government stop funding industries that use, exploit and abuse animals.

THE SIX DEMANDS OF THE VEGAN PROTESTERS Protesters are demanding that state and federal agriculture ministers: 1. Publicly acknowledge inherent cruelty in the process of killing animals for food, clothing and entertainment 2. Insert a link to view documentary Dominion in a prominent position on their department's website 3. Publicly commit to banning the use of intentionally deceptive marketing labels and imagery on animal products 4. Commit to screening Dominion in school curriculum for students aged 15 and older 5. Add warning labels onto animal products advising of ethical, health and environmental issues associated with them 6. End government subsidies for industries that use, exploit and abuse animals Source: AAP Advertisement

Mr Delforce started an interactive map showing farms across the country. It has been slammed by the agriculture minister as an 'attack map' for activists

Protestors wave placards as they march through the Sydney CBD

Isy Veira, aged in her thirties, was one of the leading lights of a Sydney protest which marched between Martin Place and Hyde Park.

Ms Veira, who works with children, has been described as an 'impressively relentless' activist.

She describes herself as being 'committed to non violent assertive direct action' to stop animal exploitation.

Ms Veira recently told the Healthification podcast she has been a vegan for five years.

She embraced veganism after first becoming a vegetarian as a teenager, and then transitioning to pescatarianism (someone who eats fish, but not meat).

Pivotal events in her life include a 'traumatising' incident where she witnessed cattle being dehorned at the dairy farm where she once lived.

She recalled: 'We'd hear the mother cows bellowing out for their babies.

'I remember one day seeing one of the cows being dehorned.

'That was just so traumatising to see, and all the blood, and how they were just left out in the field'.

'Impressively relentless' activist Isy Veira is another figure at the centre of the vegan protests

She also felt uncomfortable with taking eggs from chickens and 'breaking in' horses.

'I had my own chickens and stuff like that - again it was like, I'm not taking that from you, that's yours.'

Ms Veira acted as a spokeswoman for the Sydney protest.

Despite the demonstration attracting only about a dozen people, Ms Veira was happy with her turnout: 'They aren't unreasonable demands, we're just asking for transparency and compassion.'

Ms Veira has previously said she 'won't sit around a table where products of violence are' and 'I make no apologies for being vegan'.

National protest: Dozens of activists chained themselves to machinery at Carey Bros Abattoir at Yangan in remote Queensland and demanded the release of three lambs

Goulburn police have already arrested nine protesters after they stormed an abattoir on Mazamat Road and chained themselves to a conveyor

Brad King, the director of Farm Rescue Australia, stormed an abattoir in Yangan, Queensland, with about twenty activists today

Brad King, the director of Farm Rescue Australia, stormed an abattoir in Yangan, Queensland, with about twenty activists today.

The abattoir eventually surrendered three lambs to the activists.

It's understood they will live at his animal sanctuary, which hosts goats, sheep, cows and other animals.

Mr King told the Seven Network: 'It's part of a negotiation that's gone on.

'There were people locked in to actually stop them being able to process slaughters this morning.'

That protest ended peacefully and no charges were laid.

In Melbourne, police arrested a total of 38 people.

Nine vigilantes were arrested after chaining themselves to slaughterhouse machinery in Goulburn, NSW.

The vegan campaign reportedly targeted nine sites nationwide.