A woman has been charged after animal rights activists stormed a busy Perth restaurant that banned vegans and clashed with staff.

July 14, 2023

A prominent activist has been charged after animal rights protesters stormed a busy Perth restaurant that banned vegans, physically clashing with staff and a diner.

Fyre restaurant head chef John Mountain in June used social media to announce “all vegans are now banned … for mental health reasons”.

Days later about a dozen activists targeted his packed premises on the evening of June 30, brandishing placards and shouting at diners as Mr Mountain and others attempted to eject the group amid ugly scenes.

“The sounds you hear now are pigs screaming for their lives … you’re responsible for their murder if you’re not vegan,” prominent activist Tash Peterson can be heard yelling in footage of the incident.

“Animals want to live … you have blood on your hands.”

The protesters returned to the popular dining spot in the northern suburbs about a week later and again played the sounds of squealing pigs, this time over a megaphone.

Mr Mountain can be seen in video footage physically confronting the activists outside his restaurant before being tackled by a man with the group.

The chef later told Nine’s A Current Affair he lunged for the megaphone in a bid to stop the protesters from disrupting his business and diners.

“I never really wanted to be a guy standing up against anybody … but bullies come in all shapes and sizes and these lot just happen to be the vegans,” he said.

“If it takes one guy to make a stance then that’s it.”

Mr Mountain said the restaurant’s bookings had trebled following the clashes and he was having to “murder” more animals to feed his patrons as a result.

He also revealed the emotional toll the incidents had taken, saying his partner had left him over the intense media scrutiny that followed.

“Thanks vegans … you’re barred for life,” he said.

“Now I’m going to start opening steak restaurants just to piss you off.”

In a dramatic video posted on Facebook on Thursday, Peterson, 29, said she had been charged on numerous occasions and wouldn’t be backing down.

“I will continue to speak up on the victims of the animal holocaust. I will continue to go into restaurants … if they are profiting (from) animal abuse, torture, enslavement and murder,” she said before lighting a fire.

“No one can stop me from bringing light to the largest holocaust in history where trillions of non-human people are brutally murdered simply for human pleasure.”

The video shows the flames superimposed over footage of squealing caged pigs as ominous-sounding music is played in the background.

The activist also said police had banned her from entering licensed premises for 12 months in a bid to silence her.

West Australian police on Friday charged Peterson with trespass, remaining in the vicinity of licensed premises and disorderly behaviour in a public place over the June 30 incident.

“It will be alleged the woman refused to leave the premises when asked to do so by staff,” a spokesman said in a statement.

“It will be further alleged she acted in a disorderly manner.”

Peterson is scheduled to appear in Joondalup Magistrates Court on Monday.