The High Court of Australia granted the Farm Transparency Project (FTP) special leave last week, to appeal a decision by the full court of the Federal Court, which awarded the Game Meats Company (GMC) copyright over footage from its Eurobin slaughterhouse, captured by FTP while trespassing in early 2024.

The High Court will be the final arbiters on this case, with the outcome expected to set a binding precedent for future animal activist investigations in Australia.

FTP will argue the footage - which it claims shows numerous instances of animal cruelty in breach of welfare requirements, as well as standard animal slaughter practices - should be allowed to be published and the organisation should retain copyright over the footage captured.

The footage, depicting the slaughter of goats at the facility in Eurobin, was originally published by FTP in May last year, but a temporary injunction granted to the slaughterhouse forced it to be taken offline just hours later.

The matter was initially heard during a Federal Court trial in August last year, where FTP directors conceded they had trespassed onto GMC's property to install hidden cameras over the kill floor.

The Federal Court denied a permanent injunction, however ordered FTP pay Game Meats Company $130,000 in damages.

The slaughterhouse subsequently appealed to the full court of the Federal Court, who reversed the ruling and granted an injunction on the footage via a constructive trust, ordering the destruction of the footage.

These orders were stayed, pending the outcome of FTP's special leave application.

Dates are yet to be set for the hearing, which is expected to be held in Canberra in 2026.