Thousands of Meat Lovers Plan Mass BBQ At House Of Vegan Who Sued Neighbors For Cooking Meat

Stock photo of a barbecue. Shutterstock

Thousands of meat-eaters are planning to attend a mass barbecue outside the home of a vegan woman who had sued her neighbors over a series of perceived provocations—most notably the odor of meat and fish sizzling on their backyard grill.

“This is the Aussie version of ’storm area 51' and she can’t sue all of us!” wrote one of the commenters in a Facebook community event headlined “Community BBQ for Cilla Carden,” which over 3,300 people have said they plan to take part in, while over 8,000 have said they are “interested” in coming.

Carden told 9News that she had taken her fight against neighbor Toan Vu and his family all the way to the Supreme Court of Western Australia, demanding they put a stop to a range of behaviors in their backyard that she finds upsetting—including children playing and meat cooking on the barbecue.

The massage therapist said her neighbors have spoiled her ability to enjoy her backyard in the suburb of Girrawheen by intentionally letting their barbecue meat and fish smells waft into her yard.

“They’ve put it there so I smell fish, all I can smell is fish … I can’t go out there,” Carden told the news outlet.

She said she believes her neighbors’ actions are a deliberate attack on her quality of life.

“It’s been devastating, it’s been turmoil, it’s been unrest, I haven’t been able to sleep,” she said.

Likely adding to Carden’s distress is the prospect of the event, which is due to take place on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m., with one member of the online community suggesting they go “full Ron Swanson and slaughter a live pig on site,” while another chimed in with “oh yes and some cigars, yes every neighbour loves the smell of pungent cigars wafting into their airspace.”

As reported by Daily Mail Australia, Carden has instructed her lawyers to act after catching wind of the planned mass barbecue at her home.

“So according to her lawyer, we can’t trespass on her property. That’s fine. We can certainly be on the street which is public property and we can bring huge fans to blow those smells right onto her house!” one person wrote.

Carden told the Daily Mail the issue has been “blown out of proportion,” adding that she respects the rights of meat-eaters and has “no problem” with barbecues in principle—just the ones that her neighbors fire up.

“Any person who seeks to attend Ms Carden’s property on Saturday, October 19, 2019, or at any other time in relation to this event or matter will be referred to the WA police on the grounds of trespass,” said the woman’s lawyer, John Hammond, the Daily Mail reported.

He added that “security cameras will be installed to obtain vision of any person attending the property and the vision will be provided to the police.”

According to The Guardian, the legal battle between Carden and her neighbors began in August 2017 and has raged on ever since.

The Supreme Court and the State Administrative Tribunal have both thrown out Carden’s complaints, which also claim disruption due to chairs scraping on concrete, pet bird noises, and reflective light spilling onto her property. Her request to appeal has also been denied.

But, according to NewsHub, Carden said she won’t give up and will seek other legal avenues to press her case.

Legal Aid Victoria, an Australian organization that provides advice on litigation, urges other forms of resolving neighborhood disputes than battling it out in court.

“Legal intervention can be expensive and can take a long time,” the organization notes on its website. “It can also damage your relationship with your neighbor.”

“If you and your neighbor can’t reach agreement, dispute resolution may be an easier, quicker, and cheaper way to resolve matters,” Legal Aid Victoria adds.

‘Crossbow Killer’ Who Allegedly Murdered Neighbor Over Noise Found Dead

The incident follows the case of a man who was wanted for the suspected murder of his neighbor and was found dead in a vehicle.

Police found Anthony Lawrence’s body in a vehicle in a rural location in the United Kingdom, Humberside Police said in a statement on Jan. 14.

The 55-year-old, who went missing two days prior, was wanted by police in connection to the murder of Shane Gilmer, 30, and the attempted murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Laura Sugden, 27, on Friday, Jan. 12.

“We will now look to establish the full details of the incident and continue to gather witness statements and evidence as part of this ongoing investigation,” police spokesperson Stewart Miller said in a statement on Jan. 15.

Anthony Lawrence. Humberside Police

According to locals, the couple was attacked by their neighbor, Lawrence, after an ongoing row over loud noise, reported The Telegraph. Neighbors in the area said Lawrence had reportedly complained about the sound coming from the couple’s house in recent months.

“He'd gone round a month before and threatened them to keep the noise down,” one neighbor, who was unnamed, told the newspaper.

“They were apparently being too noisy. Shane and Laura lived next door to him, but hadn’t been there long. This Anthony Lawrence guy wasn’t happy about the noise,” he said.

“It sounds like a horror movie,” he added.

On Friday, Lawrence complained to the couple again about the noise, but things turned ugly. Both Gilmer and Sugden were found injured in their home and were rushed to the hospital. A crossbow was found at the scene, reported Sky News.

Gilmer later died at the hospital while Sugden suffered non-life threatening injuries. Both she and her unborn child were in a stable condition on Jan. 15, the news station reported.

“Shane’s family continues to be supported by our specially trained officers and we would ask for consideration as they come to terms with their tragic loss,” police said.

Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this report.