A FIERCE opponent of greyhound racing was furious last week to see her image being used to promote the sport on a Facebook page.
Waterford woman Linda Casbolt, who attended a protest against Logan’s proposed Cronulla Park greyhound track last year, said a photograph of her was altered and posted on a community Facebook page called Greyhound Racing Australia.
The original photograph was featured in a Brisbane Times online story about the protest in October last year.
It shows Ms Casbolt standing with one of her family’s greyhounds and wearing a shirt that reads ‘Greyhounds... PETS not bets’.
The same photograph appeared on the Greyhounds Racing Australia Facebook page last Monday but had been altered.
In the altered image, Ms Casbolt’s shirt reads ‘Greyhounds... Love Racing YES’, while the placard next to her reads ‘We Support Logan GREYHOUND RACING Track Minister QLD’.
Ms Casbolt said she was ropeable when she saw the altered image.
“It’s one thing to deface the signs but to change the wording on my shirt is too far,” she said.
“It is a complete misrepresentation... I can categorically state I do not approve of the greyhound track. I can’t even explain how angry I am.”
Ms Casbolt said her opposition to greyhound racing was based on knowledge about widespread mistreatment of dogs.
“My daughter Melyssa works as a vet... and the recent live baiting scandal is just the tip of the iceberg for us,” she said.
“Melyssa went into vet nursing to save animals, not kill them but every week she has greyhounds come in to be euthanised... those dogs are the lucky ones.”
She said it was shocking to see her image used so flippantly.
“What is says to me is that supporters of the track are very worried the protests are doing something,” she said.
Ms Casbolt said she approached Facebook with her concerns but was told the image would not be taken down.
The post then disappeared from the page about noon on Wednesday.
The administrators of the Facebook page could not be contacted for comment.
A PERSON whose image has been deliberately altered on a public forum like Facebook could potentially pursue a defamation case, according to Jimboomba lawyer Harry Jordaan.
Mr Jordaan weighed in last week on the posting of an altered image of Waterford woman Linda Casbolt on community Facebook page Greyhound Racing Australia.
Mr Jordaan, who specialises in defamation law, said in such a case the affected person could argue they had been defamed.
“If you can show you have been misrepresented in a way that makes other people think less of you, then you can argue defamation,” Mr Jordaan said.
“It doesn’t matter who publishes (the image), a group or an individual, you can argue you have been defamed... and are entitled to compensation. The moment you publish something that is communicating to a third party defamatory allegations, it is sufficient (to have defamed someone),” he said.
Mr Jordaan said anyone who felt they had been defamed online should contact the website immediately.
“I would contact whatever website, in this case Facebook and ask them to take it down as according to the Defamation Act you won’t have a claim against Facebook unless they are aware of it,” he said.
