Imagine finding out someone had come onto your property and secretly filmed what goes on.
It's a practice making farmers feel as though they're under siege.
Animal rights advocates break into farms, set up secret cameras and post footage online in an effort to highlight cruelty.
While the intentions of advocates may be good, farmers are concerned not only about their own privacy but also the well-being of their stock.
"It's straight out stalking," fifth-generation grazier Tim Morrison told AAP on his family farm outside of Canberra.
"Graziers as a whole are pretty well animal lovers because they live and breathe their stock."
Mr Morrison and his wife Kirsti say an unwelcome guest can disrupt and stress their animals, which in the case of cattle or sheep could lead to the death of infants.
On pig and egg farms it becomes a quarantine issue.
"We're the same as anybody, we don't like to see cruelty to any animals," Mrs Morrison said.
"But there's only a small minority that get a bad name."
Put aside emotions and there's another reason farmers need to treat their animals humanely.
Their back pocket.
"If we don't treat our animals properly we lose production and we're already not making much on our production," Mrs Morrison said.
"Aside from the fact that we prefer to look after our animals, it's financially in our best interest to look after them as well."
Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce calls the advocates who go on to properties vigilante crusaders and says they don't have the right to enter people's lives and start filming.
"What are we going to do when the next group of vigilante crusaders stands up and says `well I've got a problem with certain doctors so I'm going to go and secretly film them'," Mr Joyce told reporters.
He wants to stamp out the practice and is working with state governments to make it illegal to show footage taken on farms.
But there's still some convincing to do to get so called "ag-gag" laws in place.
Last week, South Australian parliament shot down laws to penalise people for broadcasting video recordings made secretly on private property.
Mr Joyce says he'd rather not impose federal regulations and hopes the states can bring in their own laws.
He says the practice can cause "immense damage" to the industry.
"It's just not fair and it's not right," he said.
The Australian Greens is concerned ag-gag laws could prevent whistleblowers from outing farms engaging in animal cruelty.
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