Hunter on Jetstar flight ‘harassed by vegan staffer’

An Australian man has sprayed Jetstar in an online video, saying he was “singled out” by a staff member who challenged him hunting animals.

A hunter travelling from Melbourne to New Zealand claims he was aggressively harassed by a “vegan” Jetstar worker over his hunting bow.

However, a Jetstar spokesperson said the team member was appropriate and followed the process in place to protect the safety of passengers.

Australian man Peter Griffiths was picking up his boarding pass from customer service when a Jetstar customer service representative stopped and questioned him, the New Zealand Herald reported.

In a Facebook video, Mr Griffiths uploaded straight after the alleged interaction, he is wearing a camouflage jacket.

He believes he was singled out because of his appearance.

Peter Griffiths took to Facebook to rant about the incident. Picture: IHunt DownUnderSource:Facebook

“She asked me if I hunted,” Mr Griffiths said. He said he replied: “I’ve got my bow case with me, my camouflage on, so yeah, I do a bit of hunting.”

The hunter said she continued to ask questions about his bow case and if he had a licence to hunt when he replied “you don’t really need a licence to hunt”. Mr Griffiths claims the Jetstar worker aggressively insisted he needed a licence.

In the Facebook video, Mr Griffiths said he was confused about how a licence had anything to do with him travelling to New Zealand.

Mr Griffiths was checking in the bow as part of his luggage and said he had taken it on multiple flights without being questioned about it.

The Australian man believes he was singled out. Picture: IHunt DownUnder

The Jetstar worker continued to question him about his bow strings being “rubber or silicone”, and if they were silicone she would call the Federal Police as it “could be deemed explosive”.

A Jetstar spokesperson told the Herald in a statement: “We have processes in place to protect the safety of passengers and to comply with regulatory requirements regarding the transport of weapons.

“Our customer service team member asked appropriate questions to understand the construction of the hunting bow to ensure our processes were followed.”

After the altercation, he asked the worker if she was vegan. He claims her face changed, and she was offended by the question.

From there he said she was angry and got “quite rowdy”.

Management then joined in and told the hunter he had offended the worker by asking her if she was vegan.

Mr Griffiths said he was told he had insulted the staffer by asking if she was vegan. Picture: IHunt DownUnder

Towards the end of the video, the hunter said he was shocked by the turn of events.

“I’ve officially offended someone that tried to kick me off the plane and get me in trouble with the federal police just for carrying a bow,” Mr Griffiths said.

“She (made a) beeline towards me, I should have seen it coming.

“Be careful of that boys, don’t let them knock you around, but watch out for the vegans.

“I don’t have a problem with them, I have a lot of friends who are vegan, there are just a few nuts out there. I ran into one of them.”

Mr Griffiths boarded the plane but said he no longer wanted to fly with Jetstar.

The hunter said he had since made a complaint to Jetstar management, but Jetstar claims no formal complaint has been made.

The Australian man was flying to New Zealand. Picture: IHunt DownUnder

According to Jetstar’s policy on transporting weapons, the airline may agree to carry weapons as checked baggage as long as they are approved.

“Any approved items need to be packed according to all applicable national and international laws and regulations,” it says on the Jetstar website.

Once he returned from hunting tahr in New Zealand, Mr Griffiths told the Herald his hunting bow went missing as baggage in transit.

He is now seeking legal advice but is unsure the disappearance of his weapon was related to the previous incident.

He said he’d never fly Jetstar again. Picture: IHunt DownUnder

According to Aviation Security Service, New Zealand, all recreational weapons used for hunting that discharge a projectile are restricted from carry-on luggage, but they can be checked-in if approved by an airline.

Under the New Zealand Crimes Act crossbows (bow and arrows) are classified as offensive weapons, but they do not need to be licensed.

“Bow and arrows should only be carried with a lawful, proper and sufficient purpose, for example, you are taking your crossbow to archery practice or hunting,” the New Zealand website states.

This article originally appeared on the New Zealand Herald

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