Australian rugby player arrested in environmental protest

David Pocock, an Australian rugby player, was arrested Sunday after he chained himself to a piece of mining equipment to protest a proposed coal mine.

Pocock spent 10 hours chained to the machine with a local farmer.

Locked on selfie with 5th generation farmer, @Ricklaird14, protesting Whitehaven's new coalmine in Leard State Forest pic.twitter.com/VkgIYlZgYu
— David Pocock (@DavidPocock) November 29, 2014

He was protesting the Maules Creek mine in the Leard State Forest, a project the BBC says "is set to be one of the world's largest open-cut coal mines."

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Pocock decided not to give any interviews on the subject, instead posting a 1,500-word essay explaining his reasoning on his Tumblr page.

The Australian Rugby Union issued Pocock a written warning for violating its code of conduct, but he was back at practice on Monday.

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- Dan Gartland