evidence: FACT CHECK: Were Indigenous Australians Legally Classified As ‘Animals’ Until The 1960s? A viral Facebook post shared over 14,000 times claims that until the 1960s, Indigenous Australians were classified as animals under the Flora and Fauna Act. [...] The Facebook post claims, "Until 1960s, Aboriginal Australians came under the Flora And Fauna Act, classified them as animals, not human beings. Featured alongside the claim is a black-and-white photo that, according to The Guardian, shows a white man standing above a group of chained Indigenous men sitting on the ground at a prison.