I attended my first vigil with Manchester pig save on 15/09/16 , after being Vegan for 5 years (vegetarian for 10) never before have I witnessed the suffering of animals raised for slaughter in person. My partner and I were there maybe 4 hours before A driver actually stopped and allowed the activists to say goodbye to the pigs, show some compassion and gain footage for awareness. The main thing I noticed was the amount of times “sorry” was uttered at these affectionate , harmless beings about to be violently killed. Sorry I can’t save you. Sorry the law protects this. Sorry someone thinks you taste better than your life is worth. sorry. The beautiful pig you can see above, just like many others, looked right at me whilst I captured the innocence and shocking conditions they were transported in. This broke my heart, I stroked them. Sorry. we all stroked, consoled , apologised. You’ll notice in the above footage that after many drivers refused to stop (despite an agreement being in place) that activists decided to enter the premises in order to say goodbye leaving stunned by the blatant disregard for the lives of these sentient beings, many cried as one body was discovered casually discarded in a bin (most likely died during transit)
The next day I couldn’t help making the intense connection between the pigs I had comforted the day before and the many pork sandwiches I walked past today. Was that smell of bacon drifting out of the cafe the sweet being that had looked me in the eye and nuzzled me? Highly unlikely, despite meat having to be put on sale the say of slaughter the shelf life at the right temperature can be weeks. Still these pigs had been kind, considerate and loving on their journey to becoming food. Open your eyes and your hearts.
