Two animal rights activists, Amy and Nick (meat the victims) have been sentenced to 30 days in jail for revealing the truth of animal cruelty at a pig farm in Canada. This is part of Amy’s statement that the judge refused to let her speak in front of the jury. Please follow this link to read her full statement:
“Walking into Excelsior felt like walking into a dungeon.”
[Amy was stopped around here.]
“It was pitch black, damp and disgusting. The air was filled with visible particles that made us cough and cobwebs hung from every corner. As our eyes were adjusting to the darkness, the sounds of distressed pigs and smells of ammonia was an assault to the system. Then suddenly, we saw the countless glossy eyes of pigs, peering at us with desperation and curiosity.”
“What it’s like to be there, in-person, is not something that can be sufficiently translated through video footage or even adequately articulated.”
“As humans, we can pick up on the emotions that others are feeling. You may be sensing what I’m feeling right now. And I feel that is the same with animals–I can certainly sense when my dogs are upset. When entering Excelsior Hog Farm, the immediate feeling of desperation and pain coming from those pigs was palpable and heartbreaking.”
“As we saw in my livestream during trial, pregnant or soon-to-be pregnant female pigs at Excelsior Hog Farm are crammed inside metal crates where they can’t take more than one step forward or backwards. These pigs can’t even turn around or move. They can’t so much as turn their heads to look around, all they can do is stare at whatever happens to be in front of them—and for some, that means a cement wall.”
“I can’t possibly imagine the physical and psychological torment of living that life. It’s not a life at all, there is nothing in there that makes life worth living, but they have no choice.”
“I would like to add that we saw many pigs exhibiting severe signs of mental distress, like repeatedly bashing their heads back and forth, over and over again.”
“The offspring of these mothers are kept in crowded pens, full of thousands of adolescent pigs. We saw many who were suffering from volleyball-sized hernias, bloody lacerations, and golf-ball sized growths. Some couldn’t even walk, so they languished and slowly died. Dead pigs were found rotting in pens with other live pigs eating their dead bodies. We saw piglets convulsing on the ground, with their eyes glazed over. Other piglets, who had already died, were stacked in piles.”
“I would like to apologize to a specific female pig at Excelsior Hog Farm, who we have come to call “Her” rather than the abstract number tagged to her ear. She was found crammed in a metal cage, like the countless others next to her. But what stood out as different, was the dark blue and purple complexion of her skin. Upon closer examination, we realized she was covered in bruises, cuts and blood. In fact, she was laying in a pool of her own blood. Not a few splatters of blood, a pool.”
“She desperately and longingly made eye contact, with her bright golden-brown eyes, but she didn’t move. Something I find hauntingly compelling about pigs, are their human-like eyes and profound eye contact. Aside from the visible blood and bruises, she was clearly communicating desperation as she laid there, shivering, for hours. She needed help.”
“I wish more than anything that we could have rushed her to the vet and helped her, but we had no choice. Leaving the barn with her was simply not possible.”
“Imagine seeing a dog laying in a pool of their blood, beaten and bruised… Then imagine walking away.”
“To me, walking away is what felt criminal.”
Please read her full statement, for the animal victims and for our earth here.