Andrew and Tuesday Goti: We consider this work to be vital. We have a little daughter but we also have the whole of the animal kingdom to look after. Factory farming is an animal holocaust.
JADE BEECROFT: A vegan activist has admitted to stealing livestock from farms to ‘liberate’ the animals, and says she’s prepared to go to jail for breaking the law, despite being mother to a 15-week-old daughter. Tuesday Goti, 33, was raiding farms when she was nine-months-pregnant – and on one occasion she claims she was even shot at. She and her husband Andrew, 39, are both committed vegans from Lisburn in Co Antrim and run a group called Expose NI. Since meeting through their activism four years ago, the couple have taken part in ‘vigils’ outside slaughterhouses and demonstrations. They also run ‘liberations’ – meaning they gain access to large farms during the night, often by climbing gates and walls, and take as many animals as they can carry.
Tuesday says she knows what they are doing is illegal, and the animals they snatch are actually stolen property. But she is prepared to go to jail for her beliefs even though she is a new mum. ‘I’ll never forget my first time inside a broiler farm,’ said Tuesday. ‘These are supposed high-welfare barns where the birds are bred for meat. Some of these huge barns can house around 26,000 birds at any one time.’I parked up outside a farm and saw their security hut was empty, so I ran into the shed and took photos. It was just a sea of birds and it was stifling hot. The smell was overwhelming. ‘It was so dreadful I went back out again that night with Andrew. We decided we couldn’t just leave the birds there, we had to try to help, even just a few. We reasoned that with so many birds, the farmers wouldn’t miss a few, so we took five’…
Tuesday became a vegetarian at five, vegan at 16 and decided to dedicate her life to helping animals. She met fellow activist Andrew through a Belfast animal rights group. They initially took part in ‘vigils’ together outside slaughter houses, photographing lorries and passing water to the pigs inside the trucks. The pair got married in 2018 and welcomed their daughter Arabella in 2020, whom they are raising as a vegan… Tuesday continued her activism throughout her pregnancy last year, going on demonstrations, anti-fur protests, vigils outside slaughter houses and her nighttime farm sorties. ‘One night when I was 39 weeks pregnant we were about to enter a pig farm,” she says. ‘It was a farm we’d liberated pigs from previously and each time we went back they had increased their security. ‘On this particular night, in September 2020, I spotted a new motion sensor and realised we’d been clocked…
Despite being a new mum, Tuesday is happy to speak out about her beliefs – and says she’s prepared to go to prison if that’s where it leads her. ‘Animals are sentient beings, they are not ours to abuse,’ she says. ‘Being a mum is the most important thing to me and I’m doing my activism for Arabella. I want her to know that her mum tried so hard to make a better world for her, protect the planet and her future, and stand up for the animals.’ Andrew adds: ‘I’m always with Tuesday on our late night missions so I protect her as best I can. We consider this work to be vital. ‘We have a little daughter but we also have the whole of the animal kingdom to look after – factory farming is an animal holocaust and humanitarian crisis… The couple would like to see a change in the UK law giving them the right to rescue animals from farms where there are breaches of welfare – similar to legislation in California…
But a spokeswoman for the Vegan Society, a partner in the Veganuary campaign, said the charity could not condone the illegal elements of Tuesday and Andrew’s activism. She said: ‘The Vegan Society is not involved in and nor does it condone any illegal activity. Our work involves providing evidence-based information to individuals, companies, health professionals, caterers, retailers and politicians on issues related to veganism… ‘We encourage vegan advocates to consider how their actions are viewed by the non-vegans they are targeting because a poor choice of tactics may result in the public becoming defensive, rather than listening to their message. ‘We believe a better form of advocacy is one that encourages a meaningful dialogue and is in a neutral location, where people’s minds are more open to hearing about veganism.’ SOURCE…
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