Dozens of animal rights activists were arrested in 2020 for entering the plant and attempting to shut down its operations by chaining themselves to slaughter machinery.
CITY NEWS SERVICE: The Farmer John slaughterhouse in Vernon is slated to close for good in a matter of days, leaving about 2,000 workers with uncertain futures — but animal rights activists on Wednesday, Feb. 1, are saying good riddance to a facility they say tortures and kills thousands of animals every day. Smithfield, in June 2022, announced plans to close its slaughterhouse, citing the rising costs of doing business in California…
Meanwhile, animal rights activists are holding the last in a series of regular vigils outside the plant to call attention to the plight of the thousands of pigs trucked there every day. Vigils have been held each day this week at 3049 E. Vernon Ave., with the final one planned as an all-night event from 7 p.m. Thursday until 7 a.m. Friday, “or until the last pig arrives,” according to organizers.
The vigils have taken place for years, organized by L.A. Animal Save and the Animal Alliance Network, with a small number of activists holding candles and providing water to animals crammed tightly into the back of trucks on their way into the plant.
Actor Greg Cipes, who voices the character Beast Boy in the TV series “Teen Titans,” and “Teen Titans Go!”, was expected to attend Wednesday night’s vigil, according to Ellen Dent of the Animal Alliance Network. Actress Kate Mara and musician Moby attended Tuesday night’s vigil.
Actor Joaquin Phoenix, a vegan and animal rights activist, has also been a frequent participant, and even attended a vigil the night he won a Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in 2020 for 2019’s “Joker.” “The closure of the Farmer John slaughterhouse is only the end of a chapter in a book that is still being written, a book in which we continue to advocate for the liberation of all animals who suffer in these oppressive systems,” Phoenix said in a statement this week…
Animal rights groups say baby pigs are raised in cramped conditions until they are loaded onto trucks bound for the slaughterhouse. “They are packed into trucks with over a hundred of them piled together, often without room to move freely,” according to the Animal Alliance Network’s website. “These pigs are usually raised in warehouses without windows and the first time they see the light is when they are loaded onto these trucks.”
More extreme activists with the group Direct Action Everywhere have occasionally entered the plant or attempted to shut down its operations in recent years. Dozens of DXE activists were arrested in 2020, with some chaining themselves to slaughter machinery.
More recently, DXE posted video last month shot by activist Raven Deerbrook, who claims she sneaked into the slaughterhouse with a fake uniform and badge to capture the plant’s “stunning” procedures, in which pigs are lowered into a chamber filled with carbon dioxide before they’re placed onto a conveyor belt to be hung up and butchered. Deerbrook says she witnessed pigs suffering extreme pain and terror and screaming in anguish for nearly a minute before appearing to lose consciousness…
“I am thankful to L.A. Animal Save and everyone in this community who has shown these animals the only kindness and respect they have ever known,” he continued. “You have taken the pain of bearing witness, and turned it into effective, peaceful, diplomatic advocacy for animals. Although it saddens me that I can’t be there at this time, it’s been my privilege to stand alongside these activists, and it’s our duty to continue this fight”…
The activists behind this week’s vigils were hoping to rescue at least one pig from the plant, and started a “Save The Last Pig” campaign on social media. “We have made arrangements for a local sanctuary that is happy and able to provide a forever home to a pig (or two!). Immediate transportation from the Farmer John slaughterhouse to the sanctuary is also in place,” they wrote. “All we need is for Smithfield to say YES!” However, company officials told CNS on Wednesday that they would not be accommodating that request. SOURCE…
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