There is a huge veil of secrecy that people aren't aware of: what happens to the animals before they end up on their plate. Animals in factory farms are treated absolutely horrifically. We're seeing things such as hens being confined in small spaces, covered in their own feces kept in dark, cold sheds. We've seen them standing on top of other dead hens. We're tearing back the curtain and showing people the consequences of their choices.
THE FEED: It’s the middle of the night, and a small group of vegan activists are sneaking through a darkened egg farm. They enter the sheds and film what they see inside the rows of cages. They then select two chickens, place them into carriers and drive off into the night.
Sophie has taken at least 200 animals in this way over the years.
“I am trying to achieve total animal liberation,” she told The Feed.
“We’re going into these places and saving as many animals as we can and relocating them to a better place where they won’t be treated as a commodity.”
Sophie’s been an animal rights activist for seven years. An animal lover who grew up surrounded by pets, she became a vegan at 21 and dedicates her free time to protesting on the street, trying to convince others to go vegan. Her methods can get creative, including protesting in lingerie to attract attention.
She’s also involved in a clandestine type of action that activists call “open rescue”.
Originating in Australia in the 1980s, it’s now a worldwide form of activism that involves taking animals from farms in secret. Activists say the aim is to save individual lives, as well as documenting their living conditions.
Sophie said the chickens, pigs and ducks she’s taken are re-homed with other people and allowed to roam outdoors.
What she’s doing is illegal. But Sophie feels these measures are justified, because she’s witnessed poor living conditions on many of the farms she’s visited and, in her view, “animals in Australia are treated absolutely horrifically”.
“We’re seeing things such as hens being confined in small spaces… covered in their own faeces, kept in dark, cold sheds… we’ve seen them standing on top of other dead hens.”
Sophie posts the videos of her “outings” on social media to spread awareness for her cause.
“There is a huge veil of secrecy that people aren’t aware of, of what happens to the animals before they end up on their plate,” Sophie said.
“We’re tearing back the curtain and showing people… the consequences of their choices”…
Penalties for illegal forms of direct action have ramped up in recent years – with prison sentences doubling in some cases…
So far, Sophie hasn’t been arrested for breaking the law – but she said the potential punishments haven’t deterred her…
Earlier this year, Western Australia introduced prison terms of two years and fines of $24,000 for farm trespassers. NSW has the toughest deterrents in the country, with fines of up to $220,000 for individuals and $440,000 for groups… In some states, bigger fines apply to those who are part of organised groups. SOURCE…
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