An overnight barn fire occurred last Friday at
Van Boekel Farms, a pig farm in Oxford County, Ontario. The blaze killed over 3,000 pigs.
Yes, you read that right. More than 3,000
innocent animals were burned alive. This is truly heartbreaking, but what makes
this story all the more telling is that Van Boekel Farms is the farm that sued Toronto Pig Save
activist Anita Krajnc for providing water to thirsty pigs in a
transport truck en route to a slaughterhouse.
Last year Anita was found not guilty of criminal mischief
for pouring water into the openings of a metal transport trailer in Burlington,
Ontario, in June 2015. She wanted to give the animals a moment of reprieve from
a lifetime of suffering. It was a simple act of kindness.
Farmed animals, including chickens, feel fear
and pain just like the dogs and cats we love at home.
But sadly, tragedies like this recent fire are incredibly common. Thousands of
animals perish every year in barn fires. In fact, more than 1,200 barn fires occur in the United
States each year.
Whether killed in a barn fire or a
slaughterhouse, farmed animals are subjected to unspeakable cruelties: extreme confinement, brutal
mutilations, and violent deaths.
See for yourself.
Clearly, the meat industry cares only about
money. Thankfully, you have more power than you think. We can all withdraw our
support from this cruel and destructive industry by ditching meat, dairy, and
eggs in favor of healthy, humane
alternatives.