An anonymous animal rights activist who describes him or herself as “Lone Wolf” has claimed responsibility for smashing the windows of a butcher shop in Berkeley, CA.  In a post on the website Bite Back, Lone Wolf says, “Cage free, organic, murder is murder.” Bite Back, which posts direct actions in support of animals, states on its homepage that it “does not publish news of actions in which the intent is to physically harm someone.”

Credit: Frances Dinkelspiel

I don’t know if vandalizing businesses that exploit animals helps or hurts the cause.   I would like to think that some people ask, “Is slaughter so cruel that it would drive someone to smash windows, risk their freedom and be labeled a terrorist?”  Perhaps Lone Wolf is merely seeking to avenge the violent deaths of innocent animals by holding at least one party responsible.   Take a look at Bite Back to see what types of direct actions are being conducted around the world.

A pig attempts to escape from the truck taking her to a slaughterhouse.

If anyone doubts the intelligence of a pig, please show them this video.  Of course all farm animals, not just the smartest ones, should be free.  As 19th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham once stated, “The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?”

Half of U.S. states have attempted to pass “ag-gag” laws, but only seven have been successful, according to the Associated Press:  “Among them are Idaho, where this year’s law says unauthorized recording is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine, and Utah, whose 2012 law makes it a crime to provide false information to gain access to a farm. Both states now face separate but similarly worded lawsuits that say the measures violate federal statutes offering whistleblower protections and free-speech guarantees.”

Not surprisingly, agribusiness claims to have nothing to hide and states it lobbies for “ag gag” laws merely to “protect their families and businesses,” but we know the truth: they don’t want the public to see what happens to animals on factory farms.  The windowless sheds that are far from public view are a case in point.  Agribusiness also claims that the footage taken by undercover investigators represents “a few bad apples” in the business.  But we know otherwise. Mutilation of farm animals, such as tail docking and debeaking, is literally built into the business, and egregious physical abuse and torture are rampant, as exposed in one undercover investigation after another by groups such as Mercy For Animals, PETA and HSUS.   Please support the work of the organizations fighting against the “ag gag” bills.  The footage and photos taken behind closed doors at factory farms is critical to changing hearts and minds.  It was precisely that type of footage that made me go vegan.   To learn more about “ag gag” bills and to see how you can help, please visit HSUS.

With the support of PETA, a U.K.-based animal advocacy group called Animal Aid, circulated a petition (almost 13,000 signatures to date) “urging the government to make CCTV installation mandatory for all slaughterhouses.”  The meatpacking industry opposes the measure.

Paul McCartney once said, “If slaughterhouses had windows, then everyone would be vegetarian.”  I think it’s safe to say that many people would also go veg if they watched animals being slaughtered through a live feed from the kill floor.  We might not have CCTV – or windows – in slaughterhouses, but we do have the next best thing: videos that show the terror and agony experienced by animals being killed.

Brian Ahmed, an egg farmer in Australia, is claiming that activists put the lives of his hens at risk when they enter his farms.  “We need tougher laws that actually penalise those who illegally enter farms and jeopardise the health of our livestock.”

Mr. Ahmed fails to explain how people entering his farm jeopardizes the health of his hens, but he must know that invoking “biosecurity” could help him garner support from unsuspecting lawmakers and from the public, which is largely unfamiliar with factory farms. Photos and videos speak a thousand words, which make undercover investigations the best tool available to educate the public about the horrors of factory farming.