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Ontario producer ‘dumbfounded’ by vigil held for lost pigs

More than 4,000 pigs lost in barn fire on January 31

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A farmer from Chatham-Kent, Ont., says a vigil held for the 4,000 pigs lost in Jan. 31 barn fire appeared to be anything but.

“It was a sideshow, that’s really what it comes down to,” Emma Butler, a witness to the vigil, told Farms.com on Monday.

After a devastating barn fire on Confederation Line in the town of Plympton-Wyoming caused approximately $3 million in damage, including the loss of the animals, London Pig Save and Animal Liberation Alliance London organized a vigil in memory of the pigs. The event took place outside of the affected farm.

“4,000 pigs were murdered due to human interests to exploit them for their flesh,” the event’s description reads. “Nobody else but us will recognize the lives lost in this tragedy or bring awareness to the plight of non-human slaves in the animal agriculture industry.”

Butler said she could see the smoke from her work as the fire occurred. She became aware of the planned vigil and decided to head over.


Left to right: The affected farm, a group of vigil attendees and some signs they carried.
Photos: Emma Butler

“You see these cars parked all over the place,” she said. “There’s people gathered with signs that said ‘go vegan’ and someone had a sign that said ‘friends not food.’ I thought this is something completely opposite from what they were describing.”

A beef producer herself, Butler said similar protests usually revolve around livestock operations. She said activists should try seeking out reliable information about animal husbandry – including communicating with producers.

“It’s not the dark ages anymore,” she said. “There are so many accurate resources, including real producers putting their stories out there. Especially in the Canadian agriculture industry.

“We have so many regulations. (The activists) claim they do research, but it’s irrelevant if you’re watching a YouTube video that could be from other parts of the world. They’re ignorant to the fact that animal husbandry is a passionate industry.

“I would never feed (consumers) anything I wouldn’t feed my own family.”

After Butler returned from the demonstration she posted a blog entry about what she encountered.


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