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The son of a slaughterhouse worker is releasing a film exploring the industry’s psychological impact.
Vegan advocate Jack Hancock-Fairs has created The Dying Trade. It aims to ‘raise awareness of the suffering experienced by slaughterhouse workers’ and help ‘humanize the workers’.
Hancock-Fairs says the documentary also ‘provides another reason for people to boycott animal products.
‘I want to be a slaughterhouse worker’
A new trailer for the film shows a group of children saying what they want to be when they’re older.
“I want to help animals,” one girl states. Another adds: “I want to be a scientist.” The last child says: “I want to be happy.”
The trailer then skips to the protagonist – an adult male – who appears to be having a PTSD-related nightmare. As he begins his morning, graphic memories of killing animals flash through his mind. Empty alcohol cans are scattered on the table. This depicts the link between abattoir workers and dependency issues such as alcoholism.
At the end of the trailer, he looks up and says: “When I grow up, I want to be a slaughterhouse worker.”
‘Poor worker treatment’
“The suffering experienced within slaughterhouses is huge in scale and clearly neglected,” Hancock-Fairs states.
“I really hope this film can open people’s eyes to the animal cruelty and poor worker treatment that exists within the walls of slaughterhouses all over the world. By raising awareness about these issues, we can help lay the groundwork for future progress.”
He then added: “You may be surprised to learn that my family goes back generations working in the meat industry. My father is a slaughterhouse worker, and his great-grandfather owned a shop called the ‘Hancock Family Butcher’. My great-grandfather’s brothers also owned butcher shops, so working in the meat industry became a bit of a family tradition.
“While the Hancock Family Butcher shops have been closed for many years, my father continues to work in slaughter. It’s never really been something he’s talked about. “
Hancock-Fairs then started thinking: “‘Who are the people confronting the very thing that most of us are so disconnected from? Who are the people witnessing animal slaughter every day as part of their day job? What is it like to work in slaughter and how does it affect you psychologically?’.”
‘Meat as a human rights issue’
Last year, PBN published a video exploring the ‘human victims’ of the meat industry.
Meat As A Human Rights Issue – The Truth explores how slaughterhouse work can lead to a slew of mental health issues. It also demonstrates how physically dangerous abattoirs can be.
The video explains: “Because of the pace slaughterhouse workers are required to work, there are a staggering two amputations per week.
“Statistically speaking, if you work in a meatpacking factory for five years, there’s a 50 percent chance you’ll suffer injury.”
Moreover, narrator Robbie Lockie adds: “Workers normalize their actions through repetition and routine; becoming desensitized to the acts of violence – causing psychological distress.”
The video then explains how that level of trauma can often ‘spill out as violence and addictive behaviors such as alcohol dependency.
You can learn more about The Dying Trade and support the documentary here
