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More than 1,000 animal activists occupied the streets outside the California Democratic Party State Convention in San Fransisco, calling out candidates such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders to support ordinary citizens rescuing animals, not factory farms.
Several activists, from the global network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), held a ‘#RightToRescue’ banner, with one activist delivering a speech.
Remaining activists staged a ‘die-in’ – covering the area with activists lying on the ground.
‘Advocating for vulnerable populations’
“Progressive candidates should be advocating for vulnerable populations, not abusive corporations,” DxE co-founder and former Northwestern law professor Wayne Hsiung said.
“Families of ordinary Americans are being endangered, and whistleblowers who expose criminal violations are being targeted. The typical voter – especially in the Democratic Party – doesn’t approve, so we’re asking for the party to end its support for corporate Big Ag.”
The activists also cited the recent case of a dying piglet that was rescued from a factory farm in Utah – only to be later pursued by federal agents. Protestors argued this was an example of ‘the improper ties between agricultural concerns and the government’ which ‘have led to lax regulation, non-enforcement of animal cruelty laws, and the passage of draconian ‘ag-gag’.
‘People are fed up’
“We should be holding animal-abusing corporations accountable, not shielding and subsidizing them. Animal farming is the only industry where millionaires are given welfare payments,” Hsiung said.
“People are fed up. We’re seeing the beginning of a mass movement for animals.”
