Writing: Speeches
Opening Speech of the 5th National Animal Rights Day, May 30, 2015
Welcome to the 5th National Animal Rights Day in North America.
As we all go about our lives, trying to make ends meet, raise a family, enjoy our friends and loved ones, and live a good meaningful life, we raise hell for BILLIONS of other beings, all around us. We call them "animals", treat them as separate, inferior, unimportant, negligible, usable, objects. Every minute of every day, we cage, mutilate and kill more than 100,000 animals in the US alone, for various purposes: we use their bodies and secretions for our food, we use their skins for our clothes, we use their eyes, skin and other body parts to test our products on, we use their bones, hair and blood to make household products, we use them dead or alive for our entertainment, and the list goes on. We have built factory farms, fur farms, slaughter- houses, breeding facilities, rendering facilities, testing labs, circuses, rodeos, racing tracks and hunting grounds, just for that. And then we try to do good in the world and live a good life with our families and friends...
In front of you, you can see some of these animals, taken from the dark filthy chambers of these facilities, so that you could see them with your own eyes. They are not props from some Hollywood film. They are real. And they represent the MILLIONS of other animals who are languishing as we speak, in these cages. Alone, scared, beaten, injured, mutilated, destroyed spiritually and physically.
- Anonymous pig # 13 - was born in a crammed and filthy factory farm, and at the age of one week old his teeth, testicles and tail were cut off with metal cutters. He was taken away from his mother, whom he never saw again, at the age of two weeks, and put in a dark metal cage, with other piglets. After being pumped with growth hormones for 3 months, he died from starvation and physical exhaustion inside a transport truck on the way to the slaughter house.
- Anonymous pig # 335 - was also born in a factory farm, and she too was forcefully mutilated at the age of one week old. She was taken away from her mother right after she was born, and put in a special cage for breeding sows. At the age of two months old, she was raped with a metal rod, in order to get her pregnant and add her to the factory line of breeding sows. She died at the age of 3 months old, from her bruises, with a little fetus in her tiny womb.
- Anonymous pigs # 74 - was born in a backyard live meat market, and was orphaned at the age of 3 days old, when his mother and father were taken to the back and slaughtered on the spot, to satisfy a customer's order. At the age of two and a half months old, after being labeled "unsuitable for sale" due to the stress wounds he has developed in his filthy cage, he was prevented any food or water and 2 days later died from starvation.
- Anonymous hens # 39, 45, 52 and 21 - were born inside a tiny battery cage, in a chicken factory farm warehouse that never saw the light of day. They spent their entire short lives inside that battery cage, crammed together with a dozen other hens. When they were 5 days old, their beaks were cut off with a heated metal blade. They were thrown back into the cage, and at the age of 3 months old, died from being crushed against the rusty metal bars of the cage, by the weight of the other stressed hens in it.
- Anonymous chicken # 91 - was born in a backyard chicken coop, and due to being a male and therefore useless for the operation, was thrown together with tens of other male chicks into a garbage bag, and left to die from suffocation. He somehow managed to stay alive for 3 days, and when the bag was emptied by a garbage collection employee, he was taken in a transport truck to another backyard operation. He died there at the age of 3 months, from physical stress and exhaustion.
- Anonymous Raccoons, Possum, Squirrels and birds - were born on the busy streets of Los Angeles, and were orphaned as babies when their parents were killed by cars on the road. They managed to survive on the streets for several months, until they too were killed by passing cars, while looking for food in order to survive.
- Perro the Dog , and the cats Kira, Suki and Baby - were born to unknown parents, most probably on the streets, and at a very young age found themselves alone in the world. After a while, Perro and Kira found their way to a shelter for orphaned and abandoned animals, where after spending an unknown period of time in cages, they were finally adopted by caring human guardians. They died of old age and sickness. Suki and Baby lived on the streets for a while, until they too were shown some mercy by local people. They were taken in, and eventually died from sickness as well.
We invite you to come closer, and stand in front of these beings. See yourself in them, see your children in them. See the spark of life that once flickered in these lifeless bodies. Hear the voice that once was uttered from their throats. Imagine the joy to be alive that filled these tiny hearts, for fleeting moments. And feel.
As a wise woman said: "There is really no such thing as the 'voiceless'. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard". There is really no such thing as "us" and "animals". There are only living beings searching for happiness on this small and fragile planet. Our planet. And theirs too.
As we all go about our lives, trying to make ends meet, raise a family, enjoy our friends and loved ones, and live a good meaningful life, we raise hell for BILLIONS of other beings, all around us. We call them "animals", treat them as separate, inferior, unimportant, negligible, usable, objects. Every minute of every day, we cage, mutilate and kill more than 100,000 animals in the US alone, for various purposes: we use their bodies and secretions for our food, we use their skins for our clothes, we use their eyes, skin and other body parts to test our products on, we use their bones, hair and blood to make household products, we use them dead or alive for our entertainment, and the list goes on. We have built factory farms, fur farms, slaughter- houses, breeding facilities, rendering facilities, testing labs, circuses, rodeos, racing tracks and hunting grounds, just for that. And then we try to do good in the world and live a good life with our families and friends...
In front of you, you can see some of these animals, taken from the dark filthy chambers of these facilities, so that you could see them with your own eyes. They are not props from some Hollywood film. They are real. And they represent the MILLIONS of other animals who are languishing as we speak, in these cages. Alone, scared, beaten, injured, mutilated, destroyed spiritually and physically.
- Anonymous pig # 13 - was born in a crammed and filthy factory farm, and at the age of one week old his teeth, testicles and tail were cut off with metal cutters. He was taken away from his mother, whom he never saw again, at the age of two weeks, and put in a dark metal cage, with other piglets. After being pumped with growth hormones for 3 months, he died from starvation and physical exhaustion inside a transport truck on the way to the slaughter house.
- Anonymous pig # 335 - was also born in a factory farm, and she too was forcefully mutilated at the age of one week old. She was taken away from her mother right after she was born, and put in a special cage for breeding sows. At the age of two months old, she was raped with a metal rod, in order to get her pregnant and add her to the factory line of breeding sows. She died at the age of 3 months old, from her bruises, with a little fetus in her tiny womb.
- Anonymous pigs # 74 - was born in a backyard live meat market, and was orphaned at the age of 3 days old, when his mother and father were taken to the back and slaughtered on the spot, to satisfy a customer's order. At the age of two and a half months old, after being labeled "unsuitable for sale" due to the stress wounds he has developed in his filthy cage, he was prevented any food or water and 2 days later died from starvation.
- Anonymous hens # 39, 45, 52 and 21 - were born inside a tiny battery cage, in a chicken factory farm warehouse that never saw the light of day. They spent their entire short lives inside that battery cage, crammed together with a dozen other hens. When they were 5 days old, their beaks were cut off with a heated metal blade. They were thrown back into the cage, and at the age of 3 months old, died from being crushed against the rusty metal bars of the cage, by the weight of the other stressed hens in it.
- Anonymous chicken # 91 - was born in a backyard chicken coop, and due to being a male and therefore useless for the operation, was thrown together with tens of other male chicks into a garbage bag, and left to die from suffocation. He somehow managed to stay alive for 3 days, and when the bag was emptied by a garbage collection employee, he was taken in a transport truck to another backyard operation. He died there at the age of 3 months, from physical stress and exhaustion.
- Anonymous Raccoons, Possum, Squirrels and birds - were born on the busy streets of Los Angeles, and were orphaned as babies when their parents were killed by cars on the road. They managed to survive on the streets for several months, until they too were killed by passing cars, while looking for food in order to survive.
- Perro the Dog , and the cats Kira, Suki and Baby - were born to unknown parents, most probably on the streets, and at a very young age found themselves alone in the world. After a while, Perro and Kira found their way to a shelter for orphaned and abandoned animals, where after spending an unknown period of time in cages, they were finally adopted by caring human guardians. They died of old age and sickness. Suki and Baby lived on the streets for a while, until they too were shown some mercy by local people. They were taken in, and eventually died from sickness as well.
We invite you to come closer, and stand in front of these beings. See yourself in them, see your children in them. See the spark of life that once flickered in these lifeless bodies. Hear the voice that once was uttered from their throats. Imagine the joy to be alive that filled these tiny hearts, for fleeting moments. And feel.
As a wise woman said: "There is really no such thing as the 'voiceless'. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard". There is really no such thing as "us" and "animals". There are only living beings searching for happiness on this small and fragile planet. Our planet. And theirs too.
