On June 19th 2021 it will be exactly one year since peace-loving animal rights activist Regan Russell was crushed to death by an angry lorry driver as she protested the cruel abuse of pigs outside Fearman's Pork slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ontario.
Vegan since 1985 and a passionate campaigner for animal rights, Regan was an active member of Toronto Pig Save and frequently attended vigils at the slaughterhouse, during which activists would give drinks of water to the pigs being taken into the abattoir to be murdered. Regan and her fellow Save Movement activists knew it was vitally important that someone be there to witness these daily shipments which are part of the ongoing holocaust against non-humans. They also knew the value of acts of compassion and mercy, trying to show these terrified, abused and soon-to-be-murdered victims that not all humans are monsters. Regan strove to make their last moments on earth a little more comfortable, a little less traumatic and to give the victims an experience of tenderness and care, however brief, that they had been denied their entire lives in the factory farms where they were reared. They also filmed their interactions with these shipments of death in an effort to make the world aware of what was going on here and in thousands of other slaughterhouses across the globe. With awareness comes choice - the choice whether to be a part of this holocaust against defenceless, innocent animals, or to be part of the solution. Regan showed people an alternative to the violence that is the meat industry and invited people to give up their addictions to animal flesh in favour of a more gentle, more compassionate, vegan lifestyle. On the morning of her death, like many times before, Regan was stood in full view of the lorry driver, who had stopped at the request of activists to give water to the pigs. There was a long-standing agreement between the Save Movement and the slaughterhouse that lorries would only be held up for two minutes. However, on this occasion it seems that even this was too long for the impatient driver. As soon as the two minutes was up, he accelerated across the junction and straight into Regan, dragging her body along the road under the wheels of his truck. She was dead long before the emergency services arrived. The shock and horror experienced by her companions on that terrible day quickly reverberated around the world. This was not the first time animal activists had been mown down and killed by animal abusers but, surely, this time there had to be some justice. Sadly, this has so far proved not to be the case. Despite multiple testimonies that Regan was in full view of the driver, he was merely charged with a traffic offence involving 'careless driving' as the courts refused to accept there was any ill intent on his part. To mark the first anniversary of the killing of Regan Russell, there will be three local events held this coming Friday and Saturday as well as memorial vigils around the world. Click here to find your nearest vigil. You can also watch the full documentary made about Regan's tragic death, 'There Was A Killing' on YouTube. |