Woman Charged With Criminal Mischief For Giving Water To Thirsty Animals
On June 22nd, Anita Krajnc approached a stationary slaughterhouse transportation truck outside the Fearman’s Pork Inc. slaughterhouse in Burlington, a city in the greater Toronto area. She squeezed water out of a bottle into the truck for the thirsty animals inside. The truck driver left his vehicle and told her to stop giving the pigs water. While Anita refused to stop, he told her, “No, you know what, these are not humans, you dumb frickin’ broad.” Anita repeatedly asked him to, “Have some compassion,” as the pigs continued guzzling up the water, and the truck driver threatened her, “You do it again, and I’ll slap it out of your hands.” Eventually, the driver returned to his truck and left without any physical altercation.
On September 9th, a police officer came to Anita’s house to issue her a summons for the charge of criminal mischief for giving water to the pigs. Anita worried that members of her organization, Toronto Pig Save (TPS), might be intimidated by these charges. Instead, on September 24th, more than 100 people came to Fearman’s Pork Inc. to distribute water.
Anita appeared in court briefly yesterday, October 14th, to deceive disclosure of her charges and schedule her next court date for November 4th. She stated in a Facebook post, “Compassion isn’t criminal! Offering water to a thirsty pig is an act of compassion. It is not only a right, but a duty we all share. Causing the pigs to suffer in the first place is what is wrong. I face these criminal charges with dignity, knowing that truth and justice are on my side.” Members of TPS gathered at the courthouse to support Anita and plan to do so in even larger numbers for her next court appearance.
Anita and other members of TPS work to bear witness to these suffering beings, spreading awareness of their plight and inspiring kind-hearted people to take action on their behalf, either through changing their eating habits, participating in activism, or other means.
According to the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals (CCFA), horses, pigs, and chickens are all allowed to be transported 36 hours without food, water, or rest. Cows and other ruminants have a 52 hour maximum, and transportation can be continued after only a 5 hour rest period. Transportation regularly leads to hunger and dehydration, exhaustion, and overheating.
In Toronto, the heat can soar over 100º Fahrenheit in the summer. In the winter, TPS has witnessed pigs facing frostbite and hypothermia in temperatures under 10º Fahrenheit. All sorts of farmed animals face these issues in transport, even ones from “free-range” or “humane” farms.
Photo: Louise Jorgensen/Toronto Pig Save- Anita Krajnc/Toronto Pig Save