Hosts Julianne Schwartz and Noah Bristol speak with Thomas Chiang, a Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) activist working diligently for animal rights. Thomas was recently part of June 3rd, 2019 mass action at Reichardt Duck Farm in Petaluma, California. Thomas, along with other activists, locked his neck with a u-lock to a slaughter line conveyer in order to halt the active slaughter of animals. While locked down, a slaughter worker reactivated the line, causing Thomas to be choked into unconsciousness and nearly killed. Thomas joins us to discuss the purpose of that day's action and the nature of non-violent, peaceful direct action.
79 activists were arrested that day, the third such mass arrest of animal rights activists in Sonoma County in the last year. These actions are part of a larger DxE campaign whose goal is to pressure governmental bodies to enforce the laws that already exist on the books to protect animals from abuse and neglect. Learn more about DxE and their campaigns on their website.
Learn more about the Reichardt Duck Farm mass action on Democracy Now! or Sentient Media.
- KBOO