Vancouver Chicken Save activists met at 5am on Saturday, March 24th to begin a 13 hour vigil in honour of Bao Min Cheng, a worker who passed away of heart failure after a 13 hour shift at Hallmark Slaughterhouse, and in honour of the chickens who are intentionally killed here each day.
51 activists came out and thousands of people were exposed to our message, which was simple: slaughterhouses are hell for the animals and hell for the workers, and we are capable of making more compassionate choices.
Each day, 90 thousand chickens are killed at this slaughterhouse in Vancouver. These individuals are almost always babies and are always completely innocent. They have families, they value their lives, and they want to live, just like us.
Our 13 hour activism "shift" was spent bearing witness to the chickens in their final moments of life, while also discussing and honouring the human victims of the industry with each other and with the public.
Slaughterhouse workers are often immigrants who have many barriers to employment and are left with no other option but to work in such violent places. They suffer from trauma, mental health disorders and exhaustion from being overworked and exploited. Bao Min Cheng was consistently working 70 hour work weeks when he passed away of heart failure.
Due to misinformation and numbed compassion, I believe the consumers of animal products are victims of the industry, too. However, as this message is hitting the streets and the mainstream media more and more often, people are becoming aware of the injustices within the industry and are becoming very receptive to learning about veganism.
The amount of honking, thumb ups, fists of solidarity, and nods of approval from the vehicles passing by was really encouraging.
In honour of Bao Min Cheng, who had a family with 4 children when he passed away at the young age of 42, and the 90 thousand chickens who are slaughtered at this location each day, thank you for opening your eyes and hearts to this message.
| photos: Tosha Lobsinger is my Photographer |