Joaquin Phoenix Leads Tribute to Activist Killed Outside Slaughterhouse
Regan Russell was at an animal vigil when she was fatally hit by a truck transporting pigs to slaughter.
Regan Russell at an Animal Save vigil. Credit: Animal Save Movement
Joaquin Phoenix is among the many voices to pay tribute to animal activist Regan Russell, who was fatally hit by a slaughterhouse truck during an ‘animal save’ vigil in Burlington, Ontario.
As part of the worldwide Animal Save Movement, vigils are regularly held outside slaughterhouses to bear witness to the animals’ suffering, and provide comfort in their final moments.
Russell was a regular attendee of Toronto Pig Save. On June 19, with temperatures soaring to 30C, Russell came to give water to the pigs who had endured up to 36 hours without any food or water en route to the slaughterhouse. Tragically, during the vigil, Russell was struck and killed by the truck.
"We have had many close calls here," Toronto-based Anita Krajnc, founder of the Animal Save Movement, told local press. "We have asked for trucks to stop for two minutes so we can bear witness, say goodbye to the pigs and give them water."
Joaquin Phoenix, who regularly attends Animal Save vigils, paid tribute to Russell at a vigil in Los Angeles, where he was photographed holding a sign that read “#SavePigs4Regan”. Phoenix explained,
“Regan Russell spent the final moments of her life providing comfort to pigs who had never experienced the touch of a kind hand. While her tragic death has brought upon deep sorrow in the Animal Save community, we will honour her memory by vigorously confronting the cruelties she fought so hard to prevent by marching with Black Lives, protecting Indigenous rights, fighting for LGBTQ equality, and living a compassionate vegan life.”
Russell’s death comes just two days after a controversial ag-gag law was passed in Ontario, which makes it harder for activists to expose animal suffering, by increasing fines for documenting on farms and processing plants.
"The Ontario government can attempt to silence us with the passage of its Ag-Gag bill – Bill 156 – but we will never go away and we will never back down”, added Phoenix.
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The footage was reportedly recorded at Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, where up to 22,000 dogs - mostly beagles - are being bred for animal experimentation.