“Silent” Night in the Slaughterhouse

I’ll never forget those piercing screams. 

At a slaughterhouse in Mexico, workers pushed and kicked a pig to force him into the killbox. As the metal door slammed shut behind him, he was shot in the head to stun him. 

But he didn’t lose consciousness. 

His throat was slit, his body left to bleed on the floor. The pig’s high-pitched shrieks sent chills down my spine, reminding me of a child’s scream. 

As an undercover investigator, it’s a sound I’ve heard many times.

I walked over to the pens where pigs waited hours for their turn to be slaughtered. Something curious caught my eye. 

Amidst the sounds of death, a pig slept.

“He must be used to these sounds… or maybe he is exhausted,” I thought to myself. The thought of him living and dying amongst the constant screams disturbed me. 

And then I thought about what this pig could be dreaming about. If he never experienced anything other than his days inside a factory farm, could he dream of something different? Or was he reliving the cruelties he endured?

While I can’t fully understand what these animals go through, I’ve seen glimpses of it. 

I’ve seen workers shove their fingers into a pregnant pig’s eyes and drag her to a crate to give birth. I’ve seen piglets left to die on factory farm floors. 

And I’ve seen animals in their final moments, scared, only for workers to laugh and mock their pain. 

But at the end of the day, I get to sleep in my bed away from this cruelty.

For animals, this is their whole life. They can’t escape the abuse or death––while awake or asleep.

It doesn’t have to be this way. As feeling beings like you and me, animals deserve a life free from suffering.

And you hold the power to make a kinder world for animals possible.

In fact, you’ve already made change happen with your support. 

But something dawned on me at this moment between life and death: these animals are individuals with their own stories… and the world needs to hear them.

Jalisco, the Mexican state where we investigated dozens of slaughterhouses, criminalized farmed animal cruelty in 2019. 

And in August this year, Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the Mexican Constitution. Once approved by the Senate, Mexico will have its first nationwide animal protection law.

By investigating and denouncing more situations like these, you and I can change laws around the globe. 

But we need your help. You can protect animals from cruelty by supporting Animal Equality’s work today.  

Why stop there? Let’s take a giant leap for animals in time for the holiday season. As we gather with family and friends, let’s simply replace the ham and turkey on our plates with wholesome plant proteins. 

With so many innovative plant foods and traditional staples on the market, we can enjoy the same holiday foods with a creative twist. Better yet, we’ll set an example for everyone who gathers at the table with us. 

The circumstances for animals are urgent, but the opportunities to get involved are infinite. 

Will you seize them?