On June 22, 2015, Anita Krajnc, an animal rights activist accompanied by other animal rights activists belonging to the group Toronto Pig Save was charged for giving water to pigs on a transportation vehicle on its way to the slaughterhouse Fearman's Pork Inc. in Burlington, Ontario in Canada.
The truck was stopped at a traffic light when Anita proceeded to give the pigs drinking water from water bottles. The liquid was visible and could clearly be seen as water. Additionally the truck driver got out and proceeded to yell profanities at Anita and demanded that she stop. The truck driver was caught on video as saying ""These are not humans, you dumb frickin' broad." See video link below:
https://youtu.be/ekhIzpKkHZo
In Canada, it is legal to transport farm animals up to 36 hours with no food or water. This was during the summer months in Canada on a sweltering hot day.
Anita stated that the pigs were extremely dehydrated and overheated due to the hot weather conditions. Court documents say the next day, pork farmer Eric Van Boekel of Oxford County contacted police. Officers investigated and charged Krajnc with mischief. In the documents, police refer to Krajnc pouring an "unknown liquid."
When did an act of compassion become grounds for criminal charges in Canada? This is a complete waste of legal resources which are being paid for by Canadian tax payers. Instead of focusing on legitimate criminal activities, the authorities and the courts have chosen to pursue charges against Anita for a genuine act of compassion towards these animals. This is not what the court system is for.
Canada should modernize their animal welfare laws as they are extremely outdated and should focus on the root cause of issues such as this one, not attempt to criminally charge an innocent woman who was acting in kindness and compassion. This is appalling and hopefully if we stand together for Anita, the Court will move towards withdrawing all of the charges as this is completely unfounded.
