Vancouver, BC – Four animal rights activists—Amy Soranno, Jeff Rigear, Roy Sasano, and Nick Schafer—who helped expose animal cruelty at Excelsior Hog Farm in the spring of 2019 made their second appearance at the Abbotsford Provincial Courthouse this morning. The defendants—known as the Excelsior 4—are facing 21 combined charges of Break and Enter and Mischief. The defendants pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all charges. If convicted, the Excelsior 4 could face years in prison, with each Break and Enter carrying the potential of 10 years in jail.
Soranno says the charges are an opportunity. “We look forward to our trial, where we will further expose the rampant violence and suffering in animal agriculture, and the complicity of our justice and enforcement systems.”
After their court appearance, the Excelsior 4 joined supporters for a demonstration at the Vancouver headquarters of the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA). Animal rights activists are demanding that the BCSPCA use its authority to take action against Excelsior for its well-documented abuse of animals.
“At the very least, the BCSPCA should be publicly condemning Excelsior Hog Farm, and pressuring BC Pork to remove Excelsior’s owner, Ray Binnendyk, from their board of directors. They should also warn the entire industry that what Excelsior did is unacceptable and won’t be tolerated,” said Soranno in a prepared statement. “Instead, the BCSPCA has breached its own confidentiality policy by turning in a whistleblower to the police.”
The activists called for better enforcement by the BCSPCA, but many are hoping that the government will take over animal cruelty investigations.
“It is unacceptable and possibly unconstitutional to have laws pertaining to animals, or any other laws, enforced by a charity which is exempt from mechanisms of public accountability and transparency essential to the responsible use of such power,” according to a recent statement by Jordan Reichert, Deputy Leader of the Animal Protection Party of Canada. “Let’s start by at least making those protecting animals accountable under the law, even if the animals themselves are not yet treated equally under it.”
For more information on the cruelty exposed at Excelsior Hog Farm:
https://www.peta.org/blog/excelsior-hog-farm-activists-charged/
