Vancouver, BC – A hefty demonstration at the Commercial-Broadway Skytrain station is planned for Friday, April 1, in support of the Excelsior 4—activists currently facing pre-trial in BC Supreme Court. The group is calling for the BC Ministry of Agriculture to adequately address systemic animal cruelty on commercial farms in the province, by implementing greater methods of transparency and accountability.
Four animal rights activists accused of filming animal cruelty at Excelsior Hog Farm in the spring of 2019 began their defence this week in a 10-day pretrial hearing in the New Westminster Provincial Court of BC. Amy Soranno, Geoff Regier, Roy Sasano, and Nick Schafer—known as the Excelsior 4—face 21 combined charges of Break and Enter and Criminal Mischief. The Excelsior 4, who face years in prison if convicted, are scheduled to go to trial for four weeks beginning June 27.
In a move towards greater transparency and accountability within animal agriculture, the Excelsior 4 have launched a campaign, calling on the Ministry of Agriculture Lana Popham, to implement mandatory CCTV cameras inside all animal farms and slaughterhouses and to change animal law enforcement from the private charity BC SPCA to a more accountable government agency.
The event on Friday morning will be the first of its kind in Vancouver, considering the precedent-setting pretrial that began on Monday, March 28. Interested media outlets are requested to confirm their attendance in advance, as the event will have some exciting, unreleased components that media won’t have access to capture without prior arrangements.
What: Solidarity event for the Excelsior 4When: Friday, April 1, 9:00AMWhere: Commercial-Broadway Skytrain Station
The Excelsior 4 have launched a website to let the public know about their case, the story behind their charges, and how to take action against animal cruelty: www.excelsior4.org.
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