Vancouver, BC – Six animal rights activists were arrested on Friday after occupying the headquarter offices of the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCPSCA) for several hours, demanding to speak with BCSPCA Chief Executive Officer Craig Daniell. The activists and their supporters are calling on the BCSPCA to step down from its role of enforcing animal cruelty laws at factory farms across the province.
In a massive and disproportionate show of force, the Vancouver Police Department dispatched more than two-dozen officers, including gang task force members, and at least 17 vehicles to arrest the activists who had been engaged in what they called a peaceful “sit-in” protest since 9am that day. The arrests were made in front of a small group of supporters, and local residents, most of whom cheered for the activists as they were taken away in handcuffs.
Video footage of the peaceful “sit-in” protest and police response can be viewed here:
“We were calling on the BCSPCA to step down from enforcing animal cruelty laws on factory farms in BC so that a more competent and appropriate government agency could take over that responsibility,” said Zoe Peled, one of the arrested activists, who made a statement upon her release. “We simply asked to speak with BCSPCA CEO Craig Daniell, who has already admitted that his organization is incapable of doing the job,” continued Peled. “Instead, they ignored a significant opportunity to have constructive dialogue, and let us sit there all day before asking the police to arrest us.”
According to Freedom of Information documents disclosed last year, Daniell wrote to the Ministry of Agriculture in November 2020 stating that “the BC SPCA, as a donor funded organization, has no capacity to regulate the more than 6,000 commercial farms in British Columbia, nor does it wish to be involved in such an endeavor.”
According to Peled, the BCSPCA demonstration was held in solidarity with “The Excelsior 4,” four activists currently in court fighting charges for exposing animal cruelty at Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford in 2019. Details from their two-week pretrial hearing currently underway are unavailable due to a publication ban imposed by the court, despite the defendants expressing a desire for full transparency in their case. The four-week trial for the Excelsior 4 is scheduled to begin on June 27.
“Instead of addressing the real issues behind animal cruelty at factory farms across BC, the police and the BCSPCA are choosing to criminalize animal rights activists,” said Kira Cheeseborough, the activists’ media liaison. “Activists are simply demanding accountability from law enforcement for the millions of animals without the oversight and protection they deserve.”
Among those arrested on the scene at the BCSPCA headquarters in Vancouver were Lisa Burke, Olivia Gordey, Teghan Gordey, Franacis Metivier, and Zoe Peled. The six activists are scheduled to appear in Provincial Court on June 9 to face charges of criminal mischief.
