Three years ago in my last year of law school, Professor Lesli Bisgould opened my eyes to the grave injustices animals suffer at the hands of humans. Even more shocking was learning that federal and provincial animal rights laws in Canada are one of the worst in the world and really, not rights at all.
I, like many Canadians, was living a life filled with contradiction. On the one hand, we have pets such as dogs and cats whom we treat like family, and on the other hand we eat meat and use a range of products made from animal by-products. Farm animals in Canada are subject to cruelty to the same, if not worse, degree as dogs and cats butchered for the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. Yet, we become outraged when we hear of one practice but choose to plead ignorance when it comes to the other ‘Out of sight, out of mind’, a succinct yet powerful explanation for why these contradictions continue to go unaddressed.
Like humans, animals feel pain, they love, they create social bonds and are much more intelligent than most people know. Animals, unlike humans, however, do not have a voice. This, if anything, is greater support for their protection rather than exploitation. Animals cannot verbalise their choices or their preferences or speak up for injustices they suffer throughout their often too short and painful lives.
On October 13, I will go silent for an entire day to help raise funds to support the amazing work the team at Animal Justice does for animals. I will be voiceless to raise awareness about the plight of animals that have no voice to speak out for themselves.
Please help me raise money in support of this important organization that, through their work, speaks up for animals, or better yet, join my team and help raise awareness about this cause.
