A city in California is showing support for the theft of animals by activists who say they’re “rescuing” them. Protect the Harvest’s Dave Duquette speaks to Dillon Honcoop to explain why they’re doing this, and the threat this activism poses to farms across the country.
Berkeley, Calif., has recently passed a resolution that allows for “stealing” animals.
According to The Daily Californian, the resolution came after six members of an animal rights group were arrested for “liberating” animals on commercial farms in Sonoma County. The activists were all charged with felonies after the incident.
“They have convinced the Berkeley City Council to vote on a resolution, it’s not law yet, and pass it that says that they can go on, if they feel like they need to rescue an animal, they can go on a person’s property and just take that animal,” Duquette said.
The group claims to have a farm sanctuary somewhere where they take the animals to, but Duquette says he hasn’t seen any evidence of it.
“This group is so against the grain of affordable food and our food supply,” Duquette said. “They have really done some disservice everywhere.”
Other states are doing the opposite, and putting in law that it is a felony to go onto someone’s property to steal their animals.
Farmers are concerned with the precedent that this resolution sets. Animal cruelty is against the law country-wide, but if animal “rescuing” becomes a law as well, farmers will face a new set of challenges of trying to keep activists off their property.
Duquette used chickens as an example saying if they weren’t comfortable, they wouldn’t lay eggs.
“These animals are treated great, because, if they’re not, they’re not going to produce,” Duquette said.