I am belatedly posting this piece as at the time of the event police and CID threats made my speech a liability, that hasn’t changed, the only thing that is any different to previously is now I’m past caring for threats or promises.
Recently I was branded in the uk in solidarity with animals placed in the horrendous industry of slaughter for human consumption. I do not regret my decision, and even if this mark does not fade for the rest of my life I never will. There are many reasons I felt compelled to participate in this action some obvious, some not so much, but my primary reason is straightforward.
In the dairy industry cows are raised to be constantly in a state of pregnancy, when they are not pregnant they have just given birth. At that point the mother is given one single day with their child, one single day before their young are taken away from them. This is horrific, an experience no child or mother regardless of species should ever have to endure, let alone constantly throughout their entire lives. The situations for the calves are equally bad, if they are male they will be exported overseas to be turned into veal. If you are unaware what that entails please look into it, every drop of milk sold in the UK contributes to this process. Female calves are destined to endure the same process as their mother until they eventually drop, they are then simply discarded.
To raise awareness of this the 269 event was started, in over 40 cities around the world activists volunteered to either be branded with a hot iron, or marked with a tattoo, the number of a single calf, marked for death before they were even born, with no escape from their horrendous fate. I myself was marked with a hot iron, and was later arrested, several others have recieved threats, and do you know what? I’m not ashamed, in fact I’ve never been prouder to bear this mark. A living testament to horrors that one day our species will look back on and say never again.
unchainedaura 