Multi-part Series of Courage and Compassion on the Street, Part 5: Liberation for All - San Diego Animal Rights March

“We are here today to speak up for justice and equality. We are representing trillions of individuals who are exploited and killed every year. Individuals who are so victimized that the public consider them objects and refers to them as IT.”

During the rally held in San Diego, USA, on May 13, 2023, activists passionately shed light on the immense suffering endured by hen-people and male chicks within the poultry industry.

“Hens are only supposed to lay 10 to 15 eggs a year, but due to selective breeding and industrialization, they are laying over 360 eggs a year. The calcium loss alone is extremely hard on their bodies. After a short life of less than two years of misery, they will die from disease, which is standard on egg farms. Or they will be sent to slaughter once they can no longer produce eggs; they will then meet a violent death.

Another suppressed truth is what happens to male chicks. Since they cannot lay eggs, they are considered waste to an industry and are killed as soon as they hatch. Can you imagine? Being born in a strange new world and being killed within moments simply because a corporation couldn’t profit off of your body? These innocent babies are gassed to death, electrocuted, or violently ground up alive in machinery.”

The animal-people rights defenders bravely called upon society to recognize and challenge the notion of speciesism, which seeks to justify oppression and discrimination against any species, be it human or non-human. Their mission is to foster a profound expansion of values such as compassion, empathy, and kindness, extending these virtues to embrace all living beings.

“If we teach children to value every life, regardless of species, we instill an inherent moral value of all life, and we teach our children to live in unison and harmony with all Earthlings. The root of all oppression and all evil is the idea that some lives matter more than others. We need to create and teach true peace and equality because while there is violence on our plate, we will continue to have violence on the streets as well.”