‘If Animals Could Talk, You’d Hear Their Cries’: Activists Gather In Valletta To Commemorate National Animal Rights Day
Local animal rights activists and animal lovers gathered in Valletta to symbolically commemorate the billions of animals who die every year due to human consumption.
The event was held on 4th June, which was the 13th National Animal Rights Day – gatherings, protests, and marches were held globally.
“If these animals could freely talk, their cries would come from every farm, slaughterhouse, meat market, testing lab, breeding factory, fishing pond, hunting ground, circus, zoo, religious temple, pet store, city shelter, restaurant, and dinner table in every home on every street,” Katerina Younes wrote in the press release.
The event kicked off with a march up Republic Street – protesters held up striking and saddening images of animals held in captivity and carried a white coffin symbolising their innocence.
A ceremony was then held in front of the Parliament building with live music, poem readings, and a speech by Leila Scott who runs the Sunshine Sanctuary.
During her speech, Scott shared some images of poor animals who were rescued from the horrors of the farming industry.
The Declaration of Animal Rights was proclaimed and signed during the ceremony, “a 100-foot-long scroll pronounces the rights of all Animals and bears thousands of signatures from people worldwide, in multiple languages, in support of the rights of Animals”.
A celebration was also held to acknowledge the steps that have been made, especially in the last few years, to promote a vegan lifestyle and end animal suffering in all industries.
“They all share the very same thing we have in common too: they have the right to live. With their offspring and families. Happy and free,” Younes said.
If you’re interested, here are some documentaries you can watch to learn more about the farming industry:
- Cowspiracy (2014)
- What the Health (2017)
- Seaspiracy (2021)
- The Game Changers (2018)
- Eating Our Way To Extinction (2021)
- Forks Over Knives (2011)
- Earthlings (2005)
And here’s where you can find some of Malta’s best vegan eateries here.
Would you be willing to adopt a vegan lifestyle?
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