Victory! Pig-Protecting Defendants Will NOT Serve Time in Jail for Exposing a Cruel Canadian Hog Farm
In 2022, a judge sentenced Amy Soranno and Nicholas Schafer—the activists who were charged with breaking and entering after showing the world that pigs on Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, were sick, had volleyball-size hernias, and were crammed into crowded cages among rotting corpses—to 30 days in jail.
Following a nail-biting legal process, a judge ruled on the right side of history by overturning the defendants’ previous sentence. Now, Amy and Nick will instead serve a 120-day house arrest and one year of probation.
This new ruling is a major victory—not just for these pig-protecting defendants but also for the countless animals who are exploited and slaughtered for their flesh. By courageously exposing a flesh-peddling farm, Amy and Nick have demonstrated that the meat industry will do anything to conceal the cruelty that animals endure.
Challenging unjust laws is commendable, but every small action counts. Go vegan today to start saving our fellow living, feeling beings. Keep reading for the major “hog farm trial” highlights and more.
January 2024: Defendants Lose Their Conviction Appeal
Unfortunately, Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer lost their conviction appeal. Their lawyer is working hard to have bail granted, but they spent the weekend in an Osoyoos, British Columbia, jail. However, as Amy and Nick would likely agree, a weekend in jail is nothing compared to what pigs go through on factory farms and in slaughterhouses all across Canada, surrounded by concrete and metal and with no one to help them escape. We’re sure Amy and Nick will be busy talking to their fellow inmates about those pigs and promoting vegan living as they continue to fight for animal rights. Please see our blog post concerning easy everyday activism tips that take less than a minute.
October 2022: Amy and Nick Sentenced to 30 Days in Jail
The judge sentenced Amy and Nick to 30 days in jail and an additional 12 months of probation and ordered them to supply DNA samples to a national database. Previously, thanks to a vigorous legal defense from attorneys and public support from people like you, one pig defender was acquitted of all charges. Another had all charges dropped.
Help ensure that Excelsior’s cruelty—and the bravery of these two determined people—aren’t in vain! Buy a package of vegan sausage for the shopper in line behind you, and buy vegan breakfast sandwiches for anyone you know who hasn’t yet made the switch to a cruelty-free lifestyle. Please show them our video and post it everywhere. And join PETA’s Action Team today to get the support you need to get more active for animals.
Excelsior Hog Farm apparently had zero qualms about keeping dead, rotting pigs in cramped cages next to slowly dying live ones—that is, until its appalling operation was exposed.
August 2020: ‘Meat the Victims’ Defendants Charged With Breaking and Entering
If officials have their way, three animal rights advocates will serve time in prison after exposing the abuse and suffering that animals were forced to endure on Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.
Amy Soranno, Nicholas Schafer, Jeff Rigear, and Roy Sasano of the vegan activist group Meat The Victims are scheduled to appear in Abbotsford Provincial Court of British Columbia beginning on June 27 on charges of breaking and entering and mischief. The charges come after the defendants allegedly livestreamed footage showing sick pigs and those with volleyball-size hernias on the farm.
PETA’s Investigation Into Excelsior Hog Farm Revealed Dead Pigs Rotting in Pens
Prior to the disruption led by Meat the Victims, PETA released a shocking video exposing the misery and deaths of pigs on Excelsior Hog Farm.
In the video released by PETA, severely injured and lame pigs, including some with volleyball-size hernias, were suffering in dungeon-like conditions. Some were so sick and injured that they couldn’t walk and died slowly on the filthy floor.
Sows were forced to give birth in farrowing crates hardly bigger than their bodies. Workers confined more than 1,000 mother pigs to these crates, where they spent most of their miserable lives, able to nurse but not nuzzle or help their babies. Without vital maternal nurturing, many piglets died unattended and in agony.
YOU Can Be a Pig Defender, Too—Just Go Vegan
Pigs can bond with humans, like to play games, and even enjoy a good massage. They’ve rescued humans from drowning and fires. No animal—human or otherwise—would ever choose to live next to rotting bodies, languishing in their own waste.
PETA and other animal rights groups know what happens to animals behind Excelsior’s walls is the norm across the meat industry. On farms and in slaughterhouses everywhere—from Excelsior to self-proclaimed “free-range” facilities—these sensitive, intelligent animals experience pain, fear, abuse, and untimely deaths.
You can also save countless lives by going vegan and helping everyone you know do the same. Order a free vegan starter kit from PETA. We have all the resources necessary to support folks in ditching meat, eggs, and dairy. You can make a real difference by saving nearly 200 animals a year—simply by not eating them! Another way to help is by sharing vegan ham and sausage with meat-eaters and having a conversation with them about the horrors pigs endure before their flesh makes it onto someone’s plate.
