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In March 2017, I and a team of DxE investigators came across a dying baby pig in the largest factory farm in the nation. With a grievously injured foot, and a serious respiratory infection, the piglet was destined for a slow and painful death. Nationwide, 14% of piglets do not make it out of the farrowing crate where they are born, with hypothermia, starvation, and crushing being the most common causes of death. This piglet should have been another in the tens of millions of baby pigs who die in horrific fashion.
But against all odds, this little piglet, who we named Lily, was saved. And her journey — from emergency vet to FBI raids to star of a historic criminal trial — arguably has had a greater impact than any story in the history of animal rights.
I saw Lily one day before she passed, by video conference. I could sense she was restless and unhappy; she was refusing to eat and becoming emaciated from her inability to keep food down. I also sensed, however, the same spirit that she showed in the days after we took her out of Smithfield’s Circle Four Farms. It was a spirit that not only allowed her to survive, and gave her vitality even into her last day of life, but that inspired people across the world.
We do not know, for sure, what was ailing Lily. She developed skin cancer in her later years — a common condition for Yorkshire pigs whose bodies are unnaturally light-skinned and pink (to serve the tastes of human beings who have bred their flesh to be tender and fatty). It is likely that the cancer spread from her skin, perhaps to her gastrointestinal tract.
What I do know, however, is that her story will not be forgotten.
I am in the process of writing something to remember. Not an obituary but an encomium: a rallying cry for all those who would defend the vulnerable creatures of this earth, and be inspired by their willingness to fight. For now, let me just offer my condolences to her caretakers, who spent years giving her the life she deserved. And promise you that more is yet to come.
I’ll be going live to discuss on Friday at 10:30 am PT. Here’s the link to join.
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