I see a lot of photos of the horrors that happen every day on factory farms. But sometimes, one animal’s arresting gaze stops me in my tracks. I feel tears prick at my eyes as the injustice of it washes over me. I remember who we’re fighting for.

That was the case with this photo, taken by the incredible photographer and investigator Andrew Skowron. I don’t know who this animal is, or what happened to her. I don’t know if she even had a name.

But I know she deserves better.

You and I both know there’s no excuse for treating an animal this way. But the meat industry has proven time and again that it only cares about its bottom line. It’ll subject animals to years of suffering in extreme confinement—and the worst pain and terror in their final moments. It will suffocate animals alive as a cost-efficient way to “depopulate” them. The factory farming industry has proven—over and over—that it will stop at nothing. 

Over and over, this movement has dodged every blow and overcome every setback. When the industry tried to tear down our legislative wins for animals, we joined our allies in successfully defending the world’s strongest animal protection law in front of the Supreme Court. Every day, when corporate executives block our calls and emails demanding better for chickens, this community of changemakers just gets louder.

Every year, this movement gets bigger. We scare the meat industry more and more. And we change the lives of millions more animals. That’s only possible because of you.

It’s an honor to be fighting the good fight with you. I mean it when I say—you make all the difference. This world would literally be a less compassionate place without you. Let that sink in.

With gratitude and hope,