As HOGWOOD the movie shows, we can’t rely on
government or retailers to protect animals – it is up to us. Fortunately,
the power is in our hands as we hold the purse strings. By choosing vegan we
make a massive difference.
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Juliet Gellatley, founder & director of Viva!, discusses her passion for veganism, the production of the new documentary HOGWOOD: A Modern Horror Story and how Christians can play an active role in animal advocacy.
Tell us about yourself and when you became concerned with animal issues.
I tried to rescue animals as a little girl and my mum enjoyed reminding me of when a stray cat I secretly adopted, gave birth to three kittens in my wardrobe. My mum says I always fought for the underdog. I can’t bear unfairness – and it’s a remarkably unfair world! I think I was a born campaigner, with an inherent optimism that the world can be changed.
I was a passionate teenager and when I found out about vivisection I felt desperate. One of the first films I watched was Britches, about a little monkey whose eye lids were crudely stitched up in a maternal deprivation experiment. I found it devastating and became outspoken and probably a pain in the backside!
Tell us about HOGWOOD: A Modern Horror Story and what inspired you to produce it.
Since 2017, Viva! have recorded a catalogue of cruelty at Hogwood pig farm in Warwickshire, including extreme overcrowding; routine mutilations; cruel farrowing crates where mother pigs and their babies are in metal contraptions; sick and dying pigs abandoned in gangways; the dead left to rot amongst the living; painful lacerations from brutal assaults and live cannibalism.
We discovered that this mega-farm supplied the nation’s largest retailer, Tesco and was Red Tractor approved. Despite Tesco’s attempts to reassure its customers that they take animal welfare ‘extremely seriously’ and that they expect producers to meet ‘stringent, industry-leading requirements’, the pain and suffering continued. They would not drop Hogwood and stated that they would work with the farm to improve conditions.
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