He continues to attend vigils hosted by animal welfare group Toronto Pig Save outside the Fearmans slaughterhouse where Regan was killed [June 19, 2020] and to speak with other activists about her lifelong work to create a better world for animals.
Please watch There Was a Killing: New Documentary's Shocking Footage Follows Tragic Death of Activist Regan Russell and Animal Rights Activist Regan Russell Killed at Pig Vigil
The father of slain animal rights activist Regan Russell used his
92nd birthday to continue his daughter’s fight to end suffering and
increase accountability on factory farms.
Bill Russell and his wife Pat sent a letter to Doug Ford, the head
of Ontario’s government, with a plea to repeal Bill 156, also known
as the Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act.
The bill restricts people’s ability to expose animal cruelty on
factory farms by criminalizing whistleblowing. It passed the day
before an on-site protest that Regan Russell attended on June 19,
2020, during which she was struck and killed by a truck driver, who
has since been charged with careless driving and is scheduled for
trial in 2023.
In the letter, the Russells noted that dozens of legal experts had
warned that the bill violates people’s rights to free expression and
peaceful assembly and is unconstitutional.
“I plead with you on my 92nd birthday on December 6, 2022, to repeal
the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act in memory
of vegan activist Regan Russell,” Bill Russell wrote. “She dedicated
her life to ending animal oppression, and her life was so unjustly
taken in the process.”
Bill Russell became vegetarian in 1980, after Regan gifted him a
copy of Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation. He attended protests
against fur in Ontario, and protests against Marineland in Niagara
Falls, with Regan before her untimely death.
Pat and Bill Russell (Courtesy of Animal Save Movement)
He continues to attend vigils hosted by animal welfare group Toronto
Pig Save outside the Fearmans slaughterhouse where Regan was killed
and to speak with other activists about her lifelong work to create
a better world for animals.
In November, Bill Russell gathered with a small group around Regan’s
grave to remember and celebrate her life.
“I have to say thanks if there is a god for giving us Regan,” he
said in a video, shared by animal welfare nonprofit Animal Save
Movement. “Thank you for our dear beloved Regan, who lies here as we
think of her life and how she gave that life in protesting animal
oppression.”
The epitaph on Regan’s grave reads: “I’m trying. I don’t know if it
does any good. But I know doing nothing does no good.”
Animal Save Movement said Regan Russell’s work continues to inspire
activists and rescuers around the world.
In June 2021, Italian rescuers saved a sheep at one of Europe’s
largest sheep slaughterhouses and named the animal Regan. In Turkey,
a farm worker who spoke to activists later helped rescue a sick
chicken awaiting slaughter, who also was named Regan, according to
Animal Save Movement.
Those interested in learning more about Regan’s life and work can
view the following documentaries, or visit this Facebook page to Go
Vegan for Regan and help honor Regan’s dedication to stopping
suffering by choosing vegan meats, cheeses, and milks which don’t
harm animals.