An investigation into animal transit in Canada was prompted by an unlikely trip to an A&W Restaurant when Kira Blaise discovered what appeared to be an overcrowded animal transport truck.
On her way to the A&W at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening to try the new Beyond Burger, Blaise noticed a transport truck, bearing an Alberta license plate, full of pigs.
Curious as to if there were any slaughterhouses in Kamloops, Blaise, Organizer for the Kamloops Animal Rights Movement and Advocacy (KARMA) group, followed the truck along with her partner.
She caught the driver at a truck weight scale and asked to see the animals, to which he kindly obliged, Blaise explained, “then that’s when I just took the video.”
"I've never been up to one of these trucks before, so the issue of overcrowding hadn't been apparent. I knew that they were exhausted and dehydrated just by the way that they were acting, some of them were unresponsive, breathing heavily and they were all frothing out the mouth," said Blaise about the transport truck.
Blaise recorded a four-minute video of her interaction with the allegedly overcrowded pigs, who can be seen wearily watching her from inside the metal cage.
"It wasn't until after I looked at the footage that we realized: wow, a good majority of them don't have any room."
One of Blaise's concerns was the tight space with the warm weather, which was recorded at just below 30 C on Wednesday.
Blaise submitted the footage to Anna Pippus, an Animal Justice lawyer, and proceeds to work with the BC SPCA and ASPCA to uncover the companies and facilities involved.
Simultaneously, separate investigations are being conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), BCSPCA and ASPCA into the transport and the shipping of animals as product after Blaise revealed the video to them.
So far, the CFIA has confirmed to Blaise that the truck arrived at its destination in Langley, B.C.
The video has also sparked interest on social media, receiving over 14,000 views and 557 shares at the time of publication.
In response, Blaise posted a follow-up video scrutinizing the Canadian Animal Cruelty laws for being “weak and poorly defined,” especially the vague and ambiguous definition of “overcrowding” as outlined in the Health of Animals Regulations.
After Blaise filmed the initial video, she said the experience has been an emotional rollercoaster from interacting with the pigs to going through the video and sending out reports.
"When I was first there with the pigs I was just solely focused on what they were experiencing and being present with them and seeing them eye to eye as equals,” commented Blaise
“In the moment, it was a very shocking experience and after the fact - when I walked away - I really starting breaking down in tears.”
