Action Group Activity Report - May 2023 - アニマルライツセンター

Animal Rights Center HQ

We had a street action in Shibuya on May 5th.
Since this day was Children’s Day in Japan, instead of the abolition of confined breeding of mother pigs that we usually call on the street, we advocated about piglets killed at 6 months of age for pork production, male chicks killed on the day they are born for egg production, and broilers that are killed for chicken meat production at 50 days old.

The area in front of Shibuya’s scramble crossing is very crowded during Golden Week, so we were able to get many passers-by to see the panel and hand out flyers.
Many people showed interest in our activity: A student came by and asked for the leaflets as she was very interested in the matter.
An elementary school student came to receive a leaflet for his mother.
One person offered to donate. Another took lots of pictures of the panels.

Among the animal welfare issues for pigs, it is said that gestation stalls for sows should be abolished as soon as possible. For this reason, we usually make many calls to improve the environment for sows, but on this day, we were able to spread awareness of piglets for pork, who are castrated, tail-cut, and teeth-cut without anesthesia, and are forced to live a barren life in confined spaces.

ARC Shiga

We had a panel exhibition mainly about a pig gestation stall and a panel of egg-laying hens.

We had a panel exhibition mainly about a pig gestation stall and a panel of egg-laying hens.

There was an elderly woman who looked at the panel about health and said, “I’ve been told I don’t have enough calcium, so I’ve been drinking 1 liter of milk every day for decades, but my bone density is 20% lower than average.”
I asked her if she was told by a doctor to drink lots of milk, and she said that she just thought the best way to take calcium was to drink milk. I told her to avoid milk as much as possible for her health and gave her the leaflets about milk and the Meat Free Monday, which has the same information with panel about health.

Many people were interested what we were trying to tell and about 100 leaflets were distributed.

ARC Hyogo

On May 3rd, we held a street activity in Sannomiya, Kobe.

There were five volunteers, of which 2 of them were teenage students.
We exhibited panels, handed out flyers, and gave speeches.

About 200 leaflets were distributed in two hours, and there were people who read the text on the panel and asked questions.

Children responded well to the chick panel, so when I told them about the killing of male chicks, they said, “How pitiful!”

After the activity, we discussed with the participants at the vegan cafe what kind of panel should be displayed in what way and what kind of place would be most effective.

A student in his teens succeeded in introducing Meat Free Day at his school, and he wants to try a street action with the Boy Scouts he belongs to.

ARC Kagawa

We held a street action in front of Kotoden Kotohira Station and near the entrance of Konpirasan approach.

I felt that it is difficult to tell people who are visiting the site for sightseeing. Some people looked at the panel carefully, so I was able to talk.

I hope that even just one person will be able to realize the current situation of animals and change his/her behavi

ARC Chiba

We held a street action with 11 volunteers on May 6th!

Some people learnt the situation of livestock animals for the first time, emphasized with us and received the flyers. A woman who used to have a bird as a pet felt very sad to know about the male chick killed on the day they are born and signed the petition to end the slaughter of newborn male chick.
Some elementary school students and small kids also showed interest in what is happening and wanted to know more.

We will continue our activities, believing that we are getting closer to an animal-friendly world little by little!

ARC Iwate

We held a street action with a small panel and flyers.

Immediately after we started, a junior high school student asked for a leaflet.
After looking at the leaflet, he told us that his family is a dairy farmer, so after we talked about the animal welfare of dairy cows, he wished us luck. We really appreciate this kind of encouragement.

Especially since last year, I receive those kind of words, so I think that awareness of situation of livestock animals is improving.

In order to reach people who do not use SNS or the Internet, I would like to continue to do my best on street actions, postings, distributing/putting up flyers and posters!

ARC Shonan

On May 27th, we held a seminar on animal welfare and ethical consumption called “Life Lessons” in Fujisawa, followed by street action.

At the seminar, we invited a member of the Animal Welfare Working Group as a lecturer to talk about not only livestock animals but also animals that are sacrificed for entertainment, pets, experiments, fashion, etc., and the five freedoms of animal welfare.

Participants made comments such as, “It was heartbreaking to learn about the tragic situation animals are facing,” and “I thought it was important to think about issues animals are facing from the perspective of animals, rather than the perspective of humans.”

The theme of the action was cage rearing of egg-laying hens, and there were three volunteers including two who also participated in the seminar. In one and a half hours, we were able to distribute 70 leaflets, making many passers-by aware of the fact that Japanese egg-laying hens are being detained and the term “animal welfare.”