FORT MYERS, Fla., -- Nearly two hundred protesters rallied on Eastwood Acres, the home of four animal slaughterhouses, to take a stand from what they say is illegal animal mistreatment and abuse.
“There’s pigs drinking the blood of other pigs because they’re so malnourished and they’re so thirsty," said Kayla Leaming, organizer of the protest and volunteer of Save the Movement.
After Animal Recovery Mission (A.R.M) released undercover video claiming four slaughterhouses with illegal animal slaughter, it sparked outrage by locales nearby. Including one woman, who was unaware of the animals treatment before she sold her six goats to the slaughterhouse.
“I knew they were going to be used for food, but I didn’t in my wildest dreams think they were going to be tortured," explained Laura Todd, who owns a farm right around the corner from the slaughterhouse.
Todd, fought back tears, describing the difficulty of seeing the videos released.
“These are my babies, they knew it, they did know it.”
On Thursday the State Attorney's office released this statement on the undercover videos from A.R.M.:
"Unfortunately the group called Animal Recovery Mission, utilizes techniques which appear to violate felony statues, making the evidence inadmissible and tainting the investigation."
Protesters say they hope the rally will push local government and police to take action. The slaughterhouses have not been charged with a crime.
