B.C. Court of Appeal Nov. 23 heard the case of two animal activists convicted of breaking and entering and mischief in connection with July 2022 events where they filmed conditions at an Abbotsford hog farm.
Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer each received a 30-day jail sentence in October 2022, but both were granted bail pending their appeal. They intend to ask a three-judge panel to set aside their convictions and schedule a new trial.
The pair spoke on the steps of the Vancouver Law Courts before the case was heard Thursday morning. Dozens of placard-holding supporters showed up for a protest before moving inside for the hearing.
The appeal comes days after the Animal Justice group released further footage it said was from the Excelsior Hog Farm.
Outside court, Soranno said the purpose of their actions was to expose conditions at the farm. She said footage was turned over to the RCMP.
“The SPCA has still not recommended charges against Excelsior,” she said.
“Excelsior has never had to answer for its crimes,” added Schafer.
“We don’t want to go to jail,” he said. “No repercussions to us will ever replace the cruelty that farm animals endure.”
Soranno said if they fail in their B.C. appeal, they are ready to got to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Lawyer Peter Sankoff represented the pair in court.
“They wanted to show British Columbians how badly pigs are treated,” he told the court. “They tried to make people care about the cruelty to food animals at the Excelsior farm.”
Soranno, Schafer and others tried to stay out of the way, he added.
“They are not vigilantes,” Sankoff said. “They have a political agenda to open the doors of that farm.”
He told the judges that what Soranno and Schafer did was to speak out as responsible members of a peaceful and just society.
“It is a valuable and positive part of our society,” he said.
The appeal argument
In their appeal argument, Soranno and Schafer argue B.C. Supreme Court Justice Frits Verhoeven made errors of law by blocking them from showing the jury video evidence of alleged animal cruelty.
They also assert that Verhoeven prevented them from explaining to the jury that the hog farm had engaged in alleged unlawful animal abuse, thereby undermining the activists’ claims that they believed their actions were lawful.
The pair claim they were prevented from using a necessity defence that would have allowed them to argue their actions were necessary to prevent a greater harm to animals from occurring.
“The appellants further argue that their actions were necessary to expose the animal abuse and neglect taking place at Excelsior Hog Farm, and that the trial judge erred in not considering this defence,” the appellants said.
In his October 2022 decision, Verhoeven said nothing less than a term of imprisonment would be appropriate.
“In terms of the threat to public order, and maintenance of a just and peaceful, safe society, the offence was grave,” he said.
He said Soranno and Schafer “believe that raising animals for meat is morally wrong, is cruel and unnecessary, and harmful to the environment.” And, he said, Soranno, Schafer and others organized and carried out a very large-scale break and enter to further their political goals.
The latest allegations come as federal lawmakers debate amendments to the Health of Animals Act to limit access to farms as a measure to maintain bio-security.
Ray Binnendyk, one of the brothers who owns Excelsior Hog Farm, defended the farm from past allegations when he testified last month at a session with the federal Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, where members of Parliament discussed amendments to the act.
Binnendyk told the committee “false accusations online had a significant emotional impact on our family” and that “the perception that people have about us has all been spread by lies and stuff that are not true.”
With files from Stefan Labbé
