The Animal Death Toll Will Rise in NC

#JaneUnChained LIVE with continuing coverage of the horror in North Carolina, where an estimated 3 million, 400-thousand animals were left to drown! That number is expected to rise! Jo-Anne McArthur, a Canadian photojournalist, humane educator, animal rights activist and author and Kelly Guerin are documenting this tragedy for We Animals, a photography project about human relationships with animals. They are on the ground in North Carolina and tell us what they are seeing! Any farmer from this region is invited on Jane UnChained News Network any time to respond.

A bird that drowned in the flood waters of Hurricane Florence. Photo Courtesy of We Animals Instagram page and Jo-Anne McArthur

We are supposed to refer to these animals that have been left for dead as “inventory,” not the victims of animal agriculture and animal neglect. Most of photos of the crisis are too graphic to share. It is truly a horrifying situation out there. As Jo-Anne explains, a few pigs that were able to escape and swim to them, were quickly retrieved by a farmer as part of his “inventory.” They went through so much to try to get to safety, just to end up back in the horrifying conditions from which they escaped. It is an absolutely heartbreaking story that you won’t see on mainstream media!

Jo-Anne thigh-deep in flood waters full of waste to bring us these photos. Photo Courtesy of We Animals Instagram page and Jo-Anne McArthur

The farmers want to avoid, among other things, a public relations nightmare. These animal drowned inside warehouses. So, in most cases, the bodies of the animals didn’t float out, keeping the horror mostly out of the public view. The demand for animal products is to blame for these deaths and the manure lagoons that are overflowing into neighborhoods, creating a potential health crisis. This absolutely needs to stop. There are countless alternatives! This land and these warehouses can be converted into another form of commerce.  Please share and demand change for the sake of these animals and our entire eco-system.

The pigs that tried to swim to safety only to end up being retreived by the farmer. Photo Courtesy of We Animals Instagram page and Jo-Anne McArthur

Jane Velez-MItchell reporting for Jane Unchained News Network.

Report Edited by Ellen Dent.