#CF disrupted the Bernie Sanders rally at St. Mary’s Park, South Bronx. For over 20 minutes, the group stood among the estimated 27,000 Bernie supporters, chanting, “Animals’ lives are their right! We have just begun to fight!” We also held a bright orange banner that said, “What if Birdie was a chicken?” - calling attention to Bernie’s failure to recognize animal rights as part of the progressive social justice movements.
Activists were assaulted multiple times by bystanders, but were also defended by a handful of supporters who said, “Animals have rights too.”
Why disrupt Bernie? Bernie claims to be progressive and yet he supports the practice of killing animals for food. He supports corporate welfare and tax-funded violence towards animals in the form of animal agriculture subsidies. He also let the AETA pass under unanimous consent, which treats actions like rescuing animals from places that exploit animals the same as an act of domestic terrorism. It is important that we hold our political representatives to a higher standard of justice - especially those who claim to be progressive.