Demonstrators compare meat-eating to genocide

Members of the Princeton Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) compared the treatment of captive animals with human rights abuses in a demonstration yesterday in front of Frist Campus Center.

Several large display panels labeled "Slaughtered," "Mutilated," "Imprisoned" and "Born Into Slavery" graphically depicted both human and animal rights abuse with further textual explanations.

The display "Liberation Project" juxtaposed the Cambodian genocide with the slaughter of pigs, beatings during the Civil Rights Movement with the slaughter of seals, prisoners in Iran with animals in roadside zoos and the branding of slaves with the branding of cows.

"This exhibit shows we should not tolerate any injustice," PAWS president Jenny Palmer '09 said in an email, adding that the goal of the demonstration was to raise awareness of animal rights abuses. "Equality and justice should extend to all sentient beings, regardless of gender, race, age, nationality and species."

"I believe that in a hundred years, people will look back on the slaughter of animals as we now look back on the slaughter and exploitation of people," Palmer added. "Injustice, no matter who it is directed to, is always wrong."

PAWS members handed out information leaflets to passersby and curious onlookers from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

"It definitely caught my attention," David Feliciano '08 said. "I think it's very effective as far as presentations go ... I'm sure some of the comparisons are fair, and some are exaggerated."

The displays advocated vegetarianism by comparing human right violations with the meat industry. "PAWS believes that going vegetarian or vegan is the best choice you can make for the animals, for your health and for the environment," Palmer said.

Feliciano, who is not vegetarian, said that the event piqued his interest in the issue. "It would implore me to look deeper," he said. "It doesn't make me want to become a vegetarian, though."

Alex Barnard '09, PAWS vice president and the organizer of the event, said that the point of the demonstration was to encourage change and conversation. "For some people, change is going vegan, and that's great," Barnard said in an email. "For others, change is choosing cheese pizza one day instead of pepperoni. That's great too."

"There is no single ethical lifestyle," he said. "However, we are arguing that the way many people consume meat is in fact unethical."

Barnard said that another aim of the displays was to allow people to make connections they might not otherwise have drawn. "Even if just a few students are prompted to change their behavior or think more critically about the choices they make, then I think that's a huge victory for the Animal Welfare Society," Barnard said.

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Campus reaction to yesterday's event ranged from enthusiastic support to derision.

"Some people stop and talk and really consider the exhibit, and I'm grateful for that even if they don't agree with us. Others choose to walk on by. Unfortunately, ignoring our abuses of animals does not change the fact that they are occurring," Barnard said.

Some Princeton students disagreed with the group's assertions and claims.

"The difference [between animals and humans] is our basic capacity for deliberation and morally significant choice," Sherif Girgis '08 said in an email. "So it is wrong to argue, as PAWS did today, that nonhuman animals can or do desire to 'live a life of [their] own choosing.' We can make such free choices, and that's why we have inviolable rights and responsibilities."

College Republicans president Jon Fernandez '08 said that though his organization did not have an official position on today's PAWS protest, he said that he "personally believe[s] it's foolish to compare human rights abuses to animal abuses." Fernandez added, however, that he "welcome[s] any display of political activism on campus."