Posted on 02/10/2002 7:13:03 AM PST by Deadeye Division
Animal rights protesters meet with resistance at convention center
Pork producers dish out counterclaims at annual event
By Amelia Robinson
Dayton Daily News
DAYTON | An animal rights protester took the stage Friday evening at the 34th annual Ohio Pork Congress and screamed, "Meat is murder," as 240 people prepared to munch on meats and vegetables at the Dayton Convention Center.
Audience members dragged the woman, in her late 20s and a member of the Urbana-based Mercy For Animals, from the microphone as Nathan Runkle, MFA's 17-year-old director, snapped away with a digital camera.
Runkle then was tackled by several men in the audience.
He and the woman were dragged from the ballroom screaming.
Dayton police charged Runkle with criminal trespassing and disruption of a lawful meeting.
He was taken to the juvenile detention center until his grandmother, a Sidney resident, could pick him up.
The woman was not detained by the audience members and left the scene.
Dayton police retrieved Runkle’s camera, which was empty, and said they attempted to recover the film.
The demonstration topped off MFA’s candlelight vigil across from the convention center at Fifth and Main streets. About 15 MFA members carried signs reading, “Choose compassion over killing. Please go vegan."
Dick Isler, executive vice president of the Ohio Pork Producers Council, denied MFA's claims that pigs are routinely subjected to inhuman conditions on Ohio farms.
"Pork producers care very much about their animals," he said. "The animal rights protesters are putting on a show for the media."
Isler said animal protesters have the right to their opinion, but they often force their vegetarian and vegan views on the public. Animal rights groups have crashed congress events in the past, but never have they been so "rude,” he said.
Dayton native Bill Long and Ritchie Laymon, both Columbus residents in their 50s, said the treatment of pigs and other animals on farms goes beyond rude.
"I am sure people thought the Boston Tea Party was rude," Laymon said. "It’s animal concentration camps. We wouldn’t treat our worst criminals the way we treat these animals, and they haven’t done anything wrong expect taste good."
MFA made news late last year for three "nighttime visits" to a Buckeye Egg Farm in LaRue and two to Daylay Egg Farm Inc. in Raymond. The 100-member group documented several instances of what they termed "horrendous conditions."
Before going into the convention center, Runkle described the horror he says pigs face on farms. Pigs are genetically manipulated to grow large and are confined to small concrete stalls for much of their lives, he said. Piglets are separated from their mothers.
"They haven’t felt grass under their feet until the day they are loaded on trucks to be slaughtered," Runkle said.
Judy Kell, 55, a Kettering resident and MFA member, said there are countless alternatives to eating meat. "With the products they have today and as good as soy is for your heart, you don’t need (meat)," she said.
At least they agree that animals taste good.
And they haven't felt the ocean's warm tide wash their hooves, or the balmy sea breeze gently nuzzle the bristles on their backs. Few of them are supplied with cell phones, and the cable tv they get doesn't include HBO.
What kind of beasts ARE we??!!!!
Just as a side note, if the geek from the hog-huggers was snapping pictures with a digital camera, and the police tried to confiscate the film, it is likely they are still trying, since digital cameras, by definition, use an electronic medium, not film.
...as Nathan Runkle, MFA's 17-year-old director, snapped away with a digital camera. ... Dayton police retrieved Runkle’s camera, which was empty, and said they attempted to recover the film.Memo to the Dayton Police Department: Of course the camera was empty. Digital cameras don't use film.
Interesting....
Anyhow, this is great news. We're all tired of having loudmouthed bullies trying to force THEIR lifestyles and beliefs upon the REST of us. Good for the Ohio Pork Congress!! We're not gonna take it anymore!!
LOL...........I wish I coulda seen that. Must have been a hillarious display.
And anyone wonder why a 17-year-old is the "director" of an organization that includes other people in the 20- to 60-year-old range?
Can you say "scared of being arrested and having a record?"
That reminds me.
Note to self: set the Chops out to thaw. And I gotta get some Pork Rinds to snack on as I watch the Olympics.
Screaming? Probably more like squealing ... like a, you know, stuck pig.
I don't know about that, but I do know what repeated studies have shown that vegans do not live any longer than regular folk.
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LOL! True! And, by the by, how would they know?
And 5 out of 5 people will die from something. So we might as well enjoy ourselves and eat whatever makes us happy and all the rest should leave us alone.
If you prefer vegan, enjoy.
If you prefer meat, enjoy.
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