The way she peered out at me simply shattered my heart to pieces. His eyes looked just like a puppy.
"Get off the road you idiot!" A woman yells out of her car.
I wonder if she would feel differently had she seen their faces for herself- the faces of the animals trapped inside. I wonder if she would be right there beside me fighting for their freedom.
"Get off the road- What is she thinking?" I say to the pigs. "I'm so sorry"- With all of my heart.
A pig suffering from massive tumour on face.
I've never seen anything like this. At first I couldn't believe my eyes. It took a second for me to realize what I was looking at.
I will remember this moment as long as I live.
"I wish I could help you. I'm so sorry. I love you" - Hannah
These animals are suffering due to the overwhelming brutal conditions due to heat, dehydration and exhaustion. Crammed onto 18-wheelers, pigs struggle to get air and are usually given no food or water the entire duration of their day-long journey. Multiple pigs in this video are dead before arrival- they will still be processed for humans to eat. All that matters to this industry is if their bodies are still eligible enough to be produced and consumed for profit.
What if this was a truckload of dogs? What makes these pigs considered so different through human eyes?
Look at their eyes. Look at them-all of them. They just want freedom- they want out of there. They want to live to see another day- they are pleading for us all to understand.
A pig desperate for affection perpetually licks my hand just like any puppy. Moments later she was poked and prodded onto the kill floor. I'll never forget this moment we connected.
Pigs desperate for water.
I will never forget the feeling of both seeing this truck and feeding this pig water. She was so desperate. The look on their face... in their eyes. It breaks my heart. The truck stopped just long enough for me to give this innocent pig her last drink of water before death.
Pigs share a number of surprising comparable traits to humans.
We both have hairless skin, a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, light-coloured eyes, protruding noses and heavy eye-lashes. When I look into a slaughter-truck I am always struck by the sea of different coloured eyes staring back at me. This pig in particular is someone I will never forget.
The look on his innocent face, he was so scared.
This is why I do what I do. For this moment of connection; the opportunity to say "I'm sorry". To tell these animals they matter. To show them I care. To tell them if I could do anything to stop this I would.
Resting her head, kissing her cheek. Together they spend their last moments, before suffering an outcome so bleak.
Exhausted after a long journey without food or water in the deadly heat of summer; a pig rests her head on the body of another as they unknowingly arrive at the slaughterhouse.
Frozen kisses on my fingertips. My hands were exposed for mere minutes, their entire bodies were bare the entire ride. Frozen, frostbitten.
Sorrow in the morning sunlight. Their last moments. I wish I could have saved them. At the very lease I was by their side.
This is why I do what I do.
"I'm right here with you." -Hannah
Their last moments are biographic; Caught in the middle of traffic. I carry them home in my heart.
She looked just terrified. Rightfully so. Wouldn't you be scared?
A pig communicates as soon as I approach the opening. It's as if she was calling out for help. I wish there was more I could have done.