On 16th October 2024, a short film titled Akin, of Similar Nature was released by the UK animal rights group the Animal Justice Project, who co-produced the film by combining their hard-hitting investigative expertise with the creative, arts-driven vision of SPECIESISM.WTF to tell the heart-wrenching story of mother pigs imprisoned in farrowing crates. They titled the short film Akin because both groups wanted to highlight just how deeply connected we are to our fellow animals.
In the film, we see several animal rights activists entering a pig farm at night where they see mother pigs kept in farrowing crates, with many piglets around them. The activists then talk to the camera while the pigs are recorded in such a way that the whole film looks like an art piece rather than the footage of an investigation.
Claire Palmer, Founder of the Animal Justice Project, is one of the activists, and we can see her saying the following: “Tonight we’ve come out to the countryside to a commercial pig farm and this isn’t something that a normal person would do, and it’s not something that we want to do or enjoy doing. But we have to. We have to show the reality of animals that are slaughtered for pork, bacon, and sausages.”
Another activist featured is the American Jamie Logan, podcast host of “Jamie’s Corner”. She says, “It is 2 a.m. and we are here in a barren shed with these mother pigs who have been denied any behaviour that is natural to them, like caring for their young, brooding, nest building. They spend their entire lives confined to these pens despite being highly intelligent social beings.”
A third activist, Stephanie Lane, founder of SPECIESISM.WTF, is heard saying, “Through my art installations, we tell the stories of the animals trapped in these industries by placing humans in the positions of nonhuman animals. In the process, we challenge the public to consider their ingrained speciesism.” You can watch the film here:
