Hen liberator released from prison

On July 17th, animal rights activist Pelle Strindlund was released from the Vänersborg prison after serving a one-month sentence for liberating hens from a battery farm.
--> Further reading in our Press Release

"It’s just after twelve and I am sitting in an empty and somewhat chilly dining hall. From the hallways I can hear the tune of the institution: the constant shuffling and clapping of plastic sandals."
--> Read Pelle’s letter from prison, July 8th

THE RESCUE SERVICE ACTION 3

Action 3 has its own web page which can be found at http://fly.to/aktion3 [Swedish text only]
--> Read the article from Dagbladet [Swedish text only]
--> Listen to Yelah’s interview with Jenny Husvall (mp3-format) [Swedish only]

The Rescue Service Action 3 led to the first prosecution of hen liberators in Sweden. On Wednesday, April 25th, 2001, Daniel Persson, Jenny Husvall and Pelle Strindlund—three animal rights activists from Gothenburg—appeared at Lidköpings court facing charges of theft alternatively arbitrary conduct. They broke into a battery hen farm outside Vara and liberated 36 hens which they later placed in various homes throughout Sweden. They performed the action in order to save lives and with hope to bring attention to the situation of battery hens.

It’s a wonderful feeling to see these shy hens take their first steps on grass. They have never before seen daylight and their feet are disfigured from the wire floor, preventing them from walking naturally. During the first week hens usually walk on the upper side of their feet, before they learn to walk properly.
Jenny Husvall

Daniel Persson and Jenny Husvall were sentenced to two years probation and a fine. Pelle Strindlund was sentenced to one month in prison.

In comparison to the terrible treatment of battery hens, a month spent in jail doesn’t seem like such a terrible punishment.
Pelle Strindlund

The group appealed the verdict and simultaneously filed an official report against the farm owner with the police. According to the Swedish Animal Protection Act, farm animals should be kept in ways that allow them to feel well and behave naturally. The conditions at the battery farm outside Vara, from where the liberation took place, were unacceptable. Five to six hens were crammed together in each cage, and the floors were littered with decaying hen carcasses.

The appeal led to the case being carried to a higher court in Jönköping on February 5th of 2002. The result of the previous trial, however, was upheld by the judge.

Photo: Hendrik Zeitler

See more pictures from the court -->

Read the Press Release regarding the sentencing -->

Our report of the farm owner for crimes against the Animal Protection Act did not even lead to charges against him. It reveals quite a bit of the priorities of our government: making money on the suffering of hens versus allowing hens to lead happy lives.
Jenny Husvall

The egg producing industry continually ignores the paragraph in the Animal Protection Act which states that animals should have the possibility to behave naturally. It is the egg industry, and not the hen liberators that ought to be prosecuted.
Viktoria Roos, animal rights activist from Jönköping, also member of the Green Party’s youth organisation, Green Youth.

Green Youth’s spokesperson Zaida Catalán has offered her public support for the action. Further reading at www.gu.mp.se [Swedish text only].

The Rescue Service
c/o Westerberg
Språkgränd 41 3tr, SE-907 33 UMEÅ
SWEDEN
Pg: 112 98 26-2 (account for donations)
info@raddningstjansten.org

Contact: Åsa-Maja Augustsson
Phone: +46(0)709-695378