In June, United Poultry Concerns and Free from Harm alerted activists to contact a yoga studio
run by owners of The Local Grocer and a permaculture farm in North Conway, NH urging them to cancel a chicken-killing demonstration planned for June 28. We
pleaded with the owners to spare the chickens, and we thank the thousands of people who joined our call to
Urge Yoga Studio Not to Kill the Chickens: Please Sign This Change.org Petition!
21 June 2014.
Here is what happened:
The chickens were killed. Free from Harm and UPC sent an e-mail with the resulting 3800 plus signatures on our Change.org petition to owners Russ Van
Deursen and Heather Chase. Deursen wrote back to UPC:
“Soooo, fyi, no amount of signatures would have stopped this workshop, there were 8 attendees. And the petition should have been over hours ago, step
away from your device and go outside and look up! Operate on a higher vibration… It was a glorious day.”
Below is the article that ran on June 25, 2014 in the local paper, The Conway Daily Sun. Conventionally slanted toward the local
businesses, at least it let readers know that there was strong opposition to the chicken slaughter class. Perhaps some or many will now think more deeply
about the incompatibility of slaughtering animals and practicing yoga.
Published Date: Wednesday, 25 June 2014 05:04
By Daymond Steer
CONWAY – The Local Grocer has taken a no-trespass order on animal rights activist Laura Slitt after Slitt caused two animal rights organizations to
protest the Local Grocer's backyard poultry series which includes information on how to slaughter chickens.
The class is to be held on June 28 at the Local Grocer's Mountain Flower Farm, and is part of a nine-week program on permaculture, which Local Grocer owner
Heather Chase described as farming that's "beyond organic." Chase said one class is about how to ethically raise and process chickens but other classes are
about gardening. Chase said the chicken class is consistent with her business' core beliefs.
Slitt said she received the no-trespass order from Bartlett [NH] police after sending one "respectful email" asking the Local Grocer to cancel the event.
Slitt said she didn't get a response so she contacted animal rights organizations United Poultry Concerns and Free from Harm. Both organizations created a
change.org petition which has since been signed by about 3,500 people.
Slitt, of Bartlett, said her care for the birds led her to take action.
"This is not about me, it's not about Heather and it's not about all these people who have all these different views," said Slitt. "It's about some baby
birds that right now are probably sitting in a pen somewhere, or pecking at the grass, if they can move, who have no idea that in four days somebody is
going to grab them, stuff them in a cone, extend their heads and slice their necks."
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Read the entire article here:
http://www.conwaydailysun.com/newsx/local-news/113878-local-grocer-in-food-fight-with-animal-rights-activists
