Ontario animal rights activist charged under new provincial legislation

BURLINGTON, Ont. — An animal rights activist has been charged under a new Ontario law for allegedly interfering with a truck carrying pigs to slaughter.

Halton regional police say they laid the first charge under the new law against a woman who was protesting outside a slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ont., on Monday.

Diane Smele says she was walking through an intersection and not blocking a truck carrying that was carrying pigs to the Fearman’s Pork processing plant.

On Sept. 2, regulations under the controversial Bill 156 came into effect making it illegal to interfere with the trucks.

In June, a 65-year-old woman protesting the bill was killed when she was hit by a truck outside the same slaughterhouse.

Smele says the law is unjust and vows to fight the $490 ticket in court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2020.

The Canadian Press