Hamilton

Burlington woman charged for giving water to pigs saves goat from slaughter

A Burlington, Ont. woman charged for giving sips of cool water to hot pigs has bought a goat to save it from slaughter following a recent court appearance involving her swine assistance.

The goat's name is Lily

Anita Krajnc was charged with criminal mischief when she pushed a water bottle into a truck-load of pigs on their way to slaughter. (CBC)

An Ontario woman charged for giving sips of cool water to hot pigs has bought a goat to save it from slaughter following a recent court appearance involving her swine assistance.

Anita Krajnc was in a Milton courthouse last Thursday where she faces a mischief charge following a protest last June with her group, Toronto Pig Save, in Burlington, Ont.

She says after the court appearance, she and three other friends went to a vegan restaurant where they hatched a plan to go to a halal slaughterhouse on the outskirts of town.

We spoke about Donald Trump and the fact I've been charged for giving water to thirsty pigs on their way to die.- Anita Krajnc

She says the group met a receptive manager there, who showed them around the slaughterhouse and eventually agreed to give up a goat.

That goat, now named Lily, is living at Meadowlarke Stables in Brampton, Ont.

She said she appealed to the manager's "higher laws of mercy and compassion" and the pair "connected on a human level" as he prodded a cow to the slaughterhouse floor.

The negotiations continued as he moved on to skinning dead goats.

"We spoke about Donald Trump and the fact I've been charged for giving water to thirsty pigs on their way to die," Krajnc said.

"You're going to Heaven for that," she remembers him saying.

At that point, he agreed to spare one goat.

But Krajnc said she and her friends regret spending $270 to buy the goat, adding she was heading back to the slaughterhouse Wednesday to try to get the money back.

"Money is dirty, so we're going to see if we can give them gifts instead," she said.

Krajnc also said she wishes she'd asked if the goat had babies.

"It was stressful, we didn't plan to ask for an animal and it all happened so quick and the goat was a little depressed the next day, so that wasn't good," she said. "But the goat is happy now and she's going to live the rest of her life on a farm."

Krajnc's court case is set to go to trial in August. But she hasn't let the charges stop her from protesting — she continues to "stand watch" and give water to pigs on their way to slaughterhouses several times a month.