By Belinda Morris
Readers of Monkeybiz.ca will recall our coverage of the death of local animal activist, Regan Russell, who was violently struck and killed at a pedestrian crossing by a pig transport truck during a Toronto Pig Save vigil outside Fearmans Pork slaughterhouse in Burlington, ON on June 19, 2020. Fearmans, owned and operated by Sofina Foods, has recently made headlines again, this time due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility.
Now, a new film entitled THERE WAS A KILLING which premieres online Saturday, November 7, at 3 pm EST. examines the life and disturbing circumstances of Russell’s death.
You can view the official trailer below.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Shaun Monson (EARTHLINGS, UNITY), tells the story of the life and death of the former Canadian model and lifelong activist, through the words of friends and family, along with eyewitness accounts of events just before and after her death, and most graphically, through previously unreleased footage taken at the scene in the immediate aftermath of her being killed.
Following the blood trail left in the wake of the tragedy, the film also probes into the actions and decisions taken by many that day, including the investigating authorities, as well as the transport truck driver, as seen through the eyes of witnesses such as Lori Croonen, who attended the vigil and video-recorded events at the scene that appear in the film.
Eyewitness accounts and unreleased video will be presented
According to Croonen, who was tramatized by the carnage she witnessed outside the meat-processing plant, “I did this because I knew that it would be needed, based on my past experiences at Fearmans’ slaughterhouse, where aggressive and dangerous drivers were never held accountable by the police. I had a truck driver try to hit me in March 2020, when the police were there and witnessed it.”
After Russell was struck, Croonen continues, “The police interviewed us witnesses briefly, and never asked if we had videos, never followed up with us after that day.” When the driver who struck Russell finally stopped, she then added, he “didn’t get out of the truck when he found out. Who does that?”
That is one of the many questions posed by this provocative film. In her last Facebook post, Regan Russell decried the draconian measures of agriculture Bill No.156, so-called ‘ag gag’ legislation, which had been passed by the Ontario government just two days before she was killed. Seen by the animal advocate and activist community – as well as by many experts in the Canadian legal field, and prophetically, by the provincial government’s own agriculture critic – as dangerous legislation that could invite abuse and cause harm, the hard facts surrounding Bill 156 are brought to bear by this disturbing film, on all those responsible, directly or indirectly, for the terrible events that followed immediately in its wake.
Click here to register for the free screening of THERE WAS A KILLING.
The film will be followed by a live and interactive Q&A at 3.45 pm EST with director Shaun Monson, LA Animal Save organizer Amy Jean Davis, and attorneys Lisa Bloom and Robert Monson, and facilitated by Varun Virlan (director of digital media, Animal Save Movement).
