An RCMP investigation continues and no charges had been laid as of Sept. 12 against animal activists who entered the Jumbo Valley Hutterite Colony turkey farm Sept. 2.
Sergeant Bryan Mucha of the Fort Macleod RCMP said the detachment has had discussions with the crown prosecutor and work on the case is underway.
On Labour Day, about 90 protesters arrived at the turkey barns, located along Highway 2 near Fort Macleod, Alta. About 30 entered and sat with turkeys in one of the barns while others held signs along the highway.
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Fort Macleod RCMP were called and after protesters were shown the barns and television media were allowed to shoot footage, the incident ended peacefully within about six hours.
Hutterite colony minister Mark Tschetter said he met with RCMP to discuss charges against the protesters and was encouraged to do so by many other farmers and agricultural groups.
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He said the incident was unsettling, dangerous to the turkeys in terms of biosecurity and would prompt greater security measures at the farm in the future.
“I hope it never happens to any farmer because, these people, I don’t know how they think, you know. They’re just not normal people, that’s all,” Tschetter said.
One of the protesters, Angel Chen of Vancouver, said in a Western Producer interview that the protesters main goal was to eventually bring about the “end of animal exploitation.”
“We are just concerned citizens and we want to expose the realities of factory farming and even free range local farming as well,” said Chen.
The protesters requested the release of five live turkeys, which they took to a sanctuary.
Contact barb.glen@producer.com
