A truck driver pleaded guilty today in Burlington Court to careless driving causing the death of animal advocate Regan Russell at Fearmans Pork Plant in Burlington
Russell was hit and killed by a truck driven by Andrew Blake, on June 19, 2020 while she protested laws in Ontario, which make it illegal to interfere with transport trucks carrying animals to slaughter.
An agreed statement of facts, read by the Crown prosecutor, said Blake should have been aware Russell was standing near the driveway and eventual path of his truck when he turned into the Fearmans Pork plant.
Russell’s elderly parents delivered victim impact statements, their voice breaking as they told the court about the devastating loss of a beloved daughter and caregiver.
Provincial charges are considered far less serious than criminal charges, and are more akin to a traffic
Camille Labchuk, a lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice stated: “the leniency shown by police and prosecutors in this case is troubling but not surprising. Industries that farm, transport, and slaughter animals are seldom held to account for causing unlawful animal suffering—despite clear evidence regularly provided to authorities.
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