Prominent animal activist Anita Krajinc was arrested Wednesday morning in Burlington, Ont. while protesting the slaughter of pigs outside a pork processing plant after a truck carrying around 300 pigs to the facility overturned.
One activist on scene said it happened when Krajinc crossed police tape to look over the barriers erected to block the pigs from view.
“We want to expose the truth, and she wouldn’t listen. And they dragged her away,” said Mary-Chris Staples, a member of Toronto Pig Save.
Krajinc is already on trial and made her first court appearance on Monday. She was charged with mischief in June last year after giving water to pigs headed for the same slaughterhouse.
Halton Regional Police Sgt. Barry Malciw said a truck was transporting the pigs to Fearmans Pork Inc. It was travelling south on Appleby Line and the truck lost control and flipped while turning east onto Harvester Road just after 7 a.m.
READ MORE: Ontario woman who gave water to pigs headed for slaughterhouse testifies at trial
Some pigs died in the crash, and emergency crews needed to right the truck to reach the remaining animals, according to Malciw. A few pigs were also spotted running loose in the area.
Members from Toronto Pig Save arrived soon after the collision to protest the pork processing plant and the treatment of pigs. The animal rights group holds regular protests outside various pig slaughterhouses across Ontario.
Firefighters and employees from the Fearmans plant herded the pigs into the slaughterhouse.
Sgt. Malciw said hydro crews are on scene as the truck struck a hydro pole when it overturned.
The truck driver was treated for minor injuries. No other vehicles were involved in the collision, according to police.
The eastbound lanes of Appleby Line were closed for several hours at Harvester Road while police investigated the scene.