Abbotsford/Vancouver – In May 2023, the two people who participated in a 2019 protest at the Excelsior hog farm in Abbotsford, filed an application to appeal their break-and-enter convictions.
Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer of Kelowna were each sentenced in October 2022 to 30 days in jail and one year of probation. They were granted bail pending the appeal.
Cameras had been placed by members of the Meat the Victims group, to which Soranno and Schafer belonged.
A third person , Geoff Regier had his charges dropped prior to the trial. The fourth, Roy Sasano was acquitted at trial.
Soranno and Schafer were each convicted and sentenced on a charge of break-and-enter. They also each had a mischief charge, which was stayed at sentencing.
UPDATE – The criminal appeal of two activists convicted in July 2022 will be heard Thursday, November 23 by a three-judge panel of the BC Court of Appeal in Vancouver.
From the Excelsior 4 website: excelsior4.org – The appeal comes just days after national animal law advocacy organization Animal Justice exposed additional, recently documented footage of alleged abuse at Excelsior received from an anonymous whistleblower. Animal Justice says this latest evidence of cruelty exceeds the levels exposed by activists four years ago and has called on the BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) to recommend charges against the owners of the hog farm.
To view the latest video footage of abuse at Excelsior, go to: https://animaljustice.ca/exposes/abused-pigs-excelsior-hog-farm.
