Stand Opposing Slaughter - SOS

30/01/2024

"But vegan food means animals die, too!"

Yes, but field mice don't live in cages their entire lives, they aren't force-fed growth hormones, and they mostly aren't killed at 1/15th of their natural lifespan.

06/01/2024

Quote from an actvist:

"Tomorrow I will be protesting outside of my local slaughterhouse, alone.

I wanted to take a moment to explain why, and to underline the fact that I don't hate any of my friends who eat meat. Not at all. In fact, some of the people I love most in the world eat meat, including my two best friends, most of my family, and people I look up to.

My protesting is not a personal attack, but an attempt to say to society in general that it's time we looked really hard at the way we treat SENTIENT beings, with the intelligence and the equivalent age of human children!

Here in the UK most pigs, for example, live most of their lives with almost no space to move around. Their tails and teeth are cut without anesthetic (that's completely legal). Almost every major chain slaughterhouse (including Morrisons, Tesco, etc) have been exposed for allowing (turning a blind eye to) their workers as they literally torture the animals before they are killed.

I've stood outside of a chamber in Manchester, where pigs are gassed, and heard their screams. But more than that, 90% of their waking life is lived in discomfort. Their bodies are covered in scratches and tumours and untreated sores.

It's not just the horror of their slaughter that I am pi**ed off about, it's the horror that they live through, every day.

My friend said that a farmer once told her "this is all they know," and to me that sounds so dystopian. The Matrix come to life - only, these animals know very little pleasure or comfort or love.

They think and they feel, and we subject them to horrendous living conditions. Emotionally they are no different to your dog or your cat, and yet we gas them, electrocute them, slit their throats, and then make jokes about it.

Either the way we treat them is wrong, or NOTHING is wrong.
I mean it. If we think the way we treat animals is fine, then literally every human genocide and holocaust and incident of abuse is also fine.

There is no right a wrong, if the horror we inflict on animals is right.

You might say oh, they are just animals, but how many sentient beings - who can feel pain and emotion - are worth the life of one human? If you said a billion, then fair enough, carry on. But most of you will admit there's a limit.

We subject TRILLIONS of animals to this misery EVERY YEAR. It's a number so high that most humans can't even comprehend it.

It's not okay, and they are not okay.

We will never get to a stage in our society where we ban all slaughter. I'm not stupid. I know that. But let's at least treat them with some dignity, and allow them ALL to live a full life with comfort and pleasure, before we end it.

I would ask you all to do the same. Every Sunday (whenever you can), just stand outside of your local slaughterhouse to say - very simply - that the way we treat them MUST change."

31/12/2023

1 week to go until we start standing outside of slaughterhouses EVERY Sunday to protest.

We're living through an animal holocaust. Protesting is the LEAST we can do.

Check our events page for further details.

22/12/2023

"SOS" traditionally stands for "Save Our Souls."

But if there is such a thing as hell, it's not animal's souls that need saving.

22/12/2023

While we stand outside of slaughterhouses to protest, our message couldn't be simpler.

THE WAY WE TREAT THEM ISN'T RIGHT.

12/12/2023

Stand Opposing Slaughter is a leaderless movement which encourages all animal lovers to stand with us opposing slaughter, outside of your local slaughterhouse to protest the way we treat animals. We stand every Sunday, from 10am - 1pm.

We are not there to disrupt anything, or to get in anyone's faces, or as a 'vigil'. We are - quite simply - there to say the way we treat animals isn't okay, it isn't ethical, and it needs to end.

We might not make a difference, but it's the right thing to do. When your grandchildren ask where you were during this time, you'll be able to say you stood in opposition to the largest holocaust in the history of our planet.

12/12/2023

In 2024 we will begin simply standing outside of slaughterhouses around the world, EVERY Sunday, in protest of the animal holocaust.

Join us.

07/05/2022

Well done Canterbury! Thanks so much to the 7 amazing people who turned up to protest against slaughter, and to the 2 others who joined in after meeting us!

We've raised £282.88 for the sanctuary so far end (including gift-aid), but I'm hoping we can still reach our target of £500 by the end of the week!

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/standopposed

Additionally we had a few people promise to either make better choices in regards to the consumption of animal products, AND met several locals who were very keen on joining us at the next WTF: Canterbury, UK event!

Please consider hosting one of these events next year on mayday weekend. The best thing we found about the demo was that it works as a brilliant recruitment tool for more activists.

Help Stand Opposing Slaughter raise money to support The Retreat Animal Rescue

05/04/2022

https://www.facebook.com/events/1898980246969810

Always wanted to get into animal rights?

Vegan? Vegetarian? Cutting down meat consumption? All are welcome.

This event is perfect for newcomers to activism. It's 100% peaceful and non-disruptive, and you can get involved in various ways from standing with a sign to create street art!

Stand up and say "NO!" to the slaughter of animals while at the same time raising money for animal sanctuaries.

02/03/2022

This event is designed for activists of all experience levels and types.

- Stay for as long as you want, or just come for an hour.
- An atmosphere of inclusivity and acceptance is encouraged.
- 100% peaceful and non-disruptive to locals.
- Want to talk to the public? Great! If not, great! Come to support us and help raise money to feed the animals.
- Vegetarians VERY welcome! We're here to stand against slaughter, and on this point we are allies.
- Come and meet likeminded people and see what else you might be able to get involved with locally.

If there isn't an event planned local to you, please get in touch and we will reach out to other activists in the area to see if they'd like to press ahead with one closer to you.

01/03/2022

Slogans!

We're busy creating banner and placard designs for the event and want to know some of your ideas!

Your job is to convince people that it's time to end the slaughtering of animals in two lines or less, and get them instead to donate to the local animal sanctuary. Go!

(Regarding the picture ... TBH potatoes are a bit smarter than I am.)

12/02/2022

Fundraising

For organisers setting up a local group fundraiser for their chosen sanctuary, it looks as though our best option is to use JustGiving.com. However you're free to choose any method you like.

On the day most groups will fundraise directly from the public via online posts, live streams, by creating art to sell or street performances, etc. Prior to May 1st, however, we encourage each participant to reach out to like-minded individuals to raise for the group's local sanctuary.

If you'd prefer to fundraise as an individual, you can print out a sponsor sheet and do it the old fashioned way. Check here for a form template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MH8sur_F99rTdy4QAkmpcWZRvvAcGnqo2aoS6l_LgZg/edit?usp=sharing

Drop us a DM, or comment on here if you need a hand or have a suggestion on our to improve on our current process.

30/01/2022

SOS Code of Conduct

1. Sanctuaries First.
While the ultimate goal is to abolish slaughter entirely, this is a far-off idealised dream. It's important for us to remember that a meat-free world will mean more sanctuaries, and we should strive to work with our chosen local sanctuaries to demonstrate and fundraise in a way that does not cause them any issues.

2. Be peaceful.
Please do not act in a hostile manner towards anyone while demonstrating / fundraising. We are also not there to disrupt businesses or the day-to-day lives of people. We are not there to target specific businesses, but instead the entire culture of animal slaughter. There are other activists who have other approaches, and we generally approve of these, but disruption is not what this particular activity is about.

3. Be visible.
We send a much bigger message by standing together, in a large group, in busy public areas than we would in the countryside or in smaller groups. We want to draw attention and to show that each year there are more and more of us taking this stand.

4. Inclusive and accessible.
We organise on a local level in accessible locations in order to give every activist a chance to get involved, and our long-term hope is that each year HUNDREDS of people will participate in each and every major city or town. To make that happen we need to be able to encourage fellow fundraisers no matter their background or skills. If somebody is a little shy, they don't have to talk to the public or similar while demonstrating. It's enough that they are there and taking a stand.

Note: The above acts merely as a guide for organisers and demonstrators. As we are a leaderless group, local event organisers may wish to do things a little differently, and that is the prerogative of those organisers. Their way of doing things may not reflect the ethics of others in the group, or the policy of the sanctuaries for which they raise money.

08/01/2022

08/01/2022

SOS is a yearly, peaceful, non-disruptive event with no central leader. We stand / sit for as long as we can in busy areas worldwide to raise money for local sanctuaries and to show our disgust at the slaughter of animals.

We may not change any hearts or minds or laws, but at least we can say we did something, and fed some animals in the process.

A list of worldwide events is maintained here:
https://www.facebook.com/standopposingslaughter/posts/122774636962377

Interested in creating an SOS event local to you? No problem, just check out our code of conduct (below), set up an event page, and DM us so we can add you to the list.
https://www.facebook.com/standopposingslaughter/posts/117859037453937

Each event organiser will maintain a seperate fund raising page for the whole group. However, if you're old school and you want to gather sponsors individually, see this post:
https://www.facebook.com/standopposingslaughter/posts/122789370294237

If you're in need of printable media, signs, banners, etc, we will be able to provide these resources soon.