Animal Cruelty Images Turn Heads in Long Beach Protest

Nov. 12, 2019 / By

Members of Anonymous for the Voiceless at Shoreline Village wear Guy Fawkes masks while displaying videos of animal cruelty. Photos by Ceferino Martirez.



The laughter and fun heard near Shoreline Drive vanished quickly as onlookers were disgusted to see horrific sights many typically do not encounter. 

Chickens, pigs and cows being gruesomely mutilated and slaughtered played on flat screen televisions held by members of Anonymous for the Voiceless, a decentralized activist group intent on protecting and securing total animal liberation in the United States and beyond. The event was one of many International Cube Day demonstrations which occurred on Nov. 2.

The protesters wore Guy Fawkes masks to hide their identities, although unmasked demonstrators were present to talk to passersby in the streets.

Denzil Rodrigues, one of the lead organizers for the event, explained that the purpose of this art exhibit-like demonstration was to educate viewers by explaining what they were seeing. 

“Animal agriculture is the leading cost of destruction in our environment, which includes species extinction, rain forest destruction, and ocean dead zones and green houses gases,” Rodrigues mentioned.

Denzil Rodrigues (left) of Anonymous for the Voiceless speaks with a passersby at The Pike on Nov. 2.

Despite the graphic content of the videos they were presenting, Rodrigues said that they maintain moderation and a level of peaceful demonstration.

“We don’t approach people, people approach us… And we’re here to address the questions and any kind of discrepancy,” Rodrigues said.

Many bystanders were shocked to see mutilated bodies of poultry and pork after a fun night out with friends and families, with one couple almost crying due to seeing the suffering displayed on the monitors.

Students from Jackie Robinson Academy surrounded the demonstration, expressing disgust. One student, Elijah, said “I think it’s messed up with what they do to the rabbits… It’s bad what they did do to them.”

But Rodrigues pointed out to people that change comes from individuals’ roles as consumers, stating that people make better choices when they become more informed.

“The footage that we’re showing isn’t the worst case, this is a standard practice,” Rodrigues said.

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Ceferino Martirez

Ceferino Martirez is a photojournalist with VoiceWaves. He is a history and history education major at CSULB who joined VoiceWaves in 2018. Martirez’s work focuses on street photography and protest coverage. His work with VoiceWaves has focused on using his photography to capture community voices on issues like housing, labor, and youth rights.