Monday November 18th, 7 female activists locked themselves to the two front entrances of Interior Savings Credit Union in Kelowna, BC. This prevented Interior Savings from opening, while more activists arrived to protest, holding signs saying “Stop Sponsoring Ribfest.” The activists remained locked down until they were removed by police.
Ribfest cannot happen without sponsors donating money, therefore we are calling on Interior Savings to stop supporting a festival that destroys our environment & supports farms that have been proven to conduct criminal animal cruelty. Excelsior Hog Farm in Abbotsford supplies pig ribs to many of RibFest’s vendors. This farm has been under scrutiny, following multiple investigations this year, including a video released by peta2. Excelsior Hog Farm was also the location of the Meat The Victims Canada action that took place in April. Most recently, there was also a video released containing hidden camera footage of the farmers at Excelsior conducting criminal animal cruelty.
Furthermore, is it appropriate for a credit union to divert their money towards an event that‘s a leading contributor to our environmental destruction? Canada just declared a national climate emergency, stating that we‘re facing an urgent crisis driven by animal agriculture. This needs to be more seriously addressed. This lockdown wasn’t just a protest over Interior Saving’s involvement in animal abuse, but also how sponsoring Ribfest is contributing to environmental destruction.
The activists escalated their tactics, as they’ve exhausted all forms of reasoning with Interior Savings. They have protested, written e-mails, held demonstrations & more. This has been ongoing for many years, yet their concerns have been disregarded by RibFest and their sponsor, Interior Savings.
Ribfest Kelowna donates some of their proceeds to charity, however there are countless ways of donating without the unnecessary torture & slaughter of pigs, and without contributing to the devastation of our planet. We’re encouraging Interior Savings to support more responsible events in our community.
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