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By Erin Smith
A group of activists gathered at Smithfield Foods in Tar Heel on Friday to protest the killing of animals for food. This is the second year protesters have appeared along the roadside at the edge of the facility.
Shouts of “shut it down” and “animals don’t want to die” echoed along the highway. Vehicles honked their horns at the group as they used megaphones to chant.
Jackie Affsa, an organizer of Friday’s protest and a member of the group Rise Up Shut It Down, said, “We are here today, for one in memory of Jill Fipps, who is an activist in the UK who died while doing a demonstration outside of a live transport for baby calves. She stepped in front of a truck and they ran her over.”
Affsa said Fipps’ death occurred on Feb. 1. She also explained her group is in Bladen County in support of the animals who are being slaughtered at the Smithfield Foods Plant.
“It is the world’s largest slaughter house and we just want to call awareness to those that don’t see the animals on their way in to the facility,” she said.
Affsa said the group will continue to conduct protests outside of slaughter houses across the United States.
A walk past vehicles parked along the roadside that transported protesters to the plant showed license plates from California, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Missouri.
Rise Up Shut It Down is no stranger to Smithfield Foods. The group staged a similar protest last year at the plant that resulted in several protesters being arrested.
As a result of that protest, the Bladen County Board of Commissioners adopted a new ordinance for protests and demonstrations. Friday’s protest is the first event that has been held since the new ordinance hd been adopted. Bladen County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Larry Guyton estimated there were about 100 protesters Friday. He said the Sheriff’s Office was prepared for as many as 150 protesters.
“We have officers stationed. We’ve met with the protest leader and explained everything to her, and she understands,” Guyton said.
Guyton said the Sheriff’s Office marked the area in red outlines where the protesters were allowed to stand and everyone was cordial and abiding by the ordinance.
“As long as they abide by that, they are free to exercise their first amendment rights,” said Guyton. He added the goal is to keep the protesters and law enforcement officers safe.
Bladen County Sheriff Jim McVicker said the new ordinance had been beneficial for the protest.
“I’ve been dealing with the coordinator for three weeks now. I met with her (Thursday) afternoon up here and talked about our ordinance. We showed her where the lines are and she has been 100 percent cooperative,” McVicker said. He added group members had complied with the ordinance.
A command center was set up at the Tar Heel Volunteer Fire Department where additional law enforcement officers waited to relieve those who were with the protesters. Bladen County Emergency Management Director Bradley Kinlaw said his role was to assist the Sheriff’s Office with operational planning and tracking resources.
McVicker said there were members of the Bladen County Magistrates Office at the command center in the event there were arrests as well as vehicles available to transport people to the Bladen County Detention Center if needed.
Additional resources were brought in and they included the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, the Elizabethtown Police Department, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, the N.C. Department of Corrections and the N.C. Highway Patrol.
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