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Staging cage sit-ins and setting up mobile video rigs are easy and effective ways to powerfully demonstrate the atrocities of animal farming and slaughterhouses. You can incorporate either cage-ins, videos, or ideally both into nearly any other activity, such as information tables, protests, street theatre, and/or civil disobedience sit-ins.
For addtional information on how to plan these activities, see our Guide to Effective Media and our Guide to Planning an Event.
Cage-ins are a great way to draw attention to the plight of factory-farmed animals. You can make or purchase cages large enough to fit one or more people, or use smaller props to represent the cages, crates, and stalls used in factory farming. Home Depot, Lowe's, and other home improvement stores have various supplies for both intricate and simple cage props.
Folding crates used for dog training are also an easy and effective means to demonstrate some of the discomfort that confinement brings. If you or your friends don’t already have a crate, ask your local companion animal supply store or look online. This small investment will offer you years of ready-to-go props to use for a variety of campaigns.
Having activists sit in the cages is a very effective way to use the props, especially if they wear animal costumes and/or fake blood. This can be done next to an informative display, or at a symbolic location, such as a slaughterhouse or fast food chain. To be even more dramatic, the cages can be used as part of a sit-in, where the activists refuse to leave a location until they are forced out. Before attempting this, please read our guide to civil disobedience.
Another option is to allow passerby to sit in the cage when they visit an information table. Small consolations, like gift certificates or free food samples can be given to people who sit in the cage. When no activsts or visitors are in the cages, plush animals or animals cut-outs can occupy them.
1) TV & VCR or TV/VCR Combo
&VCR will work. DVD’s are great too!
2) An Inverter
Power inverters are simple devices that allow your TV/VCR to draw power from your car battery (via the cigarette lighter) or from a separate battery pack. Running times vary so practice, practice, practice!
You will need an inverter that converts 12-volt DC power into 117-volt AC power. Small inverters (150 Watts) are suitable for most small TV/VCR combos and may be suitable for a TV and a VCR as separate units, if total wattage does not exceed 150. Larger units may require a higher wattage. Check your unit to ensure compatibility.
Less expensive inverters often have a single outlet. A splitter (with two outlets) may be used if total wattage is within limits, or you may choose to spend a few extra dollars on an inverter with multiple outlets, which tend to have a higher wattage capability.
Online options include BUY.com or Radio Shack. Other options include going to a Radio Shack store or camping or boating supply stores. Store clerks can assist with details.
A two-hour run is likely to discharge the average car battery, so start your car frequently or consider investing in a separate battery. Instructions for a more serious rig are available here.
3) Video from PETA, Farm Sanctuary, or Compassion Over Killing:
If you are doing a chicken-related demonstration, we recommend COK’s 45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken. For more general demonstrations, we recommend Meet Your Meat from PETA. These videos run about 10 minutes, but you can request a 2-hour loop or DVD format to avoid frequent rewinding.
For those who prefer a less graphic video (e.g.: sanctuaries, schools and indoor events), we recommend Farm Sanctuary’s factory farming video Life Behind Bars.
Please mention WFAD when placing your order, and don't delay!
4) Event Pack from FARM
Event Packs contain banners, posters, handouts, reproducible leaflets and petitions, and more. We encourage you to order one when you register.
Event Packs will arrive in mid-late September, so register today, even if your plans are incomplete.