Whanganui woman writes book in animal rights cause

Whanganui woman Sandra Kyle has compiled a book about her work to end the slaughter of animals for food. Photo / Bevan Conley

The practice of farming animals for meat and milk is "in its death throes" and Sandra Kyle hopes slaughterhouses will be gone from New Zealand by 2025.

The Whanganui woman spends much of her time on the cause, which she says inflicts pain and death on sentient beings. She and up to seven others stand vigil outside Whanganui's Land Meat abattoir in Castlecliff on Sunday afternoons from 1.30pm.

At that time several truckloads of cattle arrive for slaughter, she said. Pigs for slaughter are trucked in at night.

Kyle has been asked to stay off the Land Meat property, where she would like to be allowed to sing to the animals to comfort them. She also produces and speaks on the animal rights show Safe and Sound made at Manawatū People's Radio in Palmerston North.

Her latest venture is a 60-page A4 size book, Glass Walls. The title comes from a quote by Paul McCartney, who said there would be no slaughterhouses if people could see what happened inside.

The small book consists of extracts from Kyle's blogs about animal rights vigils in Waikato and Whanganui. It covers her experiences and her feelings of anger and sadness as she "bears witness to animals going to slaughter". There is also a poem, and photographs.

The book was desktop published by Whanganui's Ella Grant, with 75 copies made. It cost about $1300 to make and most of that was donated by writer Alfred Pallas.

Kyle is giving away copies to politicians and others she would like to influence. She'll also sell them for $20 each. She's planning a larger second edition for supply to every library and secondary school in New Zealand.

One purpose of the book is to ask for mercy for animals. Another is to signal that change is coming.

"If we want to be on the right side of history we need to face the reality of an industry in its death throes, and begin to look at how we can transition to a more sustainable, more humane, economy."

The reasons for change are all over the internet, Kyle said. One is increased knowledge about animal intelligence. Another is the threat of global warming - agricultural emissions make up nearly half of New Zealand's contribution to global warming.

Another is the increasing billions of people in the world that have to be fed. At the same time, new technologies can produce "clean" meat from plants.

The change away from meat and dairy products will have huge repercussions for New Zealand, Kyle said. Procedures like artificial insemination, intensive confinement, dehorning, beak trimming and separating mothers and babies will end.

There will be fewer animals and more land used for crops, she said. Animals will live until they die a natural death, and people will still be able to enjoy them.

Vegan food is every bit as delicious as food from animals, according to Kyle, and it has versions of cheese, pavlova, mayonnaise and chocolate. She can even access vegan food for her pets.

Anyone who wants a copy of Glass Walls can email Kyle on sandrakyle22@gmail.com.