On a sweltering June day, I offered water to hot and thirsty pigs. Now I’m in court, facing a criminal mischief charge that carries a $5,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.

The path that led me to where I am today began five years ago, when I went on a walk in my neighbourhood in Toronto with my dog and witnessed an alarming sight: seven or eight transport trucks packed with young pigs headed to a downtown slaughterhouse. Peering in, I was met face to face with sad and terrified pigs, each one eerily similar to the dog standing by my side. The sight was haunting. I knew I had to act.

Soon, fellow animal activists and I formed Toronto Pig Save, a group committed to bearing witness to the pigs, cows and chickens headed to the city's slaughterhouses. We hold weekly vigils at traffic lights where the transport trucks stop for a few moments, giving us the chance to interact with the animals inside. We tell the sad and frightened animals that we love them and that we’re sorry. In the summer, we give water to pigs who are foaming at the mouth and panting heavily in the scorching trucks.

When we post our vigil photos and videos online, we break the disconnect between cellophane-wrapped flesh in supermarkets and the individual animals sent to slaughter. Many decide to join us on a vegan path and begin to advocate for animals. New groups have formed in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Europe, holding vigils at their own local slaughterhouses, together forming The Save Movement.

We’ve been giving water to thirsty pigs for more than two years. What was unusual at our June 22 vigil this summer was that suddenly, the truck driver emerged from his truck.

“Do not put water in there,” he shouted. “These are not humans, you dumb frickin' broad!” When I asked him to “have some compassion,” he threatened to call the police. Two months later, I was greeted by a Toronto police officer at my front door. The owner of the pig farm Eric Van Boekel filed a police complaint against me and I was being charged with “criminal mischief,” defined as interference with the use, enjoyment and operation of property — the property being the pigs.

The story first went viral on social media before getting national media attention. People wondered, “How is it an offence to give a thirsty animal water?” They asked me why it is legal to break into a hot car to save a dog, but it’s not OK to help a dehydrated pig? Are pigs mere property — no different than a toaster?

It’s wrong to see pigs as property, just as it was wrong hundreds of years ago to see human slaves as property and women as chattel — the property of men. The law needs changing.

Before my court appearance, I was reading Tolstoy’s book My Religion: What I Believe. It had a most pertinent section on finding true meaning in life. It was not living selfishly and acquiring wealth, fame, and glory, but giving food to the hungry and water to the thirsty, living a life of service, and ministering to the suffering.

Tolstoy had already inspired our group with his definition of bearing witness. He says when you see another creature suffering, do not flee from the suffering one, but on the contrary, come closer, as close as you can to her, and try to help her.

Giving water to pigs was not a stunt, as some media commentators have suggested. Toronto Pig Save has organized weekly vigils for more than four years. As animal lovers, bearing witness means being present for the pigs. We are there to show them compassion, tell their stories, and help the world feel pity for their plight. Tolstoy defines love as, in general, the wish to do good: “love is not merely a word but an activity directed to the welfare of others,” and to love someone, you “give to another your time and strength.”

Offering water to a thirsty pig is an act of love and compassion. It is not only a right, but a duty we all share. Causing the pigs to suffer in the first place is what is wrong.

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Anita Krajnc is co-founder of and co-organizer at Toronto Pig Save (www.torontopigsave.org ) and The Save Movement. She has a PhD in Political Science and has taught courses in social movement strategies and tactics.