I have finally had time to reflect on the events of the past week, read media coverage and people’s opinions. I have spent the whole week actively talking both with animal farmers and with ordinary animal lovers, and I feel that I must also share some of my thoughts with you.
By the way, I would be very grateful if some media outlet would pass these thoughts on honestly and objectively.
The gatherings in defense of the Nurme pigs – not once, but twice – have started a much bigger snowball than I ever would have imagined.
I have been an active member of the Animal Protection Union for 9 years now, which basically means 9 years on the frontline.
Every day I talk with dozens of people who call our helpline seeking assistance. Of course, I don’t do all this alone – a small group of big-hearted comrades works alongside me every day to make animals’ lives better.
We write honestly about cases, thoughts, and events on the Estonian Animal Protection Union’s Facebook page. We often speak more openly than some would like to hear. We publish names and show faces. We talk openly about officials and their actions.
I have fought for animals together with the union for 9 years, while some of the more senior members have been doing this for decades.
What does that show? It shows experience – experience in real life.
Over these years we have countless times lost faith that we could ever make a change. Every blow to our legs mentally knocks us down for a moment.
But again and again, we have stood back up, because there is no other way…
We cry – whether from sadness, anger, or joy – and then we wipe away the tears and march forward once more.
Even among ourselves, there are sometimes disagreements when tensions rise above our heads. Yet in our hearts, we know we are all working for one cause: the well-being of animals.
That one great goal wipes away resentment from the heart and keeps the mind clear.
Every single day animals need real help, and every day we also need the help of other animal protection organizations.
Alone we are weak, because there are not many of us. There are many animal protection organizations in total, each with its own field.
We have never set ourselves against anyone, but have always sought cooperation.
To cooperate with everyone, you must respect them – their language and their culture. I cannot call an animal protector in Ida-Virumaa and demand that they speak to me in Estonian. No – I will speak to them in Russian. If that person happens to be English-speaking, then I will speak English with them, and so on.
As animal protectors, we cannot allow belittling anyone for any reason – except when it concerns cruelty to animals.
In animal protection there is only one true language – CARING. All other languages are only tools to speak that one.
Today I am certain that all across Estonia there are many animal protectors who stand behind the Animal Protection Union. They answer my calls immediately, knowing that I am not calling (though I could) just to ask how they are doing. They know that every call from me means that some animal needs help, and they are able to help.
So how do these thoughts connect to the events of the past week?
I have read in the media that at the pig farm there gathered a handful of alcoholics, flat-earthers, and Putinists whose only goal was politics.
Quite offensive – but I don’t take offense, because I was there and I KNOW WHO STOOD THERE WITH ME.
Publishing such articles has ripped off my rose-colored glasses. I had still believed in free speech and did not think we live under brutal censorship.
Even my own posts have been forcibly deleted from Facebook. I even got a call from Delfi’s fact-checkers, who, strangely enough, were not at all interested in the facts I wanted to share – namely the failures of the Veterinary and Food Board (PTA).
By the way, I was still so naive that I didn’t even know such a “fact-checking” service existed.
I had never before come across words like “flat-earther” or “Putinist.”
But thinking about it now, in my heart I have attached a new meaning to these labels – they are caring and big-hearted people for whom nationality, language, political affiliation, orientation, social status, or whether they live in the city or the countryside does not matter. It doesn’t matter what kind of car someone drives or how much money they have.
The state wants to stigmatize us? Fine – you got your labels, and I will wear them with pride.
One more thing…
It has been said that simple-minded people were used at the pig farm protests, to make political propaganda. That some people really were naive and gullible, and therefore easily manipulated.
You know what… where do you get the idea it wasn’t the other way around? I consider myself quite smart, with strong logical and analytical thinking. To use me would be a challenge I would actually like to see 😀
People who know me can attest with a straight back that when something needs to get done in animal protection, Kristi does it. I am sometimes like a tank sent in first when a problem needs to be solved.
Believe me, I know exactly what I am doing and what I was doing at that pig farm.
What I see today, more than ever, is an opportunity to change something in this society – also in the field of animal protection. I am looking for partners and like-minded people to join together for one goal: the well-being of animals.
For years I have attended PTA and Ministry meetings, and it’s like a never-ending Groundhog Day that always starts the same. In between – no progress.
Every year, Olev Kalda and company sit at the table and say the exact same nonsense.
Last year, there was a glimmer of hope when the minister’s portfolio went to Piret Hartman. For the first time in history, I truly saw a person with backbone and principles (at least in matters concerning animals). Things immediately started moving forward – we were genuinely listened to, and at those meetings it was clear that the minister sitting at the table was not merely repeating someone else’s words, but had actually learned the topic herself. All the important issues, including the initiation of amending the Animal Protection Act, gained momentum during her tenure.
Piret also dismissed the former director-general of the PTA, who for years had arrogantly ignored animal welfare and only justified the agency’s inaction.
By contrast, the meeting with Mr. Terras was completely different – half-hearted and rushed. It was clear that the gentleman had not even taken the trouble to learn who we are.
Today there is a new PTA director-general, and honestly, we had hoped for more. So far, we are disappointed, because one visit to the pig farm does not make up for months of ignoring the Animal Protection Union.
They choose to interact with a select circle, not with those who ask important questions and dare to criticize the agency’s work.
Most of the parties currently in power will never have any real interest in animal welfare. They have ignored this issue for years. Before elections, some may throw in a promise about animals as a token bullet point, but a bullet point is all it remains – forgotten soon after.
And today, we are not only talking about the PTA, but also about the Environmental Board. They have bluntly told us that injured wild animals and birds are the responsibility of volunteer NGOs, because they don’t have resources. We even sued them, and the court ruled that they are obliged to deal with it and that the law does not allow discrimination between a white-tailed eagle and a crow.
You know what? They don’t even care that the court ordered them to do so.
Injured birds are still left lying on the streets. We have repeatedly had people deliver them to clinics for euthanasia when treatment was impossible, and we have paid for it with kind donors’ money. The head specialist told me on the phone himself that this is normal, that there is no money, and no one willing to take the job of shooting birds with a captive bolt pistol for euthanasia.
At the same time, look at the entire PTA staff, who figuratively drive around Estonia’s pig farms in gas vans and slaughter pigs – including healthy ones – by the tens of thousands without hesitation.
Surely one of these eager killers could be redirected to the Environmental Board, or perhaps someone could be seconded there from the PTA. After all, when it comes to making plans with the police against peaceful animal lovers, inter-agency assistance works just fine. Surely PTA and the Environmental Board could lend each other a hand when it comes to killing.
In short… this turned into a long text, but it was necessary. Sometimes the burden on the soul cannot be lifted without sharing it.
I sincerely hope that defending those pigs has finally triggered processes in society that will lead to genuinely listening to those in need. To genuinely caring – for animals and for people. To truly noticing that confrontation is not the answer – unity is strength.
I am deeply, deeply grateful to everyone whose heart is in the right place and who has not yet lost hope that this world can be made better.
Thank you!
Kristi Metsa, Estonian Animal Protection Union, Plan B
