Gail Eisnitz has devoted her life to defending animals. In Out of Sight: An Undercover Investigator’s Fight for Animal Rights and Her Own Survival she takes us along with her on her life’s journey.
It has not been an easy journey. She has long focused on the horrific treatment of animals by the animal industries, primarily cows, pigs and chickens. While there has long been a law in place to protect animals in slaughterhouses (Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act) the enforcement of this law has been largely nonexistent.
Eisnitz first brought these issues to the nation’s attention with her book Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, And Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry. But it’s safe to say that the USDA is less an enforcer of laws than a promoter of industry. So little has changed.
In the past two decades the animal industries have gotten savvier about protecting themselves, about keeping cameras out of their facilities. A camera maker Eisnitz recruits to help her sneak a camera inside said “It would be easier to get a hidden camera into a maximum-security prison than into a slaughterhouse.” Employees are searched, as are their lockers. Ultimately, Eisnitz did succeed by hiding a camera inside a stopwatch, which employees are allowed to carry.
Speed is why so many animals suffer inside these walls. Companies continues to accelerate the assembly line, forcing employees to make tragic decisions to keep up and keep their jobs. Animals end up not fully stunned, enduring deaths that Einitz has the courage to describe. I hope that readers have the courage to read.
Not only do animal industries treat animals with cruelty they are rewarded by our government when they let animals die from exposure to the elements. From snowstorms to hurricanes, the government has paid out $350 million in subsidies for dead animals to companies that failed to invest in any efforts to simply protect their animals from the elements.
This book isn’t just about the successes and failures she experienced along the way, but the toll on her body. She survived the daily stresses of witnessing atrocities, but also survived cancer and a rare eye disease. Yet she keeps fighting.
I was happy to see that she was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Medal for outstanding achievement in animal welfare. But I’m sure her greatest award would be to see a world where animals are no longer consumed by humans.
Animal defenders are heroes. They speak up for animals who cannot speak up for themselves. And they do not give up. This can be a challenging book to read but one that should be read.
John is co-author, with Midge Raymond, of the mystery Devils Island. He is also author of the novels The Tourist Trail and Where Oceans Hide Their Dead. Co-founder of Ashland Creek Press and editor of Writing for Animals (also now a writing program). More at JohnYunker.com.