Animal Writings

The animals have lost a true friend, and the earth has lost a compassionate and noble spirit.

When he was young, Virgil, giving into pressure to "be a man," hardened his heart and became an "efficient" animal killer. When I met him over two years ago, he was a tireless and fearless advocate for animals, especially the chickens he had been paid to kill and mistreat for many years. He was a witness to the animals' suffering. He was also a gentle soul who fed tiny kittens and crippled hens, and valued the life and integrity of each animal, and was not afraid to shed a tear when they died — and admit it. His transformation was incredible and inspiring.

After he went public with firsthand accounts of slaughterhouse brutality and coverups, he was smeared, threatened, and harrassed. The guilty feared his truth; the purveyors of animal cruelty feared his message of compassion to animals. He fought for the workers of mass-killing corporations, also, for they were exploited as well. Despite being thrown in jail on false charges, and contending with strangers snooping around his property, planting drugs in his truck, and seemingly doing everything they could to discredit and silence him, Virgil perservered. He cared for animals and spoke out on their behalf.

Virgil was and will forever be an inspiration to me, to treat the earth and all beings in it with kindness, respect, and mercy. Rest in peace, my friend. I'm sure you're surrounded by God's winged, furred, finned, and scaled creatures. All the animals you helped—they haven't forgotten, and neither will we.