Despite an unrelenting campaign to save their lives, Antioch College has allegedly sent nine innocent lambs to a horrific end at a slaughterhouse in the face of a waiting sanctuary, a petition signed by 88,000 people, television commercials, and countless letters, emails, and phone calls. The College has also openly mocked a mother’s heartfelt plea to spare the lambs to honor the life of her late son, Jason Seth Houten, who was a dedicated advocate for animals and a former Antioch College student. Please join us in urging Antioch College’s donors to stop supporting this needless cycle of animal slaughter and to sway the school in an ethical direction!

While Antioch College boasts about the care it provided the lambs while they were alive, it refuses to acknowledge that the compassionate treatment of animals includes not just for how they are raised, but the cruel realities of their slaughter. The College proclaimed the lambs would be sent to an “Animal Welfare Approved” slaughterhouse, but this is misleading. Students and the wider public deserve to know that “Animal Welfare Approved” slaughterhouses use many of the same brutal techniques that other slaughterhouses do, including captive bolt and gunshot. According to the USDA, employees at one such slaughterhouse shot a bison in the head eight times before cutting the still-conscious animal’s throat. It took 12 minutes for the animal to die.

By refusing to include the slaughter process as part of its “farm to table” program, Antioch College has failed its students in terms of food transparency. Food transparency should include bearing witness to every step of the process, even when it’s uncomfortable. Only then are we capable of making informed decisions about how our food choices impact others.

While it may be too late for the nine lambs, the ducks and chickens in the College’s farm-to-slaughterhouse-to-table program still remain in danger.  In honor of the late Jason Seth Houten’s birthday on January 14th, please join us in urging Antioch College’s donors to use their unique power and influence to save the remaining animals at Antioch College, and to discontinue its plans to purchase and slaughter further animals in 2020.

What You Can Do

1) You can save animals every time you sit down to eat by transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle. Learn how to begin by downloading our free Vegan Starter Guide today: idausa.org/VegGuide

2) Please send our letter to Antioch College’s donors listed below.

Please copy and paste these emails into the address field of your email, followed by the suggested subject line and template letter below.

To: stephanieperrone@aefonline.org, clancy@aptima.com, sandy@AlexanderMacnab.com, bmartin@mvrpc.org, thomash@cjp.org, eleuchs@communityfoundation.org, ymumme@davisfoundations.org, kevin.murphy@exxonmobil.com, kandersen@milbank.org, ahastings@nptrust.org, jlombardi@theschwartzfoundation.org, aparsons@columbusfoundation.org, bo@wagnersubaru.com, onlinefeedback@wellsfargoadvisors.com, donna.collins@oac.state.oh.us, info@morganfamilyfdn.org, bstonerock@daytonfoundation.org, jcox@yscf.org

Subject line: Help Reverse Antioch College’s Taunting of a Grieving Mother!

Template letter:

Dear Antioch College donors,

Antioch College has cruelly disregarded a mother’s plea to honor the life of her late son, Jason Seth Houten, a former Antioch College student and a dedicated advocate for animals.

Jason’s mother, Barbara Pearl, pleaded with Antioch College to spare the lives of nine lambs who were used to control grass at its campus farm, in her son’s memory. She also organized transport and a sanctuary to permanently care for the lambs once they were no longer deemed useful to the school at no charge. In response to Barbara’s efforts and plea, the school mocked her and heartlessly asked her for a one million dollar “donation” in exchange for the lambs’ lives. The school included a cruel caveat that even if she could somehow gather the money, it would be used to purchase and slaughter more animals.

Such taunting of a grieving mother is disgraceful and deeply unprofessional, and meaningful action needs to be taken by Antioch College to compensate for Barbara’s public humiliation.

In late November 2019, Antioch College allegedly sent these nine lambs to slaughter in the face of Barbara’s efforts; a petition signed by 88,000 people; television commercials; newspaper ads; and countless letters, emails, and phone calls.

While the college boasts about the care it provided the lambs while they were alive, it refuses to acknowledge that the compassionate treatment of animals’ includes not just for how they are raised, but also accounts for the cruel realities of slaughter. The college proclaimed the lambs would be sent to an “Animal Welfare Approved” slaughterhouse. However, students and the wider public deserve to know that “Animal Welfare Approved” slaughterhouses use many of the same brutal techniques that other slaughterhouses do, including captive bolt and even gunshot. According to the USDA, employees at one such slaughterhouse shot a bison in the head eight times before cutting the still-conscious animal’s throat. It took 12 minutes for the animal to die.

By refusing to include the slaughter process as part of their “farm to table” program, Antioch College has failed its students in terms of food transparency. Food transparency should include bearing witness to every step of the process, even when it’s uncomfortable. Only then are we capable of making informed decisions about how our food choices impact others.

Antioch College plans to serve the gentle and affectionate lambs’ bodies to students at its cafeteria this January, and to repeat the sickening process all over again this year in 2020. While it may be too late for the nine lambs, ducks and chickens in the college’s farm-to-slaughterhouse-to-table program remain in danger.  In honor of Jason Seth Houten’s birthday on January 14th, I am asking you as an Antioch College donor to use your rare platform as a positive force for compassion.

Please contact the school’s President, Tom Manley at 937-319-6164 / president@antiochcollege.edu and ask him to publicly apologize to Barbara Pearl for humiliating her and requesting money to honor her late son’s life, and to discontinue the school’s plans to purchase and slaughter further animals in 2020 and beyond.

Your organization has a reputation for impactful community work and charitable giving. This reputation should not be bruised by association with Antioch College’s bullying of a grieving mother and needless animal slaughter.

Thank you for your consideration and support. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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