Like many large companies that rely on the suffering of animals to turn a profit, food giant Nestle has been found to abuse humans as well. The company has admitted to using slavery and coercion to catch marine animals for several of their products. Impoverished migrant workers were found to be sold into slavery or lured with false promises, into killing unfortunate fish for Nestle. Workers tell stories of their co-workers being pulled into the water and disappearing when the nets filled with suffocating fish become too heavy to hold, and of dead workers thrown into the sea.

The suffering of humans and marine animals alike does not stop with Nestle. Anti-Slavery International reports that slavery in the Thai fishing industry is pervasive, and that it is highly likely that prawns and shrimp available in stores in Western countries are sourced from this slave labor.

Time and time again, the industries that exploit animals have been found to exploit the most underprivileged of humans, revealing the deep connection between the oppression of human and non-human animals.

Read the CBS news article about Nestle and the Thai finishing industry here.

Animal Abuse = Human Abuse

Why is making the connection important?

As animal advocates, we are often met with the claim that our advocacy for animals is somehow less important because human suffering is a priority. We won’t address the hypocrisy of this claim here. However, by clearly illustrating the connection of how animal abuse also leads to human abuse, this not only counteracts this quick dismissal of animal suffering, but it can also make our message easier for others to relate to from a human rights perspective.

This is the fifth release of our new series “Animal Abuse = Human Abuse” designed to help expand the reach of our advocacy for animals to new audiences.