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Rooney Mara joins Animal Equality to Investigate Factory Farms

Animal rights activist and actress, Rooney Mara, joined global farmed animal advocacy organization, Animal Equality, on an undercover investigation inside two factory farms.
December 5, 2019 Updated: January 24, 2025
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Animal rights activist and actress, Rooney Mara, has joined global farmed animal advocacy organization, Animal Equality, on an investigation inside two factory farms. The video footage, narrated by Mara, reveals pigs and chickens who are raised for meat, languishing in abhorrent conditions. The investigation, called “With My Own Eyes,” encourages viewers to examine the harsh and painful reality for billions of animals and the many reasons the global community must break its dependence on animal products.

ROONEY MARA: “Nothing prepares you for looking into the eyes of a mother pig whose life is to be impregnated and left in a cage until she’s slaughtered,” said Mara. “I kept thinking about my sister who just had a baby, and how beautiful that instant desire to nurture and protect your child is. I can’t imagine how awful it must be to be literally trapped and crushing your own babies and not be able to do anything about it.”

Animal Advocate And Actress Rooney Mara

UNIMAGINABLE CRUELTY: The investigation captured scenes inside one farm of over 3,000 confined pigs and another farm of over 50,000 crammed chickens, with all animals found to be experiencing extreme distress. According to the chicken farm’s own records, 1,936 birds died within the first seven weeks of their life, averaging 42 dead birds per day. The investigation’s findings also show:

  • Chickens
    bred to grow so large, so quickly, that their legs and organs cannot keep up,
    making heart attacks, organ failure, and painful leg deformities common
  • Chickens
    injured and unable to move to die from starvation and thirst
  • Mother
    pigs confined in small crates, unable to turn around or adequately nurse their
    young, crushing their newly born piglets due to lack of space and inability to
    move
  • Dozens
    of weak and dying piglets receiving no veterinary attention
  • Pigs
    with severe untreated hernias
One of many piglets who die days or even hours after being born due to the lack of veterinary attention.

WHAT WE’RE SAYING: “Animal Equality’s undercover investigators face great personal risk to expose what the meat industry doesn’t want you to see, and what the public has every right to know. We are deeply grateful to Rooney for bravely looking into the eyes of these animals, and joining us in our promise to them to share their cries with anyone who will listen. Her courage is truly inspiring,” says Sharon Núñez, President of Animal Equality.

Sharon Núñez, President of Animal Equality

90%: According to the USDA, 9 billion chickens and 121 million pigs are slaughtered every year for their meat, with 90% of these animals raised on factory farms. Advocating against this immense cruelty, Animal Equality urges consumers to replace animal proteins with plant-based alternatives.

YOU CAN HELP: It’s never been easier to end the suffering of animals. Leaving animals off your plate will spare them from a lifetime of misery and will help the planet and benefit your health. Learn more about switching to a plant-based diet and please, share Rooney’s video with your friends and family. Everyone should know the true cost of animal products.

SHARE ROONEY MARA’S HEARTBREAKING VIDEO


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