Jo-Anne McArthur might photograph farm animals, but the places she goes to are not petting zoos. As a photojournalist, she gains access to factory and fur farms to capture the inhumane conditions animals are living in. At these sites, animals are stripped of their health and safety to maximise production. Exposing this cruelty, McArthur is speaking up for the creatures that can’t.
“I call them invisible animals because we fail to see them in our lives, and yet they are all around us,” she says. The worth of cows, chickens, and pigs is often measured in price per kilogram, and not according to their lives. McArthur works covertly, often entering farms and factories at night to take photographs. Her work is illicit, but she’s determined to share it with the world. McArthur started the platform We Animals Media to share her photographs and raise awareness for these creatures. “It is my duty for the animals and for the public to document what is going on there,” McArthur says.
Factory farms would usually prefer not to have their methods broadcast to the world. McArthur’s images are available to use royalty free so that others may publish them and reveal the injustices against these animals. “There’s a lot that I see in these places that the rest of the world needs to see,” McArthur says. Amplifying the stories of these forgotten animals, she’s bridging the gap between us and them and creating the impetus for change. “What I’m producing is proof of what is and should never again be,” McArthur says.
Footage by Edgar’s Mission, Kelly Guerin, and We Animals Media was used in the creation of this film.
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