Louise Jorgensen
I am a Toronto-based animal rights activist and photojournalist. For nearly two decades, I have dedicated my life to advocating for animals and capturing the hidden victims within our food system. Through my photos, I aim to foster a connection between viewers and these animals, encouraging empathy and recognizing them as individuals and equals, not objects to use or exploit.
I do this work to help others see what I see when I look into the eyes of a non-human animal: a being equal to you and me, expressing love and joy, or fear and pleading. Through my photography, I strive to capture their emotions and body language, allowing others to feel what these individuals feel and to understand that they, like us, are emotional, sentient beings with the capacity for joy, love, and suffering.
Witnessing Suffering
Initially, witnessing the suffering of animals affected me deeply, causing significant emotional pain. I believe this inner turmoil was necessary for my growth and strength, much like a grieving period. Today, I am not as sad as I am determined. I have turned my negative energy into positive, and defeat into hope. I stay focused on the bigger picture and the goal: to awaken the public to the unnecessary suffering caused by their choices, to open hearts and minds, and to achieve animal liberation.
Photo: Agnes Cseke
Changing the Future
Thanks to social media, and the internet in general, people are getting information that wasn’t available to them before. Attitudes are changing quickly. Prior to this it was nearly impossible to share information about what is being done to animals with the public. When I was a teen (many, many years ago!) I organized an animal rights club in my high school. We conducted a slaughterhouse investigation but at that time all we could do was create a report and hand it to other students - at least those who were willing to read it. Newspapers and mainstream media had no interest in covering animal rights stories and largely, to this day, still don’t. Thankfully, we no longer need to depend on mainstream media to share stories, investigations, or photos. There are dedicated people around the world advocating for animal rights now in creative and professional ways. And we need more.
Animal rights and veganism is not a trend, it’s a movement. I believe that within the next 10-20 years we will see a major switch to plant-based diets worldwide. I’m certain that future generations will look back at our current treatment of other animals, our planet, and our blind acceptance of speciesism with great shame.
Photo: Coco Van / Me with Petunia pig at Wishing Well Sanctuary