{"id":4081,"date":"2016-11-17T09:48:49","date_gmt":"2016-11-17T17:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/animalliberationpressoffice.org\/NAALPO\/?p=4081"},"modified":"2016-12-04T09:51:48","modified_gmt":"2016-12-04T17:51:48","slug":"nc-sustainable-school-target-of-animal-rights-action-death-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/animalliberationpressoffice.org\/NAALPO\/2016\/11\/17\/nc-sustainable-school-target-of-animal-rights-action-death-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"NC Sustainable school target of animal rights action, death threats"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"nat-and-sprout-by-door-full-size\"

Nat, sprout<\/p><\/div>\n

Mackensy Lunsford <\/a>, mlunsford@citizen-times.com<\/p>\n

ASHEVILLE –\u00a0An argument over the value of human and animal life has grown contentious in Western North Carolina as members of a sustainability school say animal rights activists have threatened their lives.<\/p>\n

Wild Abundance, a small, woman-led school for sustainable living skills in Barnardsville, has fallen under scrutiny of animal rights groups Let Live Coalition and OneProtest.<\/p>\n

The source of the groups’ ire is an upcoming\u00a0workshop in which a sheep is to be slaughtered and processed into food.\u00a0Taking place this weekend, the Cycles of Life: Humane Slaughter and Butchering demonstration is part of a weekend of intensive focusing on meat preservation, geared toward small-scale family farms.<\/p>\n

The Let Live Coalition\u00a0is pressuring the 8-year-old school to cancel the class and release the sheep to a sanctuary, launching a call to action on social media. They said they have asked supporters to be respectful when contacting Wild Abundance organizers, and maintained they have not made public personal contact information.<\/p>\n

To date, nearly 8,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for the class’s cancellation. Let Live has scheduled protests at the school should the class go on as planned.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n

Meanwhile, author and butcher Meredith Leigh\u00a0has stepped down as lead teacher of the workshop after receiving death threats.\u00a0She’s been replaced by another teacher who requested anonymity to avoid similar action.<\/p><\/div>\n

“My M.O. for years has been to not give this sort of rhetoric energy, but it’s hard not to when you have your children sleeping next to you and people from all over the world are calling your personal number every five minutes,” she said.<\/p>\n

Not all calls and emails have threatened violence, but those that do are graphic, Leigh said. “They say I deserve to die, ‘I should cut your throat’, ‘I should beat you with a ham’.”<\/p>\n

Leigh said her primary reason for dropping out of the class is because she didn’t think she could be centered enough for the animal.\u00a0“My emotions and purpose were becoming clouded by everything that’s going on.”<\/p>\n

\n