Blessed are Those who are Persecuted for Righteously Defending Innocent Creatures. By Dr Chapman Chen
- Chapman Chen
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)
When those who defend the innocent are fined, imprisoned, or silenced, they embody the very Beatitude spoken by Christ: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” Their suffering reveals not their guilt, but the moral blindness of a world that punishes compassion.
1. The Perfect Example Set by Jesus
Jesus Himself demonstrated this Beatitude perfectly. The Temple raid or "Cleansing the temple" was an act of animal liberation, not unlike Direct Action Everywhere's open rescue of animals from factory farms. In emptying the Temple of innocent creatures about to be slaughtered for sacrifice, and in calling the Temple-turned-butcher-shop "a den of robbers/murderers (parits)" (Mark 11:16, Luke 20:46, Matt. 21:12-13), Jesus debunked the evil and fraudulent nature of animal sacrifice and disrupted the chief priests' and scribes' lucrative revenue stream. Immediately afterwards, they conspired to destroy Him (Mark 11:15-18), eventually leading to His arrest, trial, crucifixion (cf. Keith Akers 2000, pp.113-134). Nevertheless, Jesus was resurrected on the third day after crucifixion, later ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
2. Modern Examples of Persecuted Animal Rights Activists
Modern vegan, animal rights activists follow in Jesus’ footsteps and face persecutions, prosecutions, and harassments, though some of them are not officially Christians.
Animal rights campaigner Joey Carbstrong said that police officers arrived at approximately 3:30 a.m. on 8 May, 2026, arrested him, and confiscated his electronic devices. The arrest reportedly followed Carbstrong’s release of footage allegedly recorded during February and March 2026 inside the British slaughter facility Hartshead Meats, located in Greater Manchester. The Youtube video, banned in the U.K., shows that cattle were allegedly subjected to repeated use of electric prods, insufficient checks to confirm unconsciousness, ineffective stunning procedures, and in certain instances were hoisted or dismembered while still displaying signs of life.
According to BBC, on 7 February 2025, 4 activists from the group Animal Rebellion, who had been convicted ensuing a blockade of a Muller dairy site in Worcestershire, were ordered to do voluntary work. In September 2022, they and others blocked the dairy in Droitwich as part of a campaign calling upon people to shrift to a plant-based food system. Activists climbed onto trucks, milk silos and loading bays while some glued themselves to the ground and chained themselves to fences. 6 persons were convicted and a 7th pleaded guilty to charges at Worcester Crown Court at earlier hearings.
In the US, under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, activists have been labelled “terrorists” simply for disrupting animal industries through protest and advocacy.
On March 15, 2026, Wayne Hsiung, co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere, led an “open rescue” of beagles from the state-licensed facility, Ridglan Farms, outside Madison, which breeds the beagles for biomedical research. Around 30 dogs were taken by activists. About 27 activists were arrested in connection with that action. ON April 18, 2026, Hsiung returned with hundreds to ~1,000 activists to rescue ~2,000 beagles. Police used tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets. Wayne Hsiung was arrested on-site. He and a few others were later charged with burglary-related counts and released on bail shortly after.
In Dec 2025, Californian student Zoe Rosenberg was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Thursday and ordered to pay over $100,000 in restitution, for rescuing 4 sick chickens from Petaluma's slaughterhouse.
In Australia, Tash Peterson has been repeatedly arrested, heavily fined, driven into bankruptcy, and her passport confiscated by the Australian authorities, effectively restricting her movement. She is also frequently spitted at, sworn at, and physically assaulted or harassed by anti-vegans during her open protests and outreaches. Trolls invariably leave abusive comments on each and every one of her YouTube videos, FB and IG posts.
In Canada, on June 22, 2015, Toronto resident Anita Krajnc gave water to thirsty pigs in a slaughter truck on the way to Fearman's Pork Inc. slaughterhouse in Burlington, Ontario. She was charged with criminal mischief, but was found not guilty on May 4, 2017.
3. The Most Persecuted Beings on Earth
Yet, of course, the most persecuted sentient beings on earth are always animals. Three trillion of those innocent creatures, including terrestrial, aerial, and aquaria animals are brutally abused and killed by humans on an annual basis.
Zoe Rosenberg declared upon facing imprisonment, her own suffering was insignificant compared to that endured by animals:-
“Nothing I face in that jail cell will ever compare to what these animals endure every moment of their lives. I’m so incredibly privileged to have freedom to lose, to have things I don’t want to walk away from. But these animals have nothing. They live in pain and die in agony. We all have a moral obligation to go outside our comfort zones, to put aside our fears, to save them from the hell they are living in.” https://unchainedtv.com/2025/12/03/zoe-rosenberg-sentenced-to-30-days-in-jail-chicken-rescue/
Similar sentiments are echoed by Direct Action Everywhere -- which declared on April 21, 2026: “The brutality experienced by activists doesn’t compare to the suffering these dogs experience day after day. The fight doesn’t end here.” -- and Alex Hershaft (quoted in “Holocaust Survivors Speak: Lessons From The Death Camps,” Bite Size Vegan, 3 February 2016), who draws parallels between animal agriculture and historical atrocities.
Across these voices, a common conviction emerges: once the magnitude of animal suffering is recognised, personal loss—whether freedom, reputation, or security—becomes secondary to the moral duty to intervene
4. Conclusion
Thus, brace up when you are persecuted, harassed, badmouthed, and sneered at for righteously standing with innocent, oppressed creatures of God for you are blessed by Christ, and you will be lavishly rewarded by the Lord. Nonetheless, as Jesus teaches, good works should be done to honour God, rather than for human applause (Matthew 6:3-4).
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