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- Joaquin Phoenix saved a baby calf and its mother from an LA slaughterhouse the day after his Oscar win for best actor.
- In a video posted by Farm Sanctuary, Phoenix discusses the ethics and practices of the slaughterhouse with its president and CEO Anthony Di Maria.
- The slaughterhouse doesn't separate mothers and babies, which is rare in the industry, but Phoenix and Di Maria did squabble over the term "harvesting," which Phoenix called "murder."
- Phoenix was then allowed to take a one-week-old calf and its mother from the slaughterhouse to Farm Sanctuary, an American animal-protection organization.
- The events depicted in the video happened the day after Phoenix gave an impassioned Oscar-acceptance speech, in which he said: "We go into the natural world, and we plunder it for its resources."
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Joaquin Phoenix saved a baby calf from the slaughterhouse the day after he won his Oscar for best actor for the movie "Joker."
In a video posted by Farm Sanctuary, the actor is shown talking to Anthony Di Maria, president and CEO of a Los Angeles slaughterhouse.
"I don't need any science to see with my own eyes and hear how an animal responds to pain, right? That's undeniable," Phoenix told Di Maria.
"What if I tell you, here an animal will perish in less than 60 seconds?" Di Maria said. "That is the most humane, humane harvest process in the country."
Di Maria then took Phoenix on a tour of the slaughterhouse and told the Oscar-winner: "Anytime a calf is born on my property, I refuse to take the mother away from its baby. I won't do it."
farmsanctuary
Later in the video, Phoenix said: "They were here to be ..." and Di Maria said "harvested." However, Phoenix corrected Di Maria and said: "murdered."
This back and forth continued for a few seconds before Di Maria said: "You have to understand my side how I understand your side."
"I understand, but language is powerful," Phoenix replied.
Phoenix was then given the opportunity to rescue a one-week-old baby calf (named Indigo) and its mother (named Liberty) and take the two to Farm Sanctuary, an American animal-protection organization.
The video by Farm Sanctuary shows Phoenix putting his words into action as this happened the day after he gave an impassioned speech about humans suffering a disconnect from the natural world as he accepted his Oscar.
"We go into the natural world, and we plunder it for its resources," Phoenix said in his Oscar speech.
"We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and when she gives birth, we steal her baby even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. And then we take her milk that's intended for her calf, and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.
"And I think we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something to give something up."
Watch the full video below:
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