Sean Gifford
Professor Benjamin Zephaniah stood up for justice in all areas of life, and was a passionate defender of animals.
Poet, musician and activist Professor Benjamin Zephaniah died unexpectedly of a brain tumour on 7th December 2023. Here, we celebrate how he helped us fight for change for animals.
Benjamin stood up for what was right in all areas of his life. A dedicated anti-racist, his poems are permeated with social justice themes and often call out the inequalities and cruelties of modern Britain, whilst celebrating compassion and diversity. Benjamin wrote many poems about animals, including his famous Talking Turkeys. He went vegan in protest against animal suffering at the age of 13, and never looked back.
We reached out to Benjamin at the start of 2023 to see if he would help us stand up for our most farmed and most abused land animal - chickens raised for meat. We were thrilled that he accepted, and he even travelled all the way from his Lincolnshire home to London to join our demonstration outside the Royal Courts of Justice. The High Court was considering The Humane League UK’s judicial review, where we argued that that fast-growing chicken breeds, Frankenchickens, are illegal under existing laws because their fast growth means welfare problems are embedded in their DNA. Late the evening before, from his London hotel room, Benjamin spoke to Good Morning Britain and explained that the law had to be upheld, and that our laws clearly forbid the use of Frankenchickens.
He went on to electrify our supporters outside the courts, leading chants and energising the crowd with his support. He recorded a ‘justice for chickens’ rap, and his presence gave everyone a tremendous boost. He gave further interviews to journalists and put voice to all the hope, joy and energy of our movement and the burning desire we all share to make violence towards and mistreatment of all animals an outright taboo.
After the court case Benjamin told me he had been approached by people at his local supermarket, asking him for updates on the case. Although we initially lost in the High Court, we now have the chance to fight an appeal in April 2024. We are devastated that Benjamin won’t be there to see it.
We were far from the only animal charity Benjamin worked with. He was an ambassador for Viva! and the Vegan Society, and worked with Animal Aid and Generation Vegan. With all these groups he strived to make the world better for its most numerous inhabitants - the other members of the animal kingdom.
Benjamin, every day things are improving for the billions of beings trapped in factory farms. We are in a period of great awakening, with corporations making massive strides to end the worst of the suffering. Your hope was infectious, your activism in holding those in power accountable was inspiring, and we are so sad you won't be here, standing alongside us in the future, finally seeing animals being treated with the compassion that they deserve.
