Animal rights activists try to stop Hollywood traffic
Fresh on the heels of a protest at Dodger Stadium, a group takes to the streets but is pushed back by cops.
First, they interrupted a baseball game last week to protest Dodger Dogs. Then a group of animal rights activists called Direct Action Everywhere planned to “disrupt the streets” of Hollywood on Monday by creating a traffic headache.
But when the protesters took to Hollywood Boulevard, they mostly were pushed back onto the sidewalks by police officers who knew they were coming, as street performers dressed like Spiderman and Batman looked on.
Dozens of protesters marched from Dorothy J. and Benjamin B. Smith Park on Franklin Avenue to the bustling intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, where they had planned to block the roadways holding signs depicting animal violence.
Stopped by police from disrupting traffic, the group trudged extra-slowly through the crosswalk.
The march was not coordinated beforehand with local authorities, said Zach Groff, a 24-year-old Berkeley resident and member of Direct Action Everywhere.
On July 3, protesters with the group ran onto the field at Dodger Stadium during the ninth inning of an afternoon game to protest Dodger Dogs.
They held black signs, including one that read, “Dodgers Torture Animals,” and were quickly tackled by security guards and dragged off the field. Dodger players remained in their positions, waiting for them to be removed before resuming the game against the Colorado Rockies.
“Oh, my goodness,” Dodger announcer Vin Scully said as they ran onto the field.
“Well, we don’t show them, not if we can help it. We’ll look at the sky, we’ll look at the flags. Anything but foolish kids running on the field. And they’re kids. It’s embarrassing for the hard-working fellows who have to restore peace and quiet, but they have to do it.”
Monday’s protest, Groff said, was to more broadly draw attention to “a culture of violence against animals” in fashion, entertainment, science labs and other industry.
“We’re tying it to a broader cultural tendency to see animals as objects and not as the individuals that they truly are,” he said.
Hollywood protest organizer Priya Sawhney said in a statement Monday afternoon that “it is only a matter of time before all animals have a right under the law of California and, indeed, the United States, to a life that is free from harm.”
On Monday afternoon, Groff said he was trying to upload footage of the protest to the Internet. But it was going slowly because the protesters were caught in traffic.