Joseph Dominic Armstrong, known professionally as Joey Carbstrong, is an Australian animal rights activist. A former criminal,[2] he has since become an advocate for animal liberation and veganism through social media and public speaking engagements, as well as debates and various televised interviews. He has campaigned against the RSPCA Assured scheme and has released undercover footage of animal cruelty on their farms.[3][4]
Joey Carbstrong | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Joseph Dominic Armstrong |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Animal rights activist |
| Known for | Animal rights advocacy |
YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2015-present |
| Subscribers | 159 thousand[1] |
| Total views | 41 million[1] |
Last updated: September 2024 | |
| Website | www |
Personal life
editCarbstrong was born Joseph Dominic Armstrong in Adelaide, South Australia.[2] He has publicly stated that before his fame he was involved in substance abuse and crime.[2] He became a vegan after his release from incarceration.[2] He has a tattoo of the word "Vegan" behind his right ear.[5]
At the age of 14, he had left school and developed a heavy drug addiction.[2] He had various blue-collar jobs before receiving welfare at age 22. By this point he had gained a lengthy criminal record which included three assaults.[2] He spent 18 months under house arrest. He was arrested in September 2011 after police discovered a concealed, loaded shotgun which Armstrong was bringing to a drug deal. Multiple weapons and additional ammunition in his hotel room were also discovered and he spent six months in jail. While in jail, he claimed to have had an epiphany and decided to change his life, saying, "I began seeing my life with new eyes. I'd seen all the other prisoners in there and didn't want to be there, I wanted to leave the gangs."[2][6] In May 2021, he released a video to celebrate eight years of sobriety.[7]
Animal rights advocacy
editCarbstrong has been involved in animal rights street activism in Australia, Hong Kong,[8] and the United Kingdom, promoting groups such as Anonymous for the Voiceless and the Save Movement, an organisation that holds vigils outside slaughterhouses and promotes veganism by sharing images and footage from farms and slaughterhouses on social media.[9][10]
In May 2023, Carbstrong is alleged to have published pictures taken from hidden cameras at a Pilgrim's Pride abattoir in Ashton-under-Lyne depicting the "utterly inhumane" nature of using carbon dioxide to stun pigs before being killed.[11] Carbstrong captured the undercover footage for his documentary Pignorant.[11]
Carbstrong has released undercover footage of animal cruelty at RSPCA Assured farms.[3][4] Footage showed workers hitting cows with implements on long poles and kicking them. In September 2024, Carbstrong commented that "our latest investigation exposes the facade behind the RSPCA’s Assured label, which is meaningless in protecting animals".[3]
Debates
editIn January 2018, he began a 'Vegan Prophecy UK tour', which involved protesting against multiple slaughterhouses.[2]
In 2018, Carbstrong appeared on the British TV programme This Morning to debate two farmers.[12] During the heated discussion, Carbstrong described artificial insemination of cows as a form of sexual abuse and said the dairy industry "sexually violates" cows.[12] On the Jeremy Vine Show, Carbstrong criticised the host Vine's ham and cheese sandwich.[13][14] In 2020, he appeared in Veganville on BBC Three.[15][16]
2024 arrest
editIn April 2024, Carbstrong and six other vegan activists were arrested after they occupied an elevated area at Cranswick Country Foods in Watton.[17] Carbstrong has stated that he wanted to raise awareness about the unethical use of gas chambers to slaughter pigs.[17][18][19]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "About @JoeyCarbstrong". YouTube.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dixon, Hayley; Pearlman, Jonathan (9 February 2018). "'Peaceful vegan activist' Joey Carbstrong compared dairy farmers to Hitler and told them to kill themselves". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Dalton, Jane; Colley, Claire (14 September 2024). "Cows on farms supplying M&S and Muller kicked, punched, hit with chains and sworn at in shocking footage". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 September 2024.
- ^ a b Montgomery, Samuel (17 September 2024). "Watch: Cows stabbed and beaten at flagship M&S farm". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024.
- ^ Lewis, Carly (17 February 2019). "Thanks to vegans, my vegetarianism has become a source of shame". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Is Milk Murder for Cows?". Good Morning Britain. YouTube. 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "My demons nearly took my life from me, this is what saved me...", www.youtube.com, retrieved 16 May 2021
- ^ James, Lauren (11 December 2017). "Hong Kong Pig Save activists stage vigil at city slaughterhouse". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ Haque, Amber (29 January 2018). "'Vegans call me murderer and rapist'". BBC News. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ Anderson, Lizzie (27 January 2018). "Celebrity vegan Joey Carbstrong stands shoulder-to-shoulder with animal rights activists during abattoir vigil in Spenymoor". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ a b Colley, Claire; Wasley, Andrew (2 May 2023). "Suffering of gassed pigs laid bare in undercover footage from UK abattoir". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ a b Jones, Sarah (6 February 2018). "Vegan campaigner Joey Carbstrong criticised after confronting farming couple who received death threats". The Independent. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ "Vegan Activist Blasts Jeremy Vine After Spotting His Ham And Cheese Sandwich". HuffPost UK. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ Street-Porter, Janet (2 February 2018). "Vegans hurt their case by being too extreme". The Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
- ^ "BBC Three - Veganville (On iPlayer: Not available)". BBC. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Gallier, Thea de (17 January 2020). "Veganuary: Veganism is tearing our families apart". BBC Three. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ a b Dunlop, Alex; Gordon-Farleigh, Neve (3 April 2024). "Protesters arrested at Cranswick Country Foods in Norfolk". BBC News.
- ^ Boag, Lily (2024). "Six charged after Cranswick Country Foods protest in Watton". Eastern Daily Press. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Seven arrests made after animal rights protesters infiltrate Norfolk abattoir run by Cranswick". ITV News. 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024.
