A new initiative protesting the live animal shipment industry launched in Israel on Wednesday, funded by a donation made by the late actress Brigitte Bardot, who was known in her lifetime for her animal welfare advocacy.
The campaign includes 100 ads on buses across the country with a photo of an animal taken from inside animal transport trucks, with the message, "You're on your way to a vacation. They're on their way to hell."
In order to ensure her wishes are honored, a team from the Brigitte Bardot Foundation flew to Israel to oversee the preparations and approve the campaign materials ahead of the rollout, which was chosen to take place during Israel’s busiest travel period.
"Every calf and lamb featured in the campaign was documented in real time upon arriving in Israel after a grueling sea voyage,” Yaron Lapidot, one of the founders of Israel Against Live Shipments, said
“Sadly, in most cases we know that the animals shown in the campaign are no longer alive. The purpose of the campaign is to restore faces and identities to the statistics and remind people that these are living animals forced to endure a long and difficult journey only to be slaughtered in Israel."
Bardot had funded a similar bus campaign last year, and had ensured the campaign could continue even after she was gone.
Bardot: Jewish values could transform animal welfare
Netanel Sheler, head of the Freedom for Animals' public awareness efforts, explained that Bardot pushed for a campaign in Israel specifically because she felt that the Jewish traditions surrounding animal welfare could “serve as the foundation for meaningful social change, particularly among religious and conservative communities.”
According to Sheler, she chose to center her campaign around the High Holidays for that reason.
"Although she faced harsh criticism and attacks from anti-Israel activists because she chose to support an Israeli organization during the war, she never considered reversing her decision. She believed animal welfare rises above political disputes, and that real change is created not by a single campaign but through an ongoing process of public awareness," Sheler said.
"About six months after her death, we received a phone call from her team informing us that the foundation had decided to honor her commitment and proceed with the donation exactly as she had requested. For us, it was an especially emotional moment. We understood that this was not merely a financial contribution but a continuation of the path she believed in and her commitment to the fight against live animal shipments in Israel."