ANIMAL rights activists sent death threats to students learning how to slaughter sheep.
The teachers and students who were targeted said they were left fearing for their lives.
The class at Asheville Sustainability School in North Carolina, USA – which teaches traditional skills – focuses on making students understand the repercussions of animal slaughter.
But protestors from the Let Live Coalition targeted the class which was made up of carpenters, chefs and farmers.
Let Live bombarded them with violent emails even wishing them a slow and painful death, it was claimed.
Natalie Bogwalker, the school director said: “I’ve been receiving emails and phone calls threatening me with physical harm, and even death.
“(There are) a lot of people hoping me and my students die a painful death, wishing people would slit our throats, and saying that we’re sick and demented. I try to keep a good attitude about it, but it’s pretty challenging.
“One of the reasons we offer the class is so people can really and truly understand the repercussions of their choices to eat meat and take responsibility for it.
“The service that we offer is something I believe in, something that’s really important to me, and I don’t like being bullied.”
Meredith Leigh, local author of “The Ethical Meat Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Butchery, Charcuterie, and Cooking for the Conscious Omnivore,” is also a teacher at the Cycles of Life class at the school.
She said she continues to teach the class despite “bizarre” voice mails and “annoying” Facebook messages from animal rights activists.
Last year she had planned to teach a similar class at another school but dropped out after being flooded with threats of violence.
Leigh said: “I was getting death threats and was afraid I was going to die.
“I understand the impetus for their position and, to a certain degree, I understand why they think their tactics are impactful.
“But I’ve seen evidence that in fact their tactics are harmful, especially right now where there’s already a lot of division in the world.”
