In front of Library West, tall displays sit in a circle of 12 and depict the words, “Slaughtered. Mutilated. Imprisoned.”
Nearby, dozens of students enjoy Hare Krishna lunches, filling the air with chatter.
The Animal Liberation exhibit, which compares current animal abuse with historical human abuse, is courtesy of peta2, a youth animal rights group founded in 2002.
The group was brought to campus by the Animal Activists of Alachua.
Images depicting scenes of female genital mutilation stand next to black-and-white photos of animals undergoing experimentation.
“We’re not saying that they’re equivalent,” said Matt Binder, a UF sophomore who is a member of the Animal Activists of Alachua.
“It’s saying that the reasons we use to subjugate humans in the past are the same reasons we’re using to subjugate and harm animals currently.”
Some students walk past the exhibit without a glance.
Some stop momentarily to pause and stare.
Some take a second look and leave in curiosity.
“It’s just crazy what people do to one another and to animals,” said UF student Leland Taylor, who stopped for a moment to view the displays.
Taylor couldn’t fathom that kind of treatment.
“I don’t know why. For money? Control? I don’t know,” Taylor said.
Student Shanna-Kay Turner found the display images unsettling.
“I know they’re trying to get attention for the issue and raise awareness, but the pictures put people off most of the time,” Turner said.
Chelsea Little, the Liberation project coordinator for peta2, the world’s largest youth animal rights group.
Little said she takes the project around the U.S. and Canada to different college campuses to increase student involvement in animal rights cause.
She also helps to promote student animal rights activism groups like the Animal Activists of Alachua.
The exhibit will remain on display on the Plaza of the Americas through today.
It will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
