Local animal rights activists are adding a "funeral march" to one of their biggest annual demonstrations Sunday in west Los Angeles.
Held in conjunction with the 9th Annual National Animal Rights Day, the march -- a first in Los Angeles -- will begin at noon along Beverly Boulevard between Fairfax Avenue and Gardner Street. Organizers say the march will honor the "billions of animals killed each year by human hands" on factory farms, in research laboratories, in the fur and cosmetics industries and by hunters.
A public memorial and "celebration of the cruelty-free, plant-based lifestyle" will follow at Pan Pacific Park on 7600 Beverly Boulevard.
Organizers expect a few hundred people to attend, and note that crowds have been slowly increasing over the past several years.
National Animal Rights Day was first observed in 2011 and 2012 in New York City. Los Angeles joined in 2013 with an event on Santa Monica beach. NARD was observed at Lake Hollywood Park under the Hollywood sign in 2016, moved to Venice Beach in 2017, and then to Pan Pacific Park last year.
NARD events are being held in more than 20 cities across the United States today.
