Joaquin Phoenix attends Los Angeles vigil for Hamilton activist Regan Russell

International vigils mourning the death of Hamilton animal rights activists Regan Russell were boosted this week by Academy Award winning actor Joaquin Phoenix.

Phoenix, an animal rights activist himself, was photographed holding a sign paying tribute to Russell at a Thursday night vigil in Los Angeles, hosted by LA Animal Save and Animal Alliance Network.

LA Animal Save founder Amy Jean Davis told The Spectator that they hold vigils all the time for animals, this is the first time we had to hold a vigil for a person killed" by the animal industry.

Russell, 65, died after being struck by a transport truck outside Fearmans Pork at Appleby Line and Harvester Road in Burlington June 19.

Witnesses said she had been giving water to pigs inside the trailer of a truck entering the meat processing facility shortly before she was hit.

More than 100 people attended the vigil at a Farmer John meat processing plant in Los Angeles, Davis said. More attended events honouring Russell in cities around the world including Chicago, London, U.K., and Cordoba, Argentina.

LA Animal Save holds vigils outside the Los Angeles meat processing plant weekly, Davis says, and is part of the same international network of animal rights groups that includes Toronto Pig Save that holds protests outside Fearmans.

Davis said that when Phoenix heard about Russell's death, he was eager to contribute.

Phoenix worked on the 2005 documentary Earthlings," about humanity's dependence on animals, with Davis' partner, filmmaker Shaun Monson.

She points to the Screen Actor's Guild awards in January, where the actor left early, after wining an award for best actor for his role in Joker," to attend an event outside the Los Angeles slaughterhouse.

Joaquin has been to many of our vigils," Davis said.

Jeremy Kemeny is a Hamilton-based web editor at The Spectator. Reach him via email: jkemeny@thespec.com