Old school AR tactics work, say vivisection industry!

Some USA activists have got the right idea.

An article in the Guardian about 2 activists convicted of peaceful protest and free expression reveal some interesting admissions from those inside the vivisection industry – old school animal rights tactics work! While many peoples response will be 'no shit', it is a point worth re-emphasising as the movement becomes increasingly pacifistic in the UK.

The Guardian reports that “In 1981 there were 34 companies breeding laboratory animals. Today there are just three because of activists' intimidation of staff and of companies supplying services and products to laboratories.”

This is confirmed by Andy Cunningham, a Harlan manager who admits "Part of the overall reduction in company numbers has involved consolidation of businesses, but there is no doubt that intimidation has led to the closure of many other companies,"

Replace 'intimidation' with 'robust protest' and they are totally right! The animal rights movement has the formula for success. While we must adapt to the changing legal framework we must not abandon the time tested methodology.

We must focus our energy and get back to old school animal rights. But focus on what? Professor Roger Morris, head of bioscience at King's College London gives us a clue “We are now down to our last three major breeders in the UK. We can manage with that, but if we lose another we will be in a very uncomfortable situation.”

Back to the Future: Re-examining Old Tactics

"It's the bloody animal rights again"

After the big crackdown and changes in legislation many tactics have fallen by the wayside. However I think it is time to re-examine old tactics and see how they can be effectively applied even within the draconian laws we have now. The movement has always been very good at pushing the boundaries and that shouldn't stop now simply because the boundaries have changed. 

A good example of recycling old tactics is the recent return to phone bloc actions. A phone bloc action is when you call a company on a specific day and complain about something e.g. their involvement in animal testing.

In the past this was a very popular tactic within the SHAC campaign, back then it was much a case of ringing the number over and over and over and over... you get the idea, so as to block their lines. Nowadays though that kind of conduct cannot be advocated publicly so the whole idea seemed to have all but disappeared. However the tactic has now recently reappeared, advocated by smaller groups and individuals and now coming with strict disclaimers urging callers to not make repetitive phone calls. What callers do do however is  totally upto them!  This is a 2011 approach to this old AR tactic.

By looking at old tactics that maybe illegal or questionable now and re-imagining them we can get back to action and kick the animal abusers ass (metaphorically speaking, oh, of course)!

It is also worth remembering that while aboveground activists like us must work within the edges of the new oppressive laws underground activists don't have to. It has always been illegal to smash a window of a fur shop, to paint strip an animal researchers car or to threaten an animal abuser at their home. These are tactics that worked and still work. I don't advocate any of these tactics  – but when people go to jail for aboveground protest you can see what motivates people to do the more effective stuff – all they have to do is avoid getting caught!

World Day for Animals in Laboratories 2011

All pics shamelessly nicked from

Matthew Orlinski

A New (Old) Militant Spirit At World Day for Lab Animals 2011!

World Day for Animals in Laboratories has long been a compliant A to B march a long way from the militant spirit displayed at the World Days of old. In the 'old days' (and I am actually only talking a few years ago) there was always a spirit of non-compliance and resistance. This spirit fed the movements energy and manifested itself in a movement that was ready for action and ready to be effective.

While resistance on an A to B march is not as effective as covert direct action it feeds an attitude that allows other resistance to take place but also is an effective tool as part of a diversity of tactics.    

This year in Manchester we began to see a return to this spirit from the young, fresh progressive faces within the movement. Although not everything attempted was successful the spirit is something we need to build on, not just at World Day but through out the movement if we are ever to return to the level of effectiveness we had prior to the SHAC trials. There are a number of groups that are pushing forward in this regard including recent SHAC actions and the campaigns against importing animals for experiments.

The first act of mild resistance on the march was an impromptu protest outside a Manchester lab building which saw marchers crossing the road away from the agreed route. While this may seem like nothing it is a mental barrier of authoritarianism being lifted slightly and moves the protest back into the control of the participant, away from authoritarian sterility.     

The second action was securing the safety and release of an activist who was attacked by security and detained by police. A reasonable sized group assisted with this and this is the minimum any activist should expect in terms of solidarity from other activists. The activist thanked everyone for their assistance at the end of the march, but there was no need at all. The only regret is that more did not assist.     

The next bit of creative, independent thinking was when a sit down protest was attempted by some activists and although this was short lived is exactly the type of autonomy we need to see.

Evidence gatherers attempted to film and photograph the sit down but were unable to do so effectively due to activists employing FITwatch tactics. After the sit down was over three activists  then continued the FITwatch action that eventually led to the removal of police evidence gatherers from the march.

There was also a protest against fur (in the middle of in all) at Armani, now that is creative thinking at its best! We should all think about how we can use A to B marches more effectively and not wait for others' instructions.

This is a significant step forward towards the non-compliant World Days of old and a move back to the days of an effective anti-authoritarian movement where the words 'there are no leaders' actually means something! Well done to all involved!

Bold Native: The Movie: An Activist's Perspective

Bold Native Movie Review

If you haven't heard the buzz about Bold Native yet you must have been living under a rock! But just in case there is someone out there that hasn't heard about it yet here's the scoop. Bold Native is a ground breaking feature film about the brave men and women of the underground animal liberation movement known as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). This is the first professional fictionalised film regarding this subject matter and it is amazing!

The film's plot, acting and cinematic quality rival anything put out by a big budget Hollywood film company despite being produced on a shoe string. The film is powerful, deep and extraordinarily entertaining. You really don't need to have any interest in animal rights to enjoy this work of  cinematic art.  

The movie follows a wanted activist (the FBI had labelled a 'domestic terrorist') on a mission to pull off a nationwide coordinated action. His father after discovering his son is a 'terrorist' gives chase as well wanting to get to his son before the FBI does.   

The film looks at all aspects of the animal protection movement. Reformists looking to improve animal 'welfare' via lobbying, the animal liberationists who fight for the rights of animals using illegal means but never use violence against humans and even an activist that thinks violence is part of the solution.

My one criticism of the film would be the way it approached the argument regarding the use of violence. In the film an activist uses what amounts to torture and violence in a way purely to punish an animal abuser. This is clearly wrong and if that was the argument for the use of violence I doubt there would be any serious animal rights proponents of it.

The problem is that the main violence proponents within animal rights do not advocate such use of violence they advocate force to be used proportionately and only to the minimum extent necessary to stop the abuse. I think if the issue of whether violence is ever acceptable is to be taken on it should be done in a way that reflects the actual debate i.e. Is it OK to use the minimum amount of violent force necessary to actually stop abuse?          

Also the complete lack of security culture did leave me shouting at the screen and almost willing the liberationists to get caught! However that is more of a nerdy activist thing and I see why the film makers might have avoided such details to ensure the film was entertaining to the widest possible audience.   

However overall an amazing, exciting film that anyone regardless of their view on animals can enjoy. If you haven't seen it yet, no matter who you are, you must – you'll love it. Guaranteed!

To order a copy of the movie head over to http://boldnative.com/ To watch Bold Native online you can also download it from Itunes.

The SHAC Trial - Political Sentences Are Good for You

The second group of SHAC defendants have been sentenced. Once again a small group were held accountable for everything that has ever happened to Huntingdon Life Sciences and it's associates – I think others can articulate what a sham of a show trial it was. That isn't the point of this article.

My point is simple, while distressing for those involved, the fact politicised sentencing is necessary is a sign of our effectiveness. If any one thinks multi-billion pound industries and the governments they control are going to let ordinary people tell them what to do  they are deluding themselves! No matter what tactics you use if you are actually effecting them they will be trying to stop you by whatever means necessary.

It is not the nature of the tactics the state objects to it is the fact they work. It is the fact they are aimed at billionaires and their companies that pay the Lib/Lab/Con election campaign funds. It is the fact the these multinationals actually take the threat posed by SHAC seriously.   

As a movement we need to be proud of the fact that we are considered such a threat that mere involvement in a animal rights campaign can lead to sentences longer that those given to murderers! Because if we are going to win then we will have to fight them and they play nasty. It's when animal activists stop getting political sentences we need to worry!

Media Lies are Good for You!

The media is of course now full of nonsense about how every action ever done in the name of SHAC is the fault of the defendants (even if they were children at the time of these actions and many haven't even been proven). But even if the lies were true – who cares? I'm not saying I condone every one of those actions but all of them pale into insignificance when compared to puppies being punched in the face, being  poisoned in the name of sweetener, having pipes shoved down their necks and being mutilated.

Anyone that says the actions of animal activists so far have made them 'as bad' as the animal abusers are seriously twisted. I seriously don't see the equivalence.

When have you ever heard of an SHAC campaigner feeding a group of HLS workers a toxic chemical until 50% of them slowly and painfully died? When have you ever heard of a animal rights activist keeping an animal abuser in a cage and torturing them to their slow painful death? The fact is the extremists are all on one side – HLS's side!

So I say let the media do our work for us! Let them make companies think we are all 'terrorists' and therefore back down all the quicker. Let the media lies fuel the fire and move us closer to a day when all animals are free.

Now is not the time to lose heart. The battle has only just begun and they have just begun to start fighting us – things are not going to be easy. But for every last animal locked inside that hellhole there is only one single option open to us we must fight and we must win!   

Love, Light and Liberation for All. Human and Non-Human! 

For Sarah Whitehead, Nicole Vosper, Tom Harris, Jason Mullen, Nicci Tapping, Alfie Fitzpatrick all jailed for the crime of being good people!

Joan Court: An Interview with the Animal Rights Granarchist!

Never underestimate Joan Court, at first glance she could be any ordinary OAP, but this could not be further from the truth.  I interviewed Joan, a 90 year-old animal rights campaigner, about her extraordinary life and work.  Joan has gone on hunger strike; chain herself to railings, occupied the Canadian embassy and at 86 embarked on a mission to confront the illegal fishing vessels with environmental enforcement group Sea Shepherd. Today Joan Court is still active in the Cambridge animal rights scene to such an extent police documents once bizarrely said she 'was the leader of SHAC'!

US Comrade Proclaims: “Don’t ask, ‘How can I not be labeled a terrorist?’ Ask, ‘How can I be a threat?’”

Will Potter on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act from Press Action on Vimeo.

I just watched a video from our comrades in the USA. The sound is crap on this clip but well worth the strain on your eardrums. Will Potter of GreenistheNewRed.com has hit the nail on the head with this one – it's time to stop worrying about the perceptions of our actions and get back to being a threat to the animal abuse industries.

The time for worrying and wondering have past, we have had time to get over the extraordinary  new levels of repression. We are all now required to get up and act – in whatever way we individually feel is best.  

Whatever your thing is; leafleting, marches or direct action - we must stand united as one body against the abuse. If we fight each other the animals lose.  Let's stick together, support each other and show NETCU there is no way to stop the 'animal rights nutters' in the UK!

Coventry Greyhound Track = FAIL!

Coventry dog racing track will not be re-opening after the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) refused to grant the necessary licence. It is Greyhound Action's Greyhound Remembrance Weekend in a weeks time (24th-25th July) and what better way to kick it off!

Greyhound racing is a deadly business with even those welfarist types at the RSPCA saying that at least 20 greyhounds a day from the industry 'disappear' presumed killed. In addition to this dogs are injured and killed in the races themselves. Could you remind me why they call Britain 'a nation of animal lovers' again?  

The track in Coventry (when it was still open) attracted almost weekly protests according to Greyhound Action and the campaign was very successful in persuading people to boycott the business. GBGB clearly made a smart business move on this one as the track had already when bust twice in the past (with the help of local activists) leaving a load of debt behind!

This news just shows the effectiveness of sustained campaigning against the right target. The great thing about local animal rights groups is that we can deal with local problems by consistent targeting until we win! The animal rights movement is at it's best both in terms of local and national campaigns when it clamps it's jaw shut and won't let go – consistency and determination is key. Well done to the Coventry lot, nice one! Let's bring the whole industry down now!   

If you want to help from the comfort of your armchair please contact your MP about the Racing Dog Protection Act – which could hopefully improve things.

Why it's time to start loving state repression!

Warning Contains Ranting...  

Many people have blamed certain tactics for attracting state repression. Well yes they did and it's a good thing too! The reason tactics attract repression is they are effective. If they don't work Ians Skivens' and Superintendent Pearl's bosses really are not that bothered! The fact the animal rights movement has been so heavily repressed over recent years is a badge of honour that should be worn with pride.

We all know from experience that the type of police response you get on demos varies between targets (regardless of tactics) because the state is choosing to protect the target. It has nothing to do with upholding the law – the police will routinely break the law themselves to protect these institutions.

We must understand that it is not the type of tactics used, but their effect, that creates the overall response. Fans of legalism should look at the case of the Austrian animal activists locked up because their lawful campaign was being to effective!

If the entire movement escapes repression then it escapes all victories that are a challenge to the authority of corporate interests as well! It is time we started to love state repression because as it gets worse we know we are getting closer to effecting change. The more repressive measures we face head on the closer we are to an end to the cruelty and abuse the animals face on a daily basis.

The last thing we need to do now is to become intimidated by the repression or modify our tactics in a way that does not reflect what we have seen to be successful. The movement in the UK has inspired the animal rights movement worldwide but the battle is not won, indeed it has barely begun. Other social justice movements through out history have faced imprisonment, arrest and vilification – do we really expect change without it?

Artwork pinched from Banksy's site, copyright blah, blah, blah. He writes on people's walls anyway so what would he care?