Tag Archive: militant direct action
This new, short, militant animal rights movie is a moody, brooding, provocative, bold, and brilliant film about a woman who comes to an awakening about the radical extent of speciesism and the unremitting war on the animals. A snippet of my words, from a September 2011 speech in Germany, appear about 5 minutes into a film dominated by action and image. The ending may shock some, but I praise the filmmakers for the courage to dramatize what I call “extensional self defense” — the defense of animals under attack, by any means necessary, as they would defend themselves were they capable (and sometimes they are). This is “One” hell of a film by Devi Rose and brilliantly acted by Samrina Sabri. Let us hope for more like it.
See the film, “One,” here:
On April 28 2012, in Montichiari Italy, at 16: 15, in broad daylight, amidst a crowd of over 1,000 protestors, animal activists broke into the compound of Green Hill laboratory animal breeders and liberated 27 beagles. It was a bold, brazen, defiant, and iconic act of defiance, resistance, and liberation. Soon after, the Green Hill compound was closed and hundreds of beagles were adopted to loving homes.
I wrote various reports and updates on the Green Hill action (see here, here, here, and here). In September 2012, during a speaking tour of Italy (see here, here, and here), I had the honor of speaking throughout Italy, of meeting with key Green Hill activists, of speaking to Green Hill campaigners and Italian animal rights activists, and meeting some of the Green Hill dogs.
Animal rights activist and director of a forthcoming documentary on the Green Hill liberation, Piercarlo Paderno, was kind enough to interview me for this film, an interview which is featured in this short clip from “Green Hill – A Story of Freedom.”
The narrative is in Italian, my own words are translated and subtitled, and the images of the bold raid on Green Hill tell the story in a universal language.
Veganismo: La Guerra Que No Podemos Perder (Veganism: The War We Cannot Lose)
La Evolución Moral y los Derechos Animales (Moral Evolution and Animal Rights)
El Movimiento de Derechos Animal Global (The Global Animal Rights Movement)
Yet another concession from the vivisection-industrial complex that militant direct action (MDA) tactics (liberation, sabotage, and intimidation) have been all too effective weapons against them. As reported in the UK blog, Animal Warfare:
“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.'”
Here are some more juicy confessions:
“Because of terrorist acts by animal activists, crucial research projects have been delayed or scrapped. More and more of the scarce dollars available to research are spent on heightened security and higher insurance rates. Promising young scientists are rejecting careers in research. Top-notch researchers are getting out of the field.” Susan Paris, president of the pro-vivisection group Americans for Medical Progress
“Where the direct, collateral, and indirect effects of incidents [of sabotage] are factored together, the ALF’s professed tactic of ‘economic sabotage’ can be considered successful, and its objectives, at least toward the victimized facility, fulfilled.” Report to Congress on Animal Enterprise Terrorism
“[Militant direct action tactics are] changing the kind of work people will do in the future. If students come to me interested in primate research, I would tell them to think about other things.”UCLA vivisector, Dario Ringach, who reluctantly abandoned nonhuman primate research in 2006 after relentless ALF attacks on his colleagues.
So next time a pacifist tells you that MDA “doesn’t work” and is “counter-productive,” tell them where to shove their ignorant, treacherous lies.