*Originally published 13 September 2019* When I ask myself what it means to stand in true solidarity with the trillions of our animal kin whom we exploit and kill for food every year, all of whom want to live, all of whom resist their oppression every day, I look to the ways in which past successful social movements have created transformational change in society. The ecology of social movements What I have learned is that successful movements have involved different individuals, groups and organisations working to make change in different ways, through: individual change, creating alternatives and changing the dominant institutions that shape society. This is why social movements are often referred to as ‘movement ecologies’. In the animal justice movement[…]
Animal Rebellion’s Strategy to Ensure Climate and Animal Justice Is at the Forefront of a Sustainable World
*Originally published 12 September 2019* Animal Rebellion’s announcement that Smithfield Market, the UK’s largest and oldest market servicing the animal agriculture industry, would be our primary site for the October International Rebellion made complete sense to the animal justice community. For others, locating our primary site away from Westminster wasn’t in line with the bigger picture. If we are to stand together in a Movement of Movements then our individual specific demands should be swept aside to make it clear the government, the system, is our target. We’ll reveal more of our plans in the next few weeks but in the meantime we’ve listened to the concerns of those in the Rebel Alliance, including the views of XR. That’s why we announced[…]
Civil Disobedience Doesn’t Have to Lead to Arrests… but Be Prepared.
*Originally published 25 September 2019* Animal Rebellion’s October action promises a major transformation in the way we talk about a plant-based society and a colourful, creative vision of what a just and sustainable food system should be. We are in a climate and ecological emergency. If we want life to continue, the only viable option is an end to the industries responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, animal suffering and environmental destruction. Ending the animal farming and fishing industries won’t be easy and requires the courage of our rebels to openly challenge our toxic system in civil disobedience. Of course, this means breaking the law but, as our friends at Extinction Rebellion say, “If your house is on fire, you break[…]
“I’m in. Are you?” Leigh Venus’ Account of Animal Rebellion at Vegan Camp Out 2019
*Update 8/11/2021* *Originally published 9 September 2019* On the final, hot weekend of August, Animal Rebellion made a huge impact at the world’s largest vegan camping festival, the Vegan Campout 2019. At their colourful stall, sunflower-yellow flags flapped in the breeze, people queued for guerrilla t-shirt printing, and volunteers signed up en-masse to join the rebellion. Here on Saturday morning, amongst nearly 7,000 campers from across the world, I kicked off a day of activism talks to a room packed with nearly 1,000 people who took time out from the food, music and sunshine to hear from a range of speakers about getting active for the animals. Speaking on behalf of animal rights organisation Anonymous for the Voiceless (AV), I talked about the[…]