*Originally published 10 October 2019* Animal Rebellion is responding to the climate catastrophe the only way one should: with love and fruit. In the face of total climate (and social) breakdown, Animal Rebellion is challenging our poisonous system in an unconventional but incredibly potent way: with apples, beets, and broccoli and a hefty dose of genuine loving kindness. The images and videos that have been emerging in the press and on social media since October 7th, of hundreds of animal rebels camped peacefully inside the main hall of Smithfield Market, the UK’s largest meat market, and one of the largest in Europe — a symbol of the cruel, toxic, and destructive food system in which we currently live — are magnificently[…]
The Amazon Ablaze: Bolsonaro and the Meat Industry Are Fuelling the Flames
*Originally published 24 August 2019* For over three weeks thousands of acres of once lush green forests of the already severely threatened Amazon, home to local indigenous communities and millions of animal, bird, insect, and plant species, have been burning. According to Brazil’s space research centre Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), over 75,000 fires have now been spotted in 2019 so far — an 85 per cent increase from the same period last year. It’s believed around one million indigenous people from up to 500 tribes are at risk from the fires, while hundreds of thousands of other animals for whom the dense forest is home, are desperately trying to flee, or are dying agonising deaths in this human-made[…]
What Would a Plant-Based World Be Like?
*Originally published 2 October 2019* A Plant-Based World Would be a Kinder, Less Violent World A plant-based world would be a much kinder and much less violent world. It would be a just world, and it would be a re-enchanted world, a world where cows would be cherished for their beauty, dignity, and grace, not violated and butchered for their milk and flesh, where pigs would be adored for their sweetness, playfulness, and curiosity, not mutilated and knifed, where hens would be treasured for their gentleness, integrity, and devotion, not twisted, torn, and broken in tiny cages for their eggs, where goats would be venerated for their majesty, cleverness, and mischievousness, not beaten and abused for their bodily fluids and[…]
Rebel for the… Badgers? Animal Agriculture’s Lesser-Known Impact on Biodiversity
*Originally published 28 September 2019* Ask someone in the street for their views on dolphins, tigers or polar bears — used the world over to symbolise majesty and grace — and you’ll likely be met with an enthusiastic, awed response. But cows? Sheep? Chickens? Not so much. Wild animals somehow elicit more passion in people. We all feel we have a stake in nature; wildlife is viewed by most people as part of ‘their’ world, something that ‘belongs’ in a sense to us all. Wildlife visits our gardens and is seen in our fields and on our streets, whereas the 10.6 million pigs farmed annually in the UK are rarely seen. As Compassion in World Farming chief executive Philip Lymbery[…]
Why 10,000 Animal Rebels are Occupying Smithfield Market in October
*Originally published 21 August 2019* The Official Animal Rights March on Saturday 17th August was an incredible day, being both uplifting and motivating, heart-breaking and full of love. It was also our launch, the official first action of Animal Rebellion. And as a wholly new movement, there were of course many questions about who we are and what we’re about. Some of these ranged from: why is an animal justice movement foregrounding climate breakdown, and not the animals? Why aren’t we talking about cruelty to animals more? Do we only care about farmed animals? And why announce Smithfield Market as the October target so soon? We’re going to answer all of these questions. As a brand-new organisation, it’s incredible how quickly we’ve grown. While those involved[…]
Announcing The Garden City: Our Space in this Rebellion for October
*Originally published 27 September 2019* Today we officially share the announcement of our second site for the Rebellion, our Garden City camp at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) in Westminster. Below we talk about the important way our linked actions at the two main sites, ‘The Garden City’ at Defra and our ‘Vision for the Future’ at Smithfield, work together to send a powerful message to government. We need government to #TellTheTruth and #ActNow on the climate, ecological and animal emergencies. And we need you to deliver this message. Below we also give you all the key information you need to know for arriving on Monday 7th, then for the first 36 hours at Smithfield, and then for setting up our Garden City. Read[…]
Preparing for a Peaceful Rebellion: What You Really Need to Know about Protesting Overnight on the Streets of London
*Originally published 22 September 2019* In mid-Autumn, when the evenings grow darker and temperatures fall, Animal Rebellion wants you to leave your safe and cosy homes to spend several nights camping on London’s streets. Yes, there’s a certain romanticism about abandoning the comforts of ‘normal life’ and committing to the cause for a few days. ‘Drastic times call for drastic measures’ and in our most fervent fantasies, we’re all hypothetically willing to partake in such noble but extreme acts. Even though we’ve been promised a peaceful and joyful time — of community-building and self-development, social activities, training, talks and entertainment — and water, food and toilets too — however vibrant, colourful and playful the site may be, this is by no means[…]
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[…]