No Compromise 23-26 (2004, Santa Cruz / San Francisco, CA)

One of the lessons that archiving old animal liberation publications has taught me is that the most extreme actions have rarely produced much in the way of results for animals. A public that already sees veganism as odd might still see the value of rescuing animals from a laboratory, but will never support a car bombing. When innocents are injured, or when murder was the goal, the backlash starts to creep into our own ranks, and as we fracture law enforcement and industry groups take advantage. In the end, I can think of no bombing (or contamination, or grave robbing, etc.) which advanced the cause of animal rights more than it harmed it. This is not to say that bombings and the like could never be successful. At later stages of many revolutionary struggles, when the majority of the public supports the cause, bombs can clear away in one night what years of protest could not. While a movement is in its infancy, however, it could be argued that more often than not bombs blow up in our faces.

And so it was in 2004 when a group calling itself the Revolutionary Cells Animal Liberation Brigade carried out two bombings of HLS related targets in California. The movement was left to make lemonade from truly shitty lemons, and No Compromise did their best to mitigate the harm of the actions while keeping activists focused on the real enemy.

The year continued with the indictment of the SHAC 7, the emergence of Austria as a leader in the movement, and some exciting open rescues. Sarahjane Blum and Ryan Shapiro’s organization, GourmetCruelty.com, carried out one such operation that piqued public interest and eventually resulted in a sympathetic program on Animal Planet. Elsewhere Gina Lynn was imprisoned for defying the Seattle grand jury, Billy Cottrell was arrested for a massive SUV dealership arson, and the Universtiy of Iowa was treated to the most sophisticated lab raid to occur since the early 90s.

Every time we post a year of No Compromise we say the same thing: that this is essential reading for those who wish to understand the recent history of our movement. This posting is no exception. No Compromise was the best AR publication of its era, and 2004 saw the publication refining its strengths and providing their readers with four of the best issues yet.

Tags: 2000s, Alan Hoffman (snitch), Animal Liberation Front, Barry Horne, Clinton Colby Ellerman (snitch), Craig "Critter" Marshall, Craig Rosebraugh, Crucial, Daniel Hedqvist, Dave Blenkinsop, David Hayden, Derrick Jensen, Diary of Actions, Earth First!, Geoff Kerns (snitch), Gina Lynn, GourmetCruelty.com, Grand Jury, Greg Avery, Harrison David Burrows (snitch), Helen Woodson, Hunt Sabotage, Intersectionality, Jane Tipson, Jeff Luers, Jeff Watkins, Jerry Vlasak, Jessica Sandham (snitch), Jill Phipps, Josh Ellerman (snitch), Josh Harper, Justin Samuel (snitch), Kevin Kjonaas, lauren Ornelas, Lauren Weiner (snitch), Mike Novick, Open Rescue, Pam Ferdin, Paul Shapiro, Revolutionary Cells: Animal Liberation Brigade, Richard kahn, Ronnie Lee, Ryan Shapiro, Sarahjane Blum, SHAC 7, SHAC Campaign, SPEAC campaign, Steve Best, Taiji dolphin slaughter, Violence Debate, Will Potter, William "Billy" Cottrell (snitch)