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  Facklan

  10.11.12 | Permalink

  Facklan (1996-1997 Umea, Sweden)

  (Editors note: Facklan is a Swedish language publication that we bring to you due to its historical significance. Umea, Sweden produced one of the most remarkable animal liberation communities of the 1990s. Their influence was so strong that politicians in Sweden stated in national media that they feared animal rightists may collapse the countries infrastructure, both through sabotage and the conversion of the nations youth to veganism. Facklan was produced during the infancy of this tiny, but formidable uprising. One of our readers from Sweden has offered the summary that follows.)

  Facklan (The Torch) was a Swedish magazine supporting the A.L.F. and
  other radical groups fighting for the animals. It was released in four
  issues in 1996-1997, during the biggest peak of A.L.F. activity in the
  1990:ies in Sweden. The magazine was based in the northern city Umea,
  which was well known for it’s number of vegans and animal rights
  activists, militant (all fur shops closed in Umea as a result of the
  A.L.F.) as well as non militant (almost 50 percent of the students at
  some schools were vegetarians). Umea was often referred to as the
  “Vegan Mecca”, and was also well known for bands promoting the animal
  rights message, such as Refused.

  The first issue contained translated interviews etc from mainly UK and
  US sources, and also had copied text from the Swedish militant
  activist/anarchist manual Lila Svarta. Of course there was also a
  diary of actions and addresses to imprisoned animal rights activists.
  Two spreads were also dedicated to show mainstream media articles from
  the time, also serving as a sign of the impact of the A.L.F. activity.

  During the later issues, more of the content was produced by Swedish
  authors. In the second issue, there were a lot of more news from
  Sweden and Finland, letters to the editor, communiques from the newly
  started group The Wild Minks, a report from the riot against the fur
  auction in Skara, a piece on the repression of Umea acitivists,
  reviews of records under the headline “Activist Core”, and now also a
  diary of actions focusing on Sweden. Content from abroad was still
  used though, this time information from The Final Nail and on Barry
  Horne. On the last page, a summary in English was also published for
  the foreign readers.

  The third issue contained an exclusive interview with The Wild Minks,
  the group that got most feared among the fur farmers, for liberating
  minks and setting fire to properties of the fur industry. An address
  list to all Swedish fur farms was published together with slogans such
  as “What are you waiting for?”. There were critical articles directed
  to hardcore posers, as well as articles about how animals that had
  been liberated were doing in their new homes.

  The fourth and the last issue contained more articles like “How the
  Raid was Done” – often raids that the police had said were so
  professional it had to have been carried out by professionals from
  abroad… One person urges for a Swedish A.L.F. Supporters Group, and
  a spokesperson who could defend the actions openly. Til now, this had
  only been done my anonymous activists in balaclavas, or by Emelie
  E:son, an anonymous A.L.F. activist from the 1980:ies. Focus was also
  targeted on groups trying to attack Peter Singer (who was at a visit
  in Sweden during this period), there was a big report from the animal
  rights campaigning and activity against the vivisection at the Umea
  University, as well as more information directly from The Wild Minks.

  After the last issue, a Swedish A.L.F. Supporters Group was founded,
  doing both work towards the media as towards prisoners and the animal
  rights movement in general. They also released their own magazine,
  later named Befriaren (The Liberator).

  

  …

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The Talon Conspiracy is an online archive preserving the history of protest movements for animal rights and environmentalism. Its owners, contributors, and designers are not responsible for actions taken by third parties which may be harmful or unlawful to the individuals or entities named in archived publications. This web site is provided for the purpose of historical research and analysis, and is not intended to incite, encourage, or condone any criminal action on the part of its readers. Finally, The Talon Conspiracy does not necessarily agree with any of the views expressed in the publications in our archive, but aims to provide a thorough collection of the history of eco direct action. All opinions expressed in our archives are those of their original authors only.