» Next Entries

The Archives

• Periodicals

  South East Liberator

  08.15.11 | Permalink

  South East Liberator (1992 – 1996. West Sussex, England)

  Editors note: When we originally posted South East Liberator in 2011 we had an agreement with its primary author to keep her identity a secret until after her death. We are sad to report that Gillian Peachey, a long time animal liberationist and former ALF prisoner, has passed away this week. Now that she is no longer with us we can reveal that she was the anonymous figure behind this publication. Rest in peace, Gilly.

  One of the most important things we do at TALON is to preserve the telling of our movement’s story by it’s participants. In the case of South East Liberator, we are almost preserving the story of our movement as told by the mainstream media and then copied and pasted by it’s participants. Confused? Well, South East Liberator was largely written and edited by one person who would include press clippings for major actions around the area she was active in- actions for which she was often responsible! She later ended up doing time for planting incendiary devices, which put this popular DIY publication out of business.

  South East Liberator was angry, over-the-top, and compiled by front-line activists giving their all for animal liberation. We are very proud to have the complete collection hosted on our site, along with this new introduction by the editor:

  “The Liberator was produced in the ‘90’s by a small group of determined animal rights activists to publicize how much could be achieved by working quietly within a close knit group, and to encourage like minded people to carry out similar actions.

  Economic sabotage will always be one of the most effective ways of hitting the abusers where it hurts them most and we, along with other similar groups throughout the country, were proving this time and again.

  Liberations, bombings, arson attacks, massive damage to property and vehicles and general sabotage were carried out week after week, with the cops going round in circles!

  Thousands of lives were eventually saved through liberations and hellholes closing. Many many hundred of thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused along the way.

  Inevitably there were arrests and imprisonment but nobody who was totally involved then, for the right reasons, would say that they had any regrets for any of their actions. Many of us are still involved in the fight for animal liberation and always will be.

  Personally the only regret I have is that I’ve never done enough to save enough lives. Oh, and getting caught of course!!”

  -Anon

  …

• Books

  Animal Warfare

  06.12.11 | Permalink

  Animal Warfare (1989, David Henshaw, London, England)

  Based upon a television show of the same name, Animal Warfare was one of the first books written about the rise of animal liberation militancy. Its author, David Henshaw, is decidedly anti-animal rights, and at times his coverage is so unfair and deceitful that it’s tempting to write this publication off as mere tabloid journalism. That would be a mistake. While clearly written from the perspective of a person intent on smearing activists, this paperback also provides us with a look at our history less slanted by movement propagandizing and cheerleading. At times that picture is not pretty.

  Authored during the rise of what some English activists called “the cult of militancy,” Animal Warfare takes the fodder provided by the most extreme actions of the early 80s and spins an ugly tale of car-bombs, poisoning hoaxes, graveyard desecration, and alliances with racist organizations such as the National Front. While there are plenty of grotesque distortions of facts, there are also valuable lessons to be learned about how the best tactical decisions consider our movement’s ability to survive backlash while building mass.

  At a time when many modern activists seem intent on repeating the mistakes of the past, (or at least blogging as if they intend on repeating those mistakes), Animal Warfare contributes to our ability to learn about media falsification, the dangers of militaristic posturing, and the events which led to the weakening of England’s mass militant movement for animal liberation.

  

  …

• Books

  Declaration of War

  03.25.11 | Permalink

  Declaration of War: Killing People to Save Animals and the Environment. (1991, Sacramento, CA, USA.)

  We’d like to state right from the beginning of this post: this book is poorly written and argued and we do not agree with its primary premise. Throughout the book, it is claimed that the majority of humans will never voluntarily embrace animal liberation, and thus terrorism utilized by a vegan minority will scare the masses into not enslaving other creatures. This belief is farcical on its face and abandons billions of animals to desperate lives of confinement, abuse and slaughter. No militant movement without a large base of support has ever succeeded in overthrowing the dominant order of society. A movement made up of the “liberators” mentioned in this book would be quickly suppressed and the following repression would hinder, maybe permanently, other hopeful forms of saving animals.

  However, when Declaration was initially published in the 1990s, it caused quite a stir in a movement that was already tripping over itself to prove how moderate it could be after the radicalism of the eighties. Advertisements for the book were pulled from publications like Animals Voice, and terse editorials were directed at the publishers. Many campaigners at the time rejected the message, but seemed to delight in how it upset the struggle’s status quo.

  For some reason, this book has survived with a large cult following on the internet despite never having been taken seriously by even the most radicalized liberationists. Perhaps its appeal lays in its ability to give voice to a fantasy of retribution. Many of us have raged at the harm done to non-humans by our species and dreamed, however briefly, of harming those responsible. The vicarious release given to people by reading this book may then be its only redeeming quality.

  

  …

» Next Entries

TALON is a soon to be rebranded archive of animal and earth liberation publications. This site is currently being maintained but please expect to see the collection at a new home soon. sponsors and supporters

disclaimer

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.