My friend Mark Fitzpatrick stops by to discuss the history of the Animal Liberation Front. We also discuss the hunt sabotage movement and Veganism. We discuss the changing of direct action protests and the increase in punishment for people fighting for animal rights. We also talk about the connection between the punk and anarchist communities and their connection to activist groups. Mark also tells stories about undercover police spies who infiltrated animal rights groups only to later join them and claim they are the “nicest people” they had ever met.
Mark Fitzpatrick is currently working on a book and you can find more information here:
https://www.thehumanitytrigger.com/
There has been a thin but visible thread of actions against violence against animals on this Island since at least 1635, but particularly since the advent of the Animal Liberation Front in Ireland in 1982.
Hundreds of direct actions are recorded in small articles in regional, and sometimes national, Irish newspapers. When combined into a coherent narrative and timeline, they describe a history of regular and persistent acts of sabotage, vandalism and rescue that would otherwise fade into historical oblivion.
The ALF and similar groups reached their peak in the 1990’s and have slowly receded form the political landscape since around 2010.
Other tactics are now being employed such as the Open Rescue tactic of Meat The Victims.
My part in this history concerns the Hunt Saboteurs, who employ legal forms of direct action in defence of wild animals.
Just a quick note specifically on fox hunting – this Pleasure Killing has nothing to do with ‘controlling numbers of foxes’ and is not a natural pursuit for the hounds. Nor has it anything to do with ‘sport’ or helping farmers. Many, perhaps most, farmers hate them. Would you like a riot of dozens of mounted horses and hounds, plus many more hunt support following in a convoy of vehicles, plus a bunch of sabs, charging through your land and scaring the bejasus out of ‘your livestock’, potentially spreading disease like TB as they do so?
The Hunt get away with it because they are Establishment through and through – many top Police, Judges, Lawyers and politicians are members of Foxhunt Kennels, its a way to connect to other members of the Elite and showcase their Dominion over everyone and everything else. And as for ‘controlling numbers’ of foxes to help farmers? Utter bullshit of course – do you really think these people devote their time and money into actually helping others with their ‘pest control’? Every Saturday? At their own expense? No, they’re a hobby and a business, not a ‘pest control’ charity. When a farmer wants to kill foxes, they employ two professional marksmen to do it at nigh time. Farmers do not want a bunch of half-pissed, arrogant, rich wankers taking advantage of the situation to have a joy ride and a pleasure kill.
In fact there is ample evidence of fox hunters seeking to increase the population of foxes in an area so they have more to hunt!
and here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdgaPk6yJJI
and here – https://www.itv.com/news/2014-11-04/footage-shows-foxes-being-fed-in-area-where-hunting-takes-place
fox hunting enthusiasts introduced the fox to the Isle of Wight in 1865, something they happily admit to in their pompous website https://www.iwfoxhounds.com/history.php
They also introduced foxes to a slightly larger ‘island’ – Australia – just so they could have fun chasing them to their deaths.
They can’t take enough photos of themselves posing with their ‘trophy’ after the kill, smiling from ear to ear, smearing the blood of the victim onto faces of their children, cutting bits off the carcass as prizes to take home.
John Waters | Legendary Filmmaker | #35 Homeless Romantic Podcast
Dr. Gerald Horne | Professor of History | #64 Homeless Romantic Podcast
Vijay Prashad | Author & Historian | US Imperialism | #66 Homeless Romantic Podcast
Guy McPherson Ph.D. | The End Of The World | Evolutionary Biologist | #81 HR
Josh Robert Thompson | The Voice Of Geoff Peterson | Comedian | #90 HR
https://linktr.ee/ChrisJeffries
The Homeless Romantic Podcast
https://chris-jeffries.com/