=== == . :::: == From: To: Date: Subject: ALF/ELF;I I Fri. Jul20, 2001 2:19PM Information of interest Attached, please find articles that may be useful/Informational. Please advise if you know of others who should receive this and similar future messages, or if you want your name removed from this list. 1) Information obtained from Fur commission USA regarding the upcoming Human Earth and Animal Liberation Gathering in Los Angeles, August 17-19, 2001. 2) Americans for Medical Progress report on the Animal Rights 2001 Conference. b6 b7C ,• ,....------....., From: To: Date: Subject: == = DT Contacts Mon. Jul 23, 2001 5:05 PM Animal Rights Conference Intel FYI: Attached is a report by an "animal rights" watchdog group which sent a participant to the recent animal rights conference that was held just outside of Washington D.C. The report summarizes the strategies, conflicts, and goals of the movement as discussed during the conference. b6 b7C Al\1P News Service Special Report: AT THE A.NWAL RIGHTS 2001 CONFERENCE Saturday, July 7, 2001 An estimated five hundred animal rights activists gathered in a suburban Washington, D.C. hotel earlier this week for five days of sharing strategies, philosophies and vegan meals. The atmosphere was notably calmer than in recent years, 'Yith many more moderate discussions, featuring a higher ratio of information to rhetoric. Although a few speakers advocated violence on behalf of animal rights, the sessions predominately emphasized non-violent tactics that would appeal to a broader .public spectrum. As in past years, a large contingent of young activists were in attendance, but in a marked deviation from last year's AR conference, at least half of this year's crowd appeared to be 40 years of age or older. Among the AR interests represented at the conference were circus and farm animals, so-called "farm factory" animals, fur, hunting, leather, vegan food, as well as laboratory animals. Five sessions focused on medical research using animals, however, in most of the general sessions - including one on setting movement priorities laboratory animals were not discussed or were mentioned only in passing. Conference speakers included many familiar activist leaders, but the best-known movement figures were missing. Notably absent from the speakys' roster were PETA's controversial! I and PCRM'~ I(If they were in attendance at all, they were extremely ) Animal and Earth Liberation Front spokesperson who was scheduled to address the meeting, was a no-show. I Another legendary activist figure, PET did attend, but on an Internet post-conference discussion oar';----..., ...... (www.animalrights200l.org), several attendees bemoaned tha .._ chief activity was to "spend most of the conference in the bar" promoting an multi-level-marketing I pyramid scheme at $500 per taker. One activist called it "sad that someone so esteemed by the movement would be swindling fellow animal rights activists out of their money." ___ b6 b7C b6 b7C Media coverage ofthe conference was scant. On Thursday, The Washington Post ran a feature about the gamut of participant interests. News wire services reported Tuesday on a byproduct of the meeting: a 200-person protest at a Wendy's fast-food restaurant near the conference hotel. Six Jeople were arrested. Because one of those the non-porcine star of the taken into custody wa 11 11 Babe movies, newspapers across the country ran brief accounts of the incident that contained no information on the meeting itself I The summary that follows is not meant to be a comprehensive account of the conference. It was not possible for us to attend every session. Rather, we hope to impart some information about current activist thinking and to describe the atmosphere at the meeting. As much as possible, the material is reported without disputation by Alv.IP, so that our readers can get a clear sense of the tone and tenor of the event. STATE OF THE MOVEMENT Conference participants heard a mixed message about the current state ofthe animal rights movement. Speaking for PETA in the !offered an annual report of opening plenary sessionJ AR activities, claiming victory for the following occurrences, among others: 11 The first felony indictment and conviction ever under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (involving the owners of a pig-breeding facilities in North Carolina). 11 Retailers, including the GAP, J. Crew, Liz Claiborne, Nordstrom, Clark and Florsheim agreed to stop selling leather imported from India and China. 11 The University oflllinois School of Veterinary Medicine ceased requiring an animal lab for first-year students. 11 11 The USDA charged a Kansas "puppy mill for violations of the AWA 11 McDonald's set minimum standards for the care of chickens raised for its kitchens and agreed to monitor the facilities of chicken suppliers. 11 Burger King announced that it would exceed McDonald's animal-welfare guidelines for cows and chickens bought for its restaurants. Several speakers throughout the conference mentioned the campaign b6 b7C against Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) and its financial supporters as evidence of the impact AR groups can achieve through economic activism. However, overall, there was recognition that there are very few animal activists, that their tactics are controversial and their messages, a hard-sell. A half-dozen sessions - all very conciliatory in tone - focused on how members of the various AR organizations should treat one another and consolidate resources. Should organizations prioritize their efforts and on what basis? Should they focus on easier targets for high-profile successes? (Among the easy targets mentioned were research animal breeding facilities in the U.K., as well as fur farms and retailers.) Should they focus on converting more people to veganism, because more animals are used in the food industry than anywhere else? Should they seek changes in public attitudes? For instance, ofin Defense of Animals told participants that he hoped the message they took away from the conference would be that no human "owns" an animal; rather, humans are guardians or caretakers of animals. He noted that Boulder, Colorado, West Hollywood and Berkeley, California, as well as the state ofRhode Island, had all passed legislation to substitute the word "guardian" for "owner" in statutes relating to the care of companion animals. He said this "paradigm shift" was important for the AR movement. At last year's conference, PETA was the target of open and blunt criticism for its high profile media campaigns such as "Got Beer" or "Naked not Fur" and incidents such as the PETA manure dump in front of the World Bank and the contretemps with New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani over the "Got Prostate Cancer?" billboard. In sharp contrast, at this year's meeting there appeared to be more widespread recognition that the movement is splintered by disagreements which must be resolved. In scheduled "rap sessions, 11 activists and their leaders debated the wisdom of in-fighting, with some emphasizing the public relations consequences and others, the impact on "the animals." The debates focused on tolerating different philosophies and tactics, and avoiding open criticism of various AR groups. There was apparent unanimity for the oft-stated goal of the AR movement: that the use of animals for food, clothing, entertainment and experimentation must be abolished. STRATEGIES AND TACTICS b6 b7C While there was only one rap session with the title "Welfare and/or Abolition: Are welfare and abolition compatible? Are small steps acceptable?," strategy and tactics were the focus of many conference sessions. The perspective that "change takes time and all progress should be applauded" was in evidence throughout the conference. But so too was the perspective that "for the animals suffering, this is an emergencyt' for which immediate action is required. One statistic repeated several times was that one million animals die each minute in the United States. Zapping (jamming phone and fax lines with thousands of calls), e-mail barrages, sit-ins and pickets continue to be popular with AR activists. However, participants disagreed about more graphic ways of getting attention, for instance, appearing naked in public or throwing tofu pies. As mentioned above, some question how seriously the movement will be taken if these are among the chosen tactics. Emphasis in most tactical discussions was on media coverage. The activists have become increasingly sophisticated in evaluating media interest and drawing media attention. Being friendly with reporters was advocated as a means to sympathetic coverage. There was consensus that protests are "old hat" in many areas and would not attract media coverage in and of themselves. Civil disobedience was touted as a more effective media magnet. ., who identified himself as a memper of the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and the Animal Defense League ofLos Angeles, told one session's participants that while a protest would reach maybe 100 people, civil disobedience can reach 10,000 or even 100,000 people through the media. Even more efficacious than civil disobedience alone, ~aid, was to go to jail as a result. Recounting an anti-fur demonstration in Syracuse, New York, said the non-cooperation of eight jailed 'protestors - which was drawn to the media's attention by non-jailed supporters - resulted in media coverage every day for a week. Displaying a desire to be inclusive of differing philosophies, and others encouraged activists to contribute to the movement in ways that are comfortable for them, whether that is letter writing, making phone calls, or engaging in "direct action," a code word for civil disobedience and illegal tactics. VIOLENCE IN THE AR MOVEMENT b6 b7C b6 b7C Setting aside for a moment · who predicted that 11 windows would be broken and cars flipped 11 in the ongoing campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences (see below), we heard only one speaker openly advocate violence in the animal rights movement: PETA's While disclaiming involvement in violent activities himself, an entire presentation to the case for violence, starting with people's natural inhibitions against violence to justification for it 11to end animal suffering. 11 11lf we ht to be free really believe that animals have the sam-ri from pain and suffering at our hands, 11 aid, 11 then, of course we're going to be blowmg t ngs up and smashing windows. For the record, I don't do this stuff, but I advocate it. I think it's a great way to bring about animal liberation, considering the level of suffering, the atrocities. 11 11 1 think it would be great if all of the fast-food outlets, slaughterhouses, these laboratories and the banks who (sic) fund them exploded tomorrow, 11 he continued to loud applause. 11 ! think it's perfectly appropriate for people to take bricks and toss them through windows. 11 talk was controversial and was challenged articulately by one pacifist in particular, who pointed out that people could be hurt even when it is property that is targeted. In other sessions as well, participants made the case that the animal rights movement must be a non-violent one. BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH Three panels addressed biomedical research directly, highlighting: I) the various laws and regulations concerning animal welfare, 2) the so-called 11 bad science11 that involves the use of animals, 3) the use of technology and stealth in gathering information about laboratories, and, 4) the tactics that have been used in the campaign against HLS. Each of these discussions is handled separately below. The discussion of the various inspection mechanisms byofln Defense of Animals andl lofthe American Anti Vivisection Society was straightforward. low-key and largely accurate. It was noted that AR groups support expanded USDA inspection authority to cover rats, mice and birds. b6 b7C A second area of discussion - the results of studies involving animals- showed continued message refinement on the part ofthe critics. Several speakers conveyed persuasive-sounding arguments that animal models are of little predictive value for human medicine. stated that an NCI study showed that the mouse cancer model doesn't yield the same results as human studies 63% of the time. PCRM'~ Iclaimed that recent studies have shown that while certain toxins caused tumors in either mice or rats 100% of the time, tumors resulted in both species only 45% of the time. "So how do you know which model most closely mimics humans?"! !asked. His answer, paraphrased, was that researchers only know that after they have induced the same tumors in humans, which, he claimed, makes the animal experimentation superfluous. b6 b7C Building on the argument that animal research yields limited results (or "is just bad science"), PCRM's- said that animal research cannot be justified economically given the "20,000 children a day who are dying of starvation around the world" and the "20 million Americans who don't have access to routine health care." said the movement needs to further a wellness argument against this research, promoting investment in universal health insurance, preventive care, and improved diet and exercise over medical research involving animals. charged that the "billions and billions of dollars" spent on xenotransplantation were particularly wasteful, because, he said, "it is never going to work. We can't even put human organs into people and have it work very well. We are doing okay with kidneys these days, but a lot of organs we can't do from human to human." "And even if it was successful," he added, "It would benefit only a few thousand of the very richest people in the world each year." I ~he Animal Protection Institute offered - to applause a capitalist-conspiracy explanation for animal research. "Medical research using animals," he charged, "is about money." He said that while such research is not productive, it continues because universities want to keep their labs open and researchers employed, corporations want to create marketable products and attract venture capital. In other words, he claimed, animal research wouldn't exist without the profit motive. Solid information on conducting Internet research on the work of specific scientists was conveyed in several sessions. One speaker noted that more and more research facilities are publishing and b6 b7C archiving on-line, allowing easy access to descriptions of "animal abuse" in scientists' research. Some speakers said they believed that protocols could be challenged successfully under the Animal Welfare Act. It was stated that the USDA in the coming year plans to post results of its inspections of research facilities. An entire session was devoted to the use of the Freedom ofinformation Act and other official channels of access to research involving animals. A few specific anti-research campaigns were discussed in public sessions. As part of a continuing activist campaign focusing on health charitiesJ Ia grassroots campaign coordinator at PETA, claimed that more than 50 corporations had agreed to request that their contributions to the March of Dimes be used for projects not involving animal-based research. C ]also said that the frozen food company Sara Lee had sent a letter to its 154,000 employees, telling them how they could similarly earmark their March of Dimes donations. PETA's goal for the campaign is to force the March ofDimes "to drop animal experiments," according t4 IIn an interesting turn from standard PETA rhetoric, he did note that the March of Dimes has many good programs and should receive public support for them. In Defense of Animals indicated that IDA has more information on alleged animal cruelty by JAMS in its testing of pet food and will release it on July 14, designated by IDA as the annual Global Day of Protest against lAMS' parent company, Procter & Gamble. Protests at animal food outlets around the country are planned for that day. THE HLS CAMPAIGN he served as the Animal Liberation Front spokesperson at the time of the 1999 University ofMinnesota laboratory break-in- is a fiery speaker, totally committed to the Stop Huntingdon Ahimal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign. "Closing HLS is my life and this campaign will remain~ until HLS is closed," he said. The SHAC campaignsaid, "targets the pillars ofHLS' financial support," and has been so successful that HLS is "on its last leg. All that's needed is just one more kick." "There's no stopping this campaign," b6 b7C b6 b7C "There's no end to what we can do to HLS. We'll take out their customers, their workers. There are a lot of options. n who acknowledged that he's been visited by representatives of the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, also predicted, "There will be windows broken and cars flipped [as the campaign continues]." Stephens, Inc., which extended a loan to HLS earlier this year, "enemy number one in this country." He said there would be "constant protests against Stephens" and its officials at their offices, on the golf course and in their homes until it calls its loan from HLS. Noting that SHAC intends to target shareholders as well as officials of institutions related to HLS, he observed that targeting investors is especially effective "because investment isn't meant to be that personal." In other words, his argument is that people don't have an affinity to the companies in which they invest and therefore targeting them through protests at their homes or offices is particularly uncomfortable as it personalizes investment activity. ~ave tips on various ways to identify the employees of an organization. When a person in the audience mentioned the British government's said, "We don't recent intervention in finding FILS a banker, . care what the government does. The government is nothing to us. The government will never close FILS down. We will!" POST CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES In what has become a tradition at such conferences, the Humane Society of the United States organized a Lobby Day for the attendees. On July 5, as Congress stood in holiday recess, activists were bused to a nearly-deserted Capitol to buttonhole whomever they could find and deliver their agenda items. The conference website(www.animalrights200l.org)is hosting a post-conference discussion board and pictures of the meeting. Scroll to the bottom of the home page and then follow the links. AMP News Service Special Report: b6 b7C AT THE ANIMAL RIGHTS 2001 CONFERENCE Saturday, July 7, 2001 Americans for Medical Progress 908 King Street #20 1 Alexandria VA 22314 703 836 9595 xlOO fax 703 836 9594 amp@amprogress. erg http://www.amprogress.org