Ladislav Kuc is serving a twelve year sentence in Slovakia charged with the detonation of an explosive at a McDonalds. The police also tried to charge him with other incendiary attacks against shooting towers and threatening letters to veterinarians and vivisectors. For a long time, he suffered from abuse in prison, disregarding his mental health and forcing him into inhumane conditions. Because of his debt due to fines, he was not allowed to access a doctor for multiple years.
His situation has changed slightly as he has been transferred to a different prison. He reports that the conditions are slightly better, but he is still in need of support. Ladislav has mental health issues that have never been taken into consideration during his sentencing or his time in prison. The fact that he isn’t allowed to access a doctor because of his debt with the state is a breach of his human rights. The silence from the animal rights community and from the wider anarchist and prison abolitionist community is unacceptable, and we must change it once and for all.
After quite some time, we have managed to find a bank account where we are able to send him money to help with the fines and his needs in prison. He still owes almost 8000 EUR, and whilst his family sends some money every month, he only received 50% of it as the government takes the rest. We have kept a float of 1000 GBP aside purposely to send to Ladislav as soon as we found a way to do so and we will be sending that money next week. Until then, if you are able to, donations to Unoffensive’s PayPal will be redirected to that fund.
Ladislav likes metal and goth metal music, has a nephew who was just three months old when he was taken to prison and who he has barely managed to see over Skype in the past few months. His level of English is low, but he is completely able to communicate via letter, and you should most certainly write to him!
This is what you can do to help:
1- If you can afford it, pop a donation over PayPal with a “Ladislav” on the notes. We will be sending money next week. 2- Get together with your animal rights group, tab group, protest camp, anarchist black cross, literally anyone, and organise solidarity fundraisers and letter writing days. 3- Write a letter yourself, this evening, and get it sent! 4- Share and spread the word. Ladislav has gone unnoticed for a long time. We should change it 5- Ideally from Slovakia, Ladislav needs a supporters group. A website, people in contact with the barrister and the family, news fro prison coming out and most importantly, emotional support. If you think you can help organise that support crew, please get in touch. We have some information to share, and we truly believe this is vital in order to help Ladislav whilst incarcerated.
This is his address:
Ladislav Kuc Uutos Gucmanova 19/670 Priečinoik 7 Leopoldov 92041 Slovakia
And if you are able to afford a donation, you can send it over PayPal to: unoffensive_animal (at) tutanota (dot) com
Share this, let people know, help in any way you can.
According to media reports, 600 mink were freed from cages at a fur farm in Tingsryd during the night of January 22. The same farm was raided by activists in 2019. We have not received a statement in relation to the action, but you can read the report that was released after the action in 2019:
anonymous report:
“In the early hours of September 3, 2019, all of the prisoners on a small mink farm in Hölkemåla, Blekinge, Sweden, escaped from the cages. In total about 1500 persons managed to get free. We gave a helping hand by disassembling the fence of the farm and then opening all the cage doors. We removed parts of the fence using a wrench to ensure a way out. The fur farm was situated right next to a lake where we hope that as many as possible now get to live. In a world where freedom exists only in moments of rebellion and insurrection, we still think that the possibility of a life in the forest and lake is quite the opposite of that in a cage. We do recognize that the already destroyed eco-systems and colonised nature is nothing like a dream, but since it is all that we have it is where we will go from our imprisoned existences. A passion for freedom is what drove us to this hidden killing facility to increase the freedom for all of us. Our desire to share this moment of freedom with the minks is rooted in solidarity and love as well as anger and hatred towards those who dominate us and try to steal our lives. We strongly believe that there is no limit to the things we can do, all we need is to make up our minds and pick a target. We send our love to Eric King, Matthias in Switzerland and all other prisoners around the world!”
“After a tip off by a student, we learnt about a pet breeder doing deals with vivisectors. According to a receipt, they had sold mice, amphibians and birds to a university laboratory some time ago.
Having found out about their existence and after studying their movements we went into to the farm. Thanks to previous reccy work we knew that most of the animals, including rabbits, mice and guinea pigs, were out of reach without working out the alarm systems, but that for overwintering purposes we would be able to access tubs filled with fire salamanders.
As we approached the building, a light hit us. Someone was driving towards us! We were lucky, hid quickly and managed to not be seen. We crept to a safe distance and considered our options. Not wanting to abandon the salamanders to a torturous future at a testing facility we decided to stay and see if we would get an opportunity. Hidden and cold we sat watching a lone worker load up a van. After a long tense hour, concerned that the next shift was quickly approaching, we were relieved to see the person jump back in the van and finally drive away. It was our time and we did not waste it.
Opening the tubs it was clear the disregard for the salamanders. Mould growing on the substrate, bark rotting at the bottom of the tubs, and in multiple enclosures, frozen plastic containers were some had died in the ice. It was grim but we were hopeful, and we worked fast and systematically clearing tub after tub after tub.
It was loud work and five minutes later, whilst still working on emptying more tubs of salamanders, another car approached. Our window of opportunity was closing, we could either get away with the majority of them or all get caught. We did not have the time to empty all the tubs. Three of them remained unopened.
We walked away with over 80 fire salamanders that could’ve ended up either sold as a pet, or experimented on in a lab to test their poisons potential to heal dermatitis. It was a good first step, but it certainly won’t be the last.
This deeply rooted speciesist system begs for the direct action of each and every one of us. There is no other choice but to take action unapologetically, to think strategically and to ensure that abusers are unable to make profit by harming animals.
In solidarity with Marius, still behind bars for fighting for a better world. We hope this news reaches you in the form of a late birthday present.
For a world without patriarchy or fascism.
For a world where capitalism is an ugly nightmare of the past.
All of them found safe homes where they are no longer sentenced to life in imprisonment, reduced to an egg machine, piece of flesh or a testing subject. It wouldn’t be possible without people willing to offer them a safe place to live. The more there are, the more animals we can liberate in future.”
“You can be found on many a street corner. Luckily, so can we! The Ginger Pig have eight stores across London UK.
Early this morning, another one found itself on the wrong side of someones hammer.
In solidarity with everyone whose bodies have been carried out of here in neatly packaged little parcels.
Everyone whose commodified remains sit on the other side of this shattered glass.
Fuck it, lets make this a sort of call to action. Blunt, heavy objects are all around us. Get creative. Get competitive. Make this a hellish time to be a butcher.”
“This is the story of fur farm animal liberation that took place in the Pacific Northwest just over a year ago. In the wake of this year’s winter pelting season, and the mass culling of millions of mink on European farms as a result of Covid-19—a disease no doubt caused by animal exploitation—we figured it was time to share this previously untold story. This communique is in solidarity with all wildlife prisoners, and the private industry exploitation of their would-be wild homes.
In June, a lone animal liberation activist sat behind a large fallen tree outside the perimeter fence of an Oregon fur farm. This was one of several farms visited to determine which Northwestern farms were operational, and which had shut down over the last few years. The hard rain bouncing off the metal roofs of the long narrow sheds drowned out sounds of mink clawing at their wire cages. Using a tree limb that sat above the the fence topped with electric wire, the lone activist pulled themself up and dropped into the fur farm compound and ducked inside the nearest shed. On other farms, they had seen piles of skinned mink and fox carcasses decomposing and mink bouncing neurotically off wire walls in filthy conditions. Nothing could have prepared them for the haunting image that waited inside the first shed. A female mink, curled around her newborn kits. So young they were unable to open their eyes. She had a calm about her previously unseen in other fur farmed mink. Her body still, her eyes intentional and focused. She just wanted her children safe.
In that moment, the lone activist made a promise to return for the imprisoned wildlife at this farm. We were still months away from the time of year where all mink on the farm were mature enough to stand a chance at survival if released. The decision was made to temporarily abandon surveying Northwestern farms and spend the next couple months planning a raid at this facility. The promise to return would mean crossing the threshold into illegal direct action, risking encounters with possibly armed fur farmers and the threat of prison. Still, the promise to return would not be broken.
After recruiting help of another activist, the two visited the farm again to further familiarize themselves with the layout, decide which fences would need to be cut, and check for any security devices or patrols. Apart from the high voltage electric wire and the house that sat at close proximity, there seemed to be no security in place. It is widely known that mass releases of farmed mink have a crippling economic impact on farmers and the industry, even if all or most of the animals are recaptured. It has been written that on average only 30% of released mink actually escape into the surrounding environment. Still heart broken by the eyes of the mother mink and emboldened by the obvious lack of security, they decided to take an extra step with the raid. Not only would they attempt to cut fences and empty as many sheds as possible, they also planned to relocate 8 healthy mink to a carefully chosen site deep in the forest. They were determined to do as much to save individual lives as possible.
The chosen window for the action was approaching fast and topographical maps were studied and potential release sites were researched to be sure no endangered animals would be negatively impacted by releasing the 8 mink. After researching and visiting several potential release sites, a large creek was found that connected to a network of streams and rivers which were visibly abundant with small fish for the newly released predators. The site sat at the edge of a large wilderness area, free from roads, where the mink could explore and begin their new lives free from human presence. The mink’s intolerance of each other, and their ability to roam upwards of 7 miles in a day, would ensure low population density and the wide dispersal into their rightful wilderness home. All that was left was to wait until the animals were full grown and choose the night for action.
On the night of the raid, two camouflage clad liberators jogged down the road that ran behind the farm before picking up the two handmade mink carriers which were stashed behind a tree. The two made their way across a field all the while keeping an eye on the back porch of the house that neighbored the farm, and snipping barbed wire fences along the way to allow for a quick escape. While the thick metal wire of the farm’s perimeter fence was being cut, the whole farm lit up with a bright light. After a few long seconds, they realized it was a passing freight train. The rumble of the train served as a noise cover, and the loud work of cutting the perimeter fence went on. The liberators wasted no time and went about removing nest boxes from cages. Row by row, hundreds of cages were opened of cages were opened and the mink began scurrying around, exploring and shrieking. Before long the mink begun making too much noise and the activists were forced to stop opening cages and moved on to the next phase. An estimated 750 animals had been released.
While one activist went to retrieve the stashed carriers, several animals could be seen crossing the cut fence towards their new life. The 8 chosen mink—males and females—were loaded into the carriers and the group of 8 mink and 2 humans made their escape moving quickly and quietly. One waited with the animals while the other jogged the road to the vehicle. Some time later, they were sitting in the at the predetermined release site in the predawn darkness. As soon as the forest began to brighten into a new day, and a new life, the mink were carried to down a barely existing trail to the river.
Probably at the same time the raid was being discovered, the mink were released one at a time on the banks of the river. The animals were released over the course of an hour, and each one responded different. Some explored the shore while others climbed up logs. Some ran into the cover of thick ferns. One tested the water carefully with their paw before submerging their whole face and shaking off the water. For the first time they all felt the earth under their feet and water in their fur. More than one mink payed close attention to the small fish swimming, giving the liberators confidence that these freed animals stood a solid chance at survival and a full wild life.
The fight against the fur industry is about much more than exacting revenge on an industry that forces animals to languish in tiny cages before being executed and turned to outdated status symbol garments. It is a fight against domestication as the fur industry has tried with little success to reduce wild species to a product. It is about decolonization as the fur industry—especially in the Pacific Northwest—was integral to colonizing and destroying native peoples and their land base. At the start of the 19th century, indigenous communities in the Rogue Valley sold furs to white settlers before white trappers began their own trapping operations without permission on native land. French fur traders ironically called the Tak-elam people the “Rogue River.” It is also a fight against ecocidal practices, for instance one fur farmer was fined for dumping mink manure in an already threatened salmon run in northern Washington.
It should be noted that the mink industry in Denmark—one of the worlds leading producers of fur pelts—is now disappeared as a result of government mandated culling to stop spread and mutation of Covid-19. Seventeen million animals were gassed and buried due to rapid spreading of the virus on Danish mink farms. Farmed mink are the first known instance of non-human animals contracting the virus from humans. This has also been documented on Utah fur farms, and it is likely the American mink industry is also at a turning point. While we wait to see what happens in the mink industry world wide due to culling and virus spread, activists wanting to empty cages and sheds should weigh the risks of introducing Covid 19 to the wild. If one wild animal is imprisoned, economic sabotage against that industry or place is justified. But simple release should be avoided until we know exactly what we are dealing with. The action described in this story took place before the virus hit human populations.
Not only did the 8 mink find a new beginning on the banks of the river, but so did the activists. Up until this point, and flame of ideas surrounding illegal direct action was doused with the thoughts of repercussions. As that last mink dispersed into the forest, it became clear the fight for earth, animal, and human liberation is worth every risk. Every sacrifice. This internal shift brought forth a self liberation from the fears of repression. We know the risks, still we continue fighting because the war against domestication and wildlife imprisonment is a hot one.”
“A third Norwich butchers has been targeted with animal rights tags and windows shattered. It’s 2021 and the archaic abuse of innocent souls will not be tolerated. If you make a living from the torture and murder and animals, we’re coming for you.”
In this video from the very early 1990s we see a news clip on the attacks on butcher shops in Oxford (UK) as well as a discussion in studio with Robin Webb representing the RSPCA and John Curtin (former ALF activist). Interestingly enough, Robin Webb would become the ALF spokesperson after dropping his role in the RSPCA. Whilst there is no question that the RSPCA and the ALF would not see eye to eye run many things (even tho the RSPCA did assist in corroborating laboratory footage by the ALF and used in in their campaigns), looking at the chronology of this video in the broader UK animal liberation movement historical timer it would bring the question of how much that discussion was a way of appealing as many different folks as possible by presenting both arguments “opposing” each other.
As always, the talk carries on to bring up how consumers simply will change their butcher shop for a big supermarket counter, and that those animals suffer more, and that the best way of winning the British public is through education, law changing and advocacy.
The conversation is old and the arguments are the same, but this small news clip shows how maybe that diversity of tactics can be used even if it appears to be “against” each other, in order to further the struggle.
Three goats and multiple rabbits liberated from exploitation in Italy.
Now they are in a safe space where they will be cared for and able to live their lives as they deserve, free and happy. They will know freedom away from exploitation and death.
They will never be slaves again.
Animal Liberation Front.”
SPANISH:
Recibido anónimamente:
«Tres cabras y varios conejos liberados de la explotación en Italia.
Ahora ellxs están en un lugar seguro donde se serán cuidadas y van a ser capaces de vivir sus vidas como se merecen, libre, feliz. Tendrán una vida en libertad alejados de la explotación y la muerte.
