received via email:

“2 June 2024

Autonomous anarcho anti-speciesists countered the National Animal Rights Day (NARD) in Naarm (so called Melbourne) last Sunday. The following statement was read out:

“We are here today because NARD globally has been founded by Aylam Orian, who is a zionist and proudly served as part of the israeli occupation forces (IOF) for 4.5 years. A NARD event is planned in tel aviv, so-called israel this weekend whilst just over 100km away the Rafah Massacre is occuring and the genocide in Palestine continues to unfold. This is not a war, it’s a genocide!

Organisers of the tel aviv NARD event have expressed pro-israel and genocidal views on social media whilst also accusing those who stand for Palestinian liberation of anti-semitism. Opposing zionism is not antisemitic!

Over 45,000 Palestinian people have been murdered to date including children. The genocide has been occurring for over 76 years. The IOF are relentlessly bombing the Palestinians and starving them of food and water. Children are having their limbs amputated without anaesthesia, we are seeing mass graves where people have had their hands zip tied and been shot point blank. We are seeing refugee camps being targeted. The IOF, in which the founder of this event has served, are bombing people in tents. We are seeing footage of a father holding up the decapitated body of his baby with an inferno behind him.

And let’s not forget, the IOF is also killing the animals in Gaza. The cats, the dogs, the donkeys, the free living animals. This is what NARD is supporting! Also, locally in Naarm, NARD is platforming two transphobes, who also hold other bigoted views, today as speakers.

We unequivocally reject NARD and all it represents.

If you care about Palestinian liberation, if you care about LBGTQIA+ rights and women’s rights, if you care about human beings, if you care about the animals in Palestine who are being obliterated, if you care about fighting against all forms of oppression because they all are interconnected and not just that which oppresses animals – then you should be aware that this does not align with NARD’s and it’s organisers’ values.”

Italian anti-speciesists Collettivo Spazio Animale recently asked NARD to take a position against the genocide and to publicly demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza – NARD declined to do so stating that they do not intend to take a public position, that allowing all the countries of the world to join is a stance of peace and that the organisation doesn’t take a stance on human issues. It was noted that so called israel was also hosting a NARD event with Tel Aviv organisers stating “when i took off NARD shirt I put on IDF uniform” and Tal Gilboa – a prominent israeli animal rights activist who has worked as one of Netayahu’s advisers on “animal rights” (that is, advising the israeli state on how to veganwash* the atrocities they commit) using zionist rhetoric, such as israel having the “right to defend itself”.

Locally in Naarm, the far right and fascist creep into animal rights spaces was evident during the NARD event when a woman, holding a Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) banner, approached us to state “I’m with the Jews” (conflating Judaism with zionism) and then continued with “Fck the Palestinians” and “Fck you too”. The NARD crowd also broke out into a “Free, free everyone” chant – giving #AllLivesMatter vibes and illustrating a complete lack of understanding of systemic racism and white supremacy. Enter stage left, the transphobes then came out of the woodwork taking specific aim at our comrade holding a trans flag. There were other instances of aggression from the NARD attendees with derogatory, abusive, ableist language and multiple physical incursions into our space in which they used intimidation tactics to attempt to silence us and push us out of the space. Interpersonal violence has consistently been a tool of colonial invasion, imperialist occupation and the maintenance of white supremacy.

Just listen to the fascists, they will always reveal who they are. The misogyny, ableism, racism, white supremacy, islamophobia, transphobia and the utter hatred for Palestinians on display for all to see. This encapsulates NARD – they became a visual representation of the reasons we countered them. The parable of the N*zi at the dinner table comes to mind when we saw first hand who is in their ranks and what they represent.

By tolerating bigotry “for the animals” single issue vegans uphold various types of supremacist ideologies, which only serve to uphold the human supremacism they claim to want to dismantle. This is not a pathway towards liberation! The animalisation of the Palestinian people by zionists has been an integral factor in justifying the genocide and their ethnic cleansing. And yet here we have a supposed animal rights organisation refusing calls to denounce so called israel for its genocide against Palestinians. Also, by refusing to condemn the genocide in Palestine, they are upholding and further entrenching colonialism, imperialism and capitalism – the foundations of which need to be dismantled and destroyed. Colonialism, imperialism and capitalism are also responsible for the animal industrial complex.

Animals are also exploited by the war machine globally for weaponry testing and data collection. The weapons which are “field” tested on and used to kill the Palestinian people are first tested on and used to kill animals – the connect is here!

We also wish to highlight the parallels between the Animal Rights Forum (ARF) in February 2024 and the NARD event in Naarm. There is long standing history of problematic speakers being platformed at the ARF and issues with the organising group, specifically one of the lead organisers. This year, the organisers of the ARF knowingly platformed a zionist as well as transphobic speakers (also allocated speaker spots at the NARD event). Prominent animal rights organisations and individuals knowingly stood besides these fascists, in some cases hosting and financially sponsoring the forum. To the orgs and individuals who have an endless list of pathetic reasons why they couldn’t walk away from this forum in full knowledge (prior to the forum commencing) that a zionist was being platformed – we still say, f*ck you. For all the times you have looked away – for ignoring the fascists, the misogynists, the transphobes, the conspiracy theorists, the anti-vaxxers and the zionists in animal rights spaces. It is counter revolutionary! With the exception of Naarm Hunt Saboteurs and a Greens MP, you all refused to boycott this forum despite global calls to boycott and divest from zionist affiliated spaces. Neo-liberal bourgeois notions of “choice” cannot justify your decision to partake and stand besides fascists – a decision steeped in racism and white supremacy. The creep of the far right and fascism looks the same no matter where we turn.

Any space that is zionist affiliated legitimises the zionist colony. We demand total rejection of zionism. So called israel can prosecute this genocide with impunity because of the power they’ve amassed from infiltrating our communities and spaces dedicated to justice, including the animal rights movement. We call on all comrades to unequivocally reject and stand against the infiltration of zionism in animal rights spaces, which requires collective active resistance – not silence and complicity.

The origins of the animal rights movement was born out of anti-fascism and we will reclaim the movement from those co-opting it with far right and fascist ideologies – the NARD and ARF events represent the rise of the far right and fascism in animal rights spaces.

Given our counter was a womens only disruption, we channelled the spirit of the Palestinian resistance by women. Even feminism has limitations when the liberation of Palestinian women will not spur others into action – complicity in genocide is antithetical to feminism.

We reject the far right and fascist creep into animal rights spaces.
We reject the vegan washing of the zionist state. No amount of vegan boots in so-called vegan armies will ever inform our position. The oppression of other animals cannot be used to mask the subjugation of the Palestinians over decades.
We reject the performative theatrics (animal bodies are not props!), saviourism and “celebrations” whilst other animals are lined up on kill floors in their billions facing their impending slaughter.

We stand in solidarity with Vegans in Palestine and other comrades globally who have taken a stance against NARD this year. We stand with anti-zionist Jews who are on the frontlines of solidarity actions with Palestine. Judaism is not Zionism. It is not anti-semitic to oppose zionism and this genocide.

Also, we wish to hold space for some of our comrades who have had their communities bombed, injured and killed by the so called israeli state.

The Palestinian resistance has deep seeded roots in every corner of the world, including at the steps on so called Bourke Street in Naarm. In under 30 minutes, we managed to claim the steps and send them packing only for them to take their cringey photos outside a pharmacy and continue talking into a vegan echo chamber at an empty amphitheatre – we hope the acoustics sucked.

We acknowledge that our resistance was undertaken on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. Sovereignty was never ceded and we acknowledge the ongoing effects and suffering of colonisation on this land and those who have been fighting against and resisting the oppression for over 250 years. We also acknowledge the Elders past and present who continue to guide and teach. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.

Boycott and disrupt all spaces where zionists are platformed! Total Liberation Now! Long live the Palestinian Resistance!

End the occupation. Free Palestine. Free all Indigenous people, land, air and water.

No one is free until all are free.

THIS IS FOR REEM – THEY ARE ALL REEM.

– Anarcho Anti-Speciesists for Palestine – Naarm

• “Veganwashing” refers to a form of whitewashing meant to encourage positive association of a subject with veganism or animal rights. In the context of Palestine, veganwashing refers to the strategic promotion of veganism by the illegal state of israel, in order to make israel appear liberal and progressive and distract attention away from ongoing violation of Palestinian rights and the genocide of the Palestinian people. Examples include: tel aviv markets itself as the “vegan capital of the world”; animal rights activists partnering with the so called israeli government to promote “meatless mondays” at the knesset.

NARD #NARD14 #NationalAnimalRightsDay #NARDMelbourne #OurPlanetTheirsToo #BoycottNARD

FreePalestine #AllEyesOnRafah #StopArmingIsrael”

In solidarity with the palestinian struggle

A statement like this might feel redundant, too symbolic of a gesture.Normally we don’t care too much about writing such statements but with the current situation in Gaza and the silence coming from most of the anarchists in Germany we feel compelled to at least do this. With it we hope to take part in a bigger dialogue and find ways to position ourselves in anti colonial struggles.

We also feel that the struggle of the Palestinian people didn’t just start the last months but has been ongoing for at least 70 years, as they have been fighting against their erasure, for their land, history and their very existence.

The state of Israel is a settler colonial state, portrayed by the global West as a “beacon of light” or the “only democracy in the middle east” it has based its existence and expansion on displacement and genocide. As any settler colonial state it finds its foundations in systems of power perpetuated by the settlers that repress the indigenous peoples rights and culture, as well as the theft and exploitation of their land. All this is necessary to achieve the complete destruction and replacement of the indigenous people in order to establish itself.

We see this clearly through various Israeli – and foreign- politicians asking for the complete annihilation of Gaza and the creation of settler colonies in its place.

The occupation of Palestine is military. It is based as much in military occupation as in a modern day Apartheid system, even by the standards of the so called “democratic” world. Vast parts of the population exist as “second class citizens” and are subjected to a radically different legal system than the Israeli Jewish population. For example not having the same voting “rights” or being held without a trial for uncertain amounts of time under administrative detention.None of this would be possible without the constant and increasing dehumanization of the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world, that the West happily takes part in as well. It is once again the old tale of the “good and civilized” people against “the cruel barbarians” we have told so often. Speech about “human animals”, “less than human” and “12 year old terrorists” that is actively being reproduced through the mouths of various politicians both Israeli and not, serves exactly the creation and perpetuation of this narrative, that is so useful to the West.

In addition the constant accusations of antisemitism levied toward any who critique the israeli state are an insidious sleight of hand that places Israel in a category of perpetual righteous victimhood.Anti-zionism and antisemitism are not synonymous. The invasion has been accompanied by heightened repression against anti-zionist, anticolonial and anarchists Jews themselves, especially in Israel and Germany. The city of Gaza has been under siege for 16 years, with its 2 million residents living in what is described as the worlds biggest prison. The German media wants us to focus solely in the attack on the 7th of October led by Hamas and the remaining hostages. Little is being said about the past but also the present situation.

Since October 7th at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, people are faced with a man-made famine that is aided by the blockading of humanitarian aid by settler groups, at least half of the population of Gaza has lost their homes and infrastructure strategic to their survival is being targeted in the forms of hospitals, aid workers, press and telecommunications networks. Mass graves are being discovered like in the case of Al-Shifa hospital and horrowing details are emerging about the detainee camps from Israeli wistleblowers. How could we understand building a wall and keeping a city under siege, while blocking access to food and water, other than genocide. How many bodys trapped under rubble we have witness until calling this what it is?

For all of this the Israeli state can of course count on the complicity of the military industrial complex of its siblings the self declared West.Germany for example happily delivers weapons and ammunition for the ongoing killings in Gaza. In 2023 Germany exported military equipment worth over 300 million euros to Israel including bombs and ammunition of various kinds as they are the second biggest supplier after the US. For the German government and war industry the drive is for sure profit but not only that. Like the german war minister said they want to get the german war industry ready for war. What could be more helpful for this task than supplying other nations with weapons in their war efforts.They are so desperate for this to even subsidizing some of the Israeli weapon sales themselves. At the same time German politicians try to spread the narrative of “moral” wars like they did in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

To all the people that consider themselves anarchists in so called Germany, standing still while this war machine is rolling, is not an option. We consider remaining silent as a statement in it self. We cannot ignore what is happening around us just in order to keep everybody comfortable and avoid conflict or because we don´t have all the perfect answers.

This human eating war machine is fueled by German money and German weapons, so we can actually do a lot to bring it to a stop and while a few anarchists join the struggle others let those fighting alone when repression hits.

And two more things, as anarchists we don’t support any state but supporting the attempt to break free from the biggest prison in the world or opposing a genocide, should come without question.

Secondly the exchange of tech and the developments in the Israeli intelligence industry affect all of us and our struggles and should be stopped Do you remember for example “pegasus”?

Some anarchists from the squatted Hambacher forest

Received anonymously via email:

“Four hundred activists from across the country and beyond mobilised at MBR Acres on May 25th, in a sure sign that British grassroots animal liberation is back. MBR Acres breeds 2,000 dogs a year for the research industry. These dogs will be poisoned to death inside Frankenstein laboratories and then cut apart by sadistic lab technicians.

This was the largest turnout at a vivisection breeder in some years, and if the energy, rage, and determination are anything to go by, this is a movement once more on the rise.

Setting the tone, the night before, the iconic Louise Ryan proudly and publicly defaced and tore apart MBR’s fresh new advertising banner draped across their front gate. The banner, which bragged of ‘thriving’ dogs and benefits to human and non-human animals, was as offensive as it was misleading. If the CPS and MBR are brave enough to try to prosecute Louise for her courageous action, they will struggle to find a jury willing to disagree with her.

On the day itself, almost as soon as activists began to arrive, a sit-down protest blocked the main road. Police struggled to remove the activists as more and more people swarmed into the area. Smoke from flares filled the air as drums, megaphones, and hundreds of voices reverberated along a growing queue of blockaded vehicles. Eventually, the police gave up and officially closed the whole road for the rest of the day.

The little that remained of MBR’s vinyl banner, was ripped down and replaced with new signs denouncing the company and explaining the truth about their vile industry. Attempts were also made by some to climb the front gates.

Meanwhile, along the fence’s side perimeter, police seized at least one pair of bolt cutters used by activists to cut through it. As sticks and stones began raining over the razor wire, the fences began to shake as activists tried to tear them down.

Dozens of police stormed to the action, pushing, shoving, and throwing activists into ditches as they did so.

As police desperately tried to regain control of the situation, the majority of the protestors, who were now by the side fence, listened to speeches and held a minute’s silence. 

With the police distracted, just twenty meters away, two activists tore the chainlink fence from the metal fence posts, revealing enough space to get inside. Security began to panic, and screams of ‘We have a breach!’ were heard down the radios as backup flooded to the scene. Outnumbering the activists by three to one and setting guard dogs on the fences, the best opportunity to enter MBR Acres was lost.

As the protest dispersed, the action wasn’t quite over. Throughout the following night, MBR’s remaining signage was covered in red and black paint.

This is a movement on the rise, and anyone who experienced the action at MBR on May 25th will have felt the energy, spark and determination brewing. It feels inevitable that this hellhole will close. It’s not a matter of if, but when; and that is up to us.”

Below is the anonymous reportback submitted about the Animal Liberation march in Santiago. Certainly, Chile knows how to party on the streets!

“Record of the march for Animal Liberation 2023, held on Sunday, September 3 in Santiago (Chile, South America). Free call demonstration that takes place for the third consecutive year after the revolt and pandemic.

Concentration that began at 2:00 p.m. from Plaza los Heroes, cutting the south road of the mall in an eastern direction, breaking into the comfort of the rotten citizens with a wide display of anti-speciesist propaganda, expressing slogans of struggle through canvases, posters , scratches, pamphlets and shouts against all forms of exploitation validated by this murderous society.

As always, the journey was escorted by the state’s henchmen, who this time did not try to break up the protest. Moment taken advantage of by individualities related to chaos and sabotage who, without anyone’s permission, made their multiform actions flourish.

During the tour there were various gestures of solidarity with the 4 companions of the Susaron case, who were raided on November 4 by PDI lackeys, serving more than 10 months kidnapped still in the capital’s prisons awaiting trial, accused of the arson attack against the disgusting meat company on September 19, 2022.

Arriving at Plaza Dignidad, there were provocations by the Boric police, shouting threats through the loudspeakers in their armored cars, which were stoned by the group that continued to inconvenience and cut off traffic for as long as possible and then ended the march. no arrests.

Nothing to celebrate in this month full of blood spilled by all the torture and murders committed in the name of the country and its vomitous speciesist traditions.

Animal, human and earth liberation.”

Some folks have anonymously sent us a reportback of a banner drop covering the entrance of a Max Mara store in Italy. Read what they have to say:

“Banner with painted writing “No alle pellicce – No to fur” hung and tied in front of the Max Mara store MaMa (https://www.instagram.com/mama_boutiquefg/) in Piazza Umberto Giordano square.

Max Mara is still one of the biggest offenders when it comes to fur and only recently the activist scene in Italy has picked up the fight against the cruelty of this fashion brand.

It is also the country where activists should strike harder since Italy is the Maramotti family’s home. Let it be known and made clear that exploiting animals for fashion is not a welcome practice, not even in their own turf.

A reminder that any form of activism in any city, not just the big ones like Milano and Bologna, is important to spread the message and intimidate Max Mara. A simple blanket, some paint and zip-ties can help decorate their shopping windows for citizens to see before opening times.

Be relentless, be dedicated to the cause.

Animal liberation is for the victims of this system, not to inflate anyone’s ego or wallet.

Until every cage is empty.”

We received a reportback from activists in Greece about a protest and blockade outside Dior. Have a read, and remember that you’re also welcome to send us any reportbacks from any actions you’d like publicised!

“On Friday, June 9, 2023, we held a symbolic blockade outside the Dior store on Voukourestiou Street in Athens, Greece.

LOUIS VUITTON & DIOR are killing animals for their profit

The multinational giant LHMV (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), which owns 75 of the most famous fashion companies (Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Loewe, Loro Piana, Kenzo, Celine, Sephora, Princess Yachts, TAG Heuer, and Bulgari et al.) kills animals for profit. The multinational giant LHMV (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), which owns 75 of the most famous fashion companies (Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Loewe, Loro Piana, Kenzo, Celine, Sephora, Princess Yachts, TAG Heuer, and Bulgari and more) kills animals for profit.

In fact, in 2022 they had revenues of 79.2 billion euros, profits which are based on the exploitation, torture and killing of millions of animals for their fur and skin. These companies have the so-called prestige of their name intertwined with their “valuable” skins (more valuable to customers than to the human animals killed for their skins?)

---

…. We need to reject altogether the anthropocentric culture that wants the body parts of non-human animals to be treated as raw materials. Time to put an end to their sale and exploitation. We can move into a symbiotic world that respects and treats animals as equal companions in survival on planet earth.

NO MORE BLOOD FOR THEIR PROFITS

LOCK UP EVERY COMPANY THAT TORTURES AND KILLS ANIMALS FOR PROFIT

Antispeciesists against the leather and fur industry”

Original text on athens.indymedia.org/post/1625810/

We have received a reportback from a demo against hunting in Athens, Greece. Read their words below:

“On Sunday 2 April, a group of antispeciesists was gathered outside the Mediterranean Exhibition Center in Athens to protest against hunting.

A translated part of the antispeciesists call is following:

Antispeciesism and anarchy: connecting the struggles

Human imposition on non-human animals is perhaps the most common and normalized form of violence. In particular, hunting, which has always been a show off power of the ruling class and has a historical role in the imposition of man over non-human animals. Proclamation of power and masculinity are the main characteristics of hunting. The young boys become men by executing and posing with the lifeless bodies of those they have murdered.

For our part, we consider the Anarchist/Anti-authoritarian struggle in the light of total liberation and we invite individuals and groups who recognize the necessity of antispeciesism discourse and actions, comprehending them as integral part of the struggle against every form of oppression.

We consider the human species as a part of the ecosystem and not as the top of a hypothetical pyramid of it, so we do not treat animals and the natural environment as a raw material to be exploited or as a source of production and profit. Therefore, we stand against the exploitation of the natural world and non-human animals by any authoritarian system.

AGAINST NATURE’S EXPLOITATION, FIGHT FOR THE EARTH AND FREEDOM

UNTIL TOTAL LIBERATION”

Photo: Folks stand with a banner that reads “Hunting is not a hobby, it’s murder. No guns in hunters’ hands”

Below there is a reportback from an blockade action at a rodeo in Australia. It originally contained a petition link, which we do not share, but that you can find by searching Vegan Raising.

“2 April 2022, so-called Australia

Ten activists occupied the arena of the Bendigo Pro Rodeo on Saturday night, bringing the brutal display of animal abuse to a crashing halt. After two horses had already been brought bucking desperately in to the ring, ten women stormed the centre of the arena by scaling the gates, locking on to each other with chains and padlocks, and refusing to move. The activists wore “Say No To The Rodeo” T-shirts and released red smoke in to the air as a reminder to onlookers of the blood and violence perpetrated against enslaved and tortured animals.

The activists endured verbal insults and imtimidations by men who enjoy tormenting horses, steers, and bulls for kicks, and by a crowd of 900. Victoria Police stood impotently by and watched as men in turn poured water over the women’s heads, trapped them under a hessian blanket, and used horses hooves to kick dust in their faces.

The activists stood their ground and managed to stop the show for just over an hour before the police cut their chains and took them away. Although the entire show was not cancelled, a powerful message was sent to all attendees that tormenting, terrifying, and harming animals is NEVER okay! Some animals were seen being driven away in horse floats, having been spared their impending torture and humiliation. Many patrons left early.

The rodeo is one of the most blatant forms of animal abuse that exists in this country today. The activists are calling on all state governments to make rodeos illegal. They are also calling on the public to boycott this brutal form of entertainment that supports cruelty and violence towards innocent animals.

This disruption took place on the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Warrung and the Taungurung Peoples of the Kulin Nation, so-called Australia.

Say No To Rodeo”.

We have received a reportback from a demo but we believe there is a need to give context before.

Over the past few months in the UK, T&S Rabbits, a business that breeds and farms rabbits for meat and fur in the UK, has once again applied for new sites to be open or to build new slaughterhouses in their farms. This is not the first time they try to expand and they very rarely get any success out of their applications, as rabbits in Britain are regarded as pets, so a big part of the local population tends to campaign against those applications.

Historically, T&S has attracted attention a few times. The ALF has reported the liberation of rabbits through multiple raids in their farms , not too long ago Animal Aid produced a very short video showing the conditions of the farmed rabbits, living locked up in hutches until they are slaughtered. Corporate Watch also produced a piece about them as they are one of the very few businesses still able to farm for fur through the loophole of farming for meat.

We received an anonymous report from someone who attended the latest demo in their Derbyshire site, the past 31st of March.

Here are their words:

“Over 60 activists gathered outside the Atlow site of T&S Rabbit murdering scumbags to oppose their planning application to build a rabbit slaughterhouse on their site.

As activists gathered, the cages behind the doors were empty. The owners have moved all rabbits off site, scared of the backlash. Fucking great, you should be scared! We know where your other farms are. We know where you already have a slaughterhouse. We know where you’re planning applications are for. We are watching you. We will be back. And the cages WILL BE EMPTIED!”

PHOTO: sent over with the reportback, that is the current situation in T&S rabbit farms throughout the country.

This report is from an anonymous individual who joined multiple groups in the mass trespass action on MP Richard Drax estate in Dorset (UK) on Saturday 24th April 2021.

“With great excitement, we finalised our preparations for the mass trespass on scumbag Drax “Draxula”‘s massive country estate. Full credit is given to those involved who planned routes, organised drop-offs, scouted the land, and assembled humans ready for the day.

As we gathered, the smell of spray paint hung in the air as we scrawled the last of our messages onto banners. Taking the tower was the priority, and we split into small groups to spread across the estate. With such a huge mass of land and small numbers of scummers about, this guaranteed some of us would make it there, and when we did, we posed for photographs and took in a view that is usually off-limits.

Trespassing together empowered many folks to roam a piece of the earth that has been unfairly taken from us. There were both beauty and destruction in the woods we crossed. Gorgeous blankets of bluebells and pockets of wild greenery gave way to barren pine plantations and pheasant pens – surrounded of course by blue plastic feeders and plastic tunnels hiding fen traps. More murder and desolation caused by a land hoarding scumbag in what could be a luscious wilderness. We smashed up the fens on the way out and will be back soon to neutralise any more.

We spotted some other shit in our travels too! I’d like to thank Drax personally for the trail camera he donated to us, and for the entertaining footage that was on it. A most satisfying candid view of other protestors doing their thing, then the grumpy gamekeeper chasing them away. Running down from the tower with this gift in my bag, battering fen traps as we went, with the police helicopter circling overhead was the highlight of the day. Rest assured this camera will now be put to much better use protecting wildlife.

Pissing off Drax is of course excellent fun, and annoying rich dickheads everywhere can only be encouraged. However, the deeper meaning of this action and the urgency to which we must all step up was and remains rooted in our hearts.

The fact that trespass is even a thing is outrageous – this earth belongs to all of us and no-one should be able to hoard land and prevent other humans from running free. Yet still, under the new PCSC Bill, trespass could soon become a criminal offence, endangering all our freedoms and seriously impacting many already marignalised communities. We must stop the bill and defend the right to roam, reside, and protest in any way we can.

Tory MP Richard Drax was targeted for multiple reasons. He was one of the first MPs to call for the criminalisation of trespass in 2018. As well as using his land to rear and shoot thousands of pheasants for fun every year, he also hosts the fox murdering South Dorset Hunt, and is responsible for the brutal deaths of many badgers culled here. He claims that the country is “full”, yet excludes everyone from the enormous piece of land he resisdes in. His estate is surrounded by the longest wall in England, a wall his ancestor financed with money from slaves, intended to keep local people out and aid his profiteering. Richard Drax still owns and profits from a sugar plantation in Barbados in which 30,000 slaves were murdered by his predecessors. He refuses to apologise or pay reparations for the damage done whilst he still benefits immensely from his inherited wealth. All in all, Drax is an outright piece of shit.

I encourage everyone, get out, get active, defend what is ours and fight for what is right! As long as nature is being destroyed, we will keep trespassing to defend it.”