Category: Unoffensive Reports

After a relentless campaigning against HLS that bright them to the ground an anonymous donor bailed out HLS in 2001.

Whilst HLS believed this to be a saving move, people did not feel deterred and kept fighting.

In this ALFriday, you can watch a collection of news clips from different British TV reports on the demonstrations just after the donor saved HLS from bankruptcy.

Historically, the determination to shut HLS is one of the biggest and strongest emotional drives that the animal liberation movement has had. Even with the media against them, SHAC was able to gather more and more folk who fought against vivisection with a huge plethora of tactics.

Today, HLS still operates under the name of Envigo, worldwide.

Not that long ago, footage from the situation in animal laboratories in Spain surfaced, resulting in a new campaign called Rescate Vivotectnia.

What will it take to bring vivisection down? And how are you helping in order to achieve their liberation?

It’s been a while since our last update. There are a few different reasons, but the main one is simply that we are trying to restructure how Unoffensive works in terms of work distribution and responsibilities, so with that we’ve slowed down our social media work. 
 
 We are very curious to know what our followers and supporters think we should be putting efforts towards in the context of social media and media creation. 
 
 Of course, Hit Reports are not something we have any form of say. They are published as and when they are received, thus we cannot change the amount that is published in any way, but there are other fronts we can focus on. In the past we’ve published “ALFridays”, “Incite, Conspire, Inspire”, “Flammable”, “A is for Anarchy”, “Tech and Sec 101” and a plethora of other series focusing on bringing knowledge and information to those who follow us. Sadly, because they don’t come with very saucy looking ALF photos, they don’t tend to be very well received. 
 
 For that reason, we would like to hear your thoughts about which series work and which are not too useful. What interests you? What do you think UA could focus on? 

Even more importantly, we would be happy to hear from folks who might want to take responsibility for a series, or any form of media and information creation to submit to UA. If you think you’d like to help, you’re more than welcome to contact us over private message or even better, over email. All contact details are on our website.
 
 Lastly, we would like to mention that even if our social media work might’ve slowed down, we are of course still working on aiding folks in prison and folks who have ended up in court. Prisoner Support one of the biggest pillars that UA will always fight to maintain. 
 
 This month has been a pricey one. We’ve had to pay for servers, domains and a bunch of other bits that keep us up and running online, so we managed to send a bit less than the standard out to those who need it. 
 
 Our Patreon support has also dipped, possibly due to uncertain economical times, but we would like to show our deepest gratitude to anyone who supports us or has ever supported us via Paypal and Patreon or even buying merch. You all are fucking awesome. 
 
 Everybody needs to know that the money we receive is not for any form of personal gain, wages or whatnot. Money is used to support activists in need as well as cover the costs of maintaining our platforms. 
 
 If you think you can afford it, it would be awesome if you could join our Patreon team: 
 
 www.patreon.com/animalliberation

And if you prefer throwing a few coins as a one-off, PayPal also works: 
 
 unoffensive_animal @ tutanota . com
 
 Thank you again to everybody who keeps helping and supporting and encouraging us to keep working.
 
 UNTIL WE WIN 
 
 UA 

Many of you have been asking for it, so we’ve restocked all t-shirts and hoodies. It took us quite a while as sourcing Medium and Large garments was a lot harder due to many factories shutting down due to COVID, but they are now here. Because many folks have asked for them, we have also restocked on Defend Direct Action flags!

For anyone that has any questions about merch or has encountered any issues receiving their parcels, please instead of private messaging our account, just drop an email to unoffensiveshop(at)riseup(dot)net and remember to include your order number to speed up the process.

As always, we would like to remind you that our shop is set up for you to choose the price you’d like to pay. This is to ensure we can cover costs of printing but still give the chance for folks to donate extra if they can afford it or if they want to! Remember that Unoffensive is not for profit and the money raised is redirected to projects, prisoner and arrest support and costs related to our work online. We do not take any money for ourselves and we are not interested in personal gain.

All orders this week will include a Wildfire magazine and a bunch of stickers completely for free. Last time we printed flags they didn’t last more than a week, so if you’ve been looking for one this is your chance. Thank you again for supporting our work and liking Unoffensive enough to represent with our merch, and infinite thanks to the many talented artists that have donated their time and skills to make things you like wearing.

You can grab some merch visiting our website: www.unoffensiveanimal.is/shop

And if you are able to, join our Patreon! It is the best way to support us economically and you can donate very little every month! www.patreon.com/animalliberation

UNTIL WE WIN

UA.

 (CW – Antisemitism, nazism, fascism)

In October 2019, a mink farm was set alight in Sweden. Almost half of the farm was destroyed, causing almost 100K USD worth of damage. A report sent anonymously read: 

 “There is now one less mink farm in Sweden. It was burned down in the heart of the Swedish mink industry: Sölvesborg, a small town of inbred animal abusers and extreme racists.

The farm was empty, but now future abuse is prevented. No animals were hurt. Unfortunately, no mink farmer was killed in the fire.

To all fur farmers in Scandinavia. You might be next!

Close down before it is too late.

Djurrättsmilisen – The Swedish Animal Rights Militia

in Memory of Barry Horne (RIP)”

This came as no surprise. Sweden has a track record for animal liberation direct action, and many reports are signed as Djurrätsmilisen. But it was everything but ordinary. 

 Sometime after the happening, leaked media showed two teenagers setting the farm on fire. It was a video with a fascist-metal soundtrack published in a fascist channel owned by The Base. 

 The Base is a Neo-nazi group that believes in accelerationism. They believe that society needs a “push” (meaning, creating instability in society through acts of sabotage, bombs and assassinations), to start a new civil war. They believe in a “White Europe” and claim that all wrongs in society are caused by the Jewish people. 

Whilst it was odd to put a report that condemned “extreme racists” and dedicated the action to the memory of Barry Horne with a fascist Neo-nazi group, it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. Many Base members have taken eco-fascist action to cause chaos in their fantasy world of accelerationist revolution. 

Soon after, two people were arrested. One of them would spend nine months in custody awaiting trial. 

A couple of weeks back, they were sentenced. The trial exposed their involvement in fascist groups, with photos dressed in Nazi uniforms, writing manuals about how to create explosives, and even detailing their intent to kill a judge and bombing an abortion clinic in Stockholm. It also shed light on the action itself. They were planning to release the mink, but as they had not reccied the place beforehand, they did not know the farm was empty. They then decided to pass to plan B, setting the place alight, and they tried and failed to burn two different building until they used the sawdust used in the farm to burn the mink sheds. 

The report was probably a poor attempt to throw the cops off the scent, which was not very effective as both boasted about the action in their telegram chat rooms. 

The sentence was unsurprisingly lenient for the nazis. They were asked to pay a fine and given suspended sentence after being found guilty of arson. 

 This is one of many examples we should be remembering to understand why the animal liberation movement is political. Not only because the abuse of animals is systematic, but also because nazis and fascists should never feel welcome in any environment. Whilst the pair were not involved in any Swedish animal liberation groups, as a community, we should ensure nazis are not welcome either within groups, or online. We cannot “leave politics behind” to “focus on the animals” because nazis and fascists are always a danger to our communities. 

The animal liberation movement is anti-fascist. 

 ANIMAL LIBERATION NAZIS? FUCK OFF! 

Let’s make things clear from the beginning; animal sanctuaries do an immense, thankless and relentless job and are deserving of as much funding as we possibly can provide. They not only offer a place of rest, healing and happiness to animals who previously were used and abused by anthropocentrism, but they also offer a space where folks can get politicised, can learn about speciesism or can simply take a break. They are necessary and no one should be less than grateful that people give up their life to create safe spaces like that. 

 But this is not about animal sanctuaries. This is about the animal liberation movement, and about keeping afloat in the ride that is capitalist society. The past few years, the vegan movement sucked up a great deal of resources, mostly directed towards so-called “saviours” but also some other organisations focused on vegan outreach. This was not just about small donations from individuals, but also about venture capitalists with tens of thousands to spare that could see a potential growth to their fortune by “investing” in figureheads that would teach activists how to convince folks on the streets to buy the products those venture capitalists have stocks in. The funnel was obvious, and it was exponential. The more money venture capitalists put towards the “vegan saviours”, the more notice (partially thanks to publicists and videographers contracted with those funds) the grassroots movement would take towards them, redirecting partially or totally their funds towards that same goal. The “saviours” were created as a marketing strategy. 

 Fast forward three or four years, and folks start feeling that things are not like they thought they were. You start hearing voices of discontent about how figureheads are spending their money or receiving huge wages, and slow and steady the philosophy of “donate to sanctuaries, not saviours”, extends in a fringe of the vegan movement and in a big part of the animal liberation movement. Improvement, right? right. 

Let us redirect you to our first paragraph once again for folks to not misinterpret our words. Sanctuaries are worthy of as much (economic or otherwise) support as we possibly can muster. But where is the nuance on “support sanctuaries, not saviours”? Over the past couple of years, this dichotomy has created a bilateral concept of where money should go. And if you choose one, it is wrong, and if you choose the other one, it is right. 

The problem is, sanctuaries are not the only worthy cause to support. From anti hunt groups who spend their time searching for traps or standing between the wild and the hunter, to direct action groups doing whatever they need to do to make the animal industry tumble, many worthy causes are lost in the lack of nuance. Those organising effective campaigning need support to take their campaign to the next level. Those who spend night after night coding the encrypted applications you use to organise, or the browser to search your information, for free, need support. Those creating anti media, like us, or like Biteback, or Crimethinc, or 325, need help to upkeep web servers and technology to keep bringing that media to you. The folks who organise Food not Bombs and feed as many folks as possible on the street? You guessed it. How about the folks who access farms and breeding centres to provide the wider audience with the photos and videos we all use during outreach? And the folks in prison who cannot eat vegan unless they buy from commissary? And those who were arrested during a civil disobedience action and need to cover a fine? There are many, many avenues within our movement that need all the support we can give. 

 But at the end of the day, capitalism bleeds all of us dry. We only have so much, and we can only give so much to those who need it. There is no doubt that we shouldn’t put ourselves in a situation where we cannot provide for ourselves to support worthy causes. But what is also certain is that we need to be more nuanced than the “either or” dichotomy we have created within the movement. 

Unoffensive has been running for the most part of four years. In that time, we have been privileged enough to regularly support multiple prisoners, to have enough in the reserve to cover fines for people who had trouble with the law, to fund groups that needed a bunch of radios, or a pair of boots, or building material for a treehouse in an occupation. We have also spent quite some money to keep our platforms accessible to all of you, without censorship, when governments have tried to shut us down. In the past couple of months, we managed to cover most of the fines that Djurfront were facing, for demos against a fur farm that will very soon be closed, whilst also sending enough funds to three different prisoners and helping an anti hunt group get their vehicle fixed. All that work is because people have been generous enough to donate to us, and the collective donations have helped many folks keep fighting the fight. 

We have also turned down requests. Many more than we would like to say, and many more than we have fulfilled. The only reason is that we do not have enough funds to help everybody. 

 So this huge write up is just an attempt to make people think about how we have allowed a false dichotomy to determine how we behave in relation to funding and donations. And whilst money is an uncomfortable topic, we still believe it to be an important topic to cover. Money is trash, yet we still need money to navigate capitalism. If you can afford it, donate to whoever you feel is making good use of that money. Get informed, support whoever needs it, or simply use that money to create something better in the world. 

So what do you think? What is the best way of managing money within the movement to help as much as possible? We would like to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

 If you can afford it, we have a Patreon. Folks can support us with as very little a months or with a lot a month. That’s your choice to make. Or you can just donate to other funds if that feels better to you. We are not here to make money off other folks and have zero interest in personal gain. 

www.patreon.com/animalliberation 

 UNTIL WE WIN

 UA. 

The year is coming to an end and it is as good of a time as any to thank everybody that has supported Unoffensive. All we have achieved would have not been possible without all of you on the other side, donating, sharing, commenting, sending complaints and criticisms and encouraging us to carry on. 

It certainly has been a weird ride. Except for the very beginning of the year, we haven’t done any workshops through 2020. That’s the first time in five years that we’ve missed big activist meetups like Earth First! and that we’ve not travelled to multiple countries to meet people and discuss and learn and share. We cannot wait to start all that over as we believe it to be the best way to grow and expand our knowledge. Until then, you can always reach us via email! 

 In true fashion of “new year new me” and blatantly copying @the.cranky.vegan we have a little list for any of you wanting to make 2021 a revolutionary one. Of course, we are big believers of getting things done, so instead of more ideological ideas, we have a few things to add to your To-Do list: 

 1- QUIT GOOGLE. 

Alongside Facebook, they own the internet, and they own you. They sell you too, your data, your activity, your behaviours and your hopes and dreams. Find alternatives. As a search engine, try DuckDuckGo instead. Set it up as your standard on your browser! Instead of Chrome as an internet browser, try Brave. Of course, we would recommend TOR, but for everyday use, Brave can be very useful! Google Maps? Try OsmAnd app instead. How about phones? Google owns Pixel, and it can be de-googlefied! Check GrapheneOs or CalyxOs. Disconnecting Google from your life is a MAJOR anti-capitalist step you can do with very very little difference in your life. 

2- SUPPORT YOUR COMRADES. 

Choose a prisoner, or two, and start writing letters. Once a week, simply send a letter out to someone in prison. It takes virtually no time in your life, but it opens the windows to a huge world for someone incarcerated. Remember that those you cheer with likes and comments under HIT REPORTS are the same as those who are locked up in prison. They also need some love. 

3- BECOME COMFORTABLE WITH THE UNCOMFORTABLE. 

Get used to walking the countryside at night, in the dark. Get dropped away from the city with a map and walk your way back. Call out the police on the streets. Sneak into a university lesson. Shoplift your dinner. Whatever the task, put yourself in places you are not supposed to be. Familiarise yourself with that uncomfortable feeling and learn to manage your adrenaline. Legality is not just papers and rules, legality also lives in your mind. Kill the cop in your head. 

 4- DO SOMETHING ANONYMOUSLY. 

Don’t misunderstand this one. We are not encouraging anyone to go smash a window with a face covering. That would be a terrible, terrible act of vandalism. What we are encouraging is for you to become accustomed to doing things without the backing of social media. Join your local food not bombs and don’t tell your entire following about it. Go to a demo without posting about it. Have dinner without taking a photo for Instagram. In this world of social media platforms, likes, shares and instant gratification challenge yourself to do something without the approval of anyone else. And of course, never smash a window without a face covering. Covid travels faster on glass shards. 

 5- TAKE ACTION. 

The world is full of show watchers. We are guilty of creating them by sharing news of direct action. The reality is, you have the same power as anybody else to do anything you have in mind. Start small. Wheatpaste the streets. Graffiti “Plants will dance on the ashes of capitalism” through your city. Challenge bailiffs at a squat eviction. Stop looking, dreaming about the “what if”. The revolution is in your hands. 

 See you in the next riot 

 UA

Do you have spare coins? We have not reached our initial goal on Patreon yet. 

www.patreon.com/animalliberation

As you know, one of the main tasks we do is to serve as an anonymous platform for folks who decide to take action but want to remain anonymous. Be it the liberation of animals from a p[lace of exploitation to the sabotage of infrastructure or tools used to abuse animals and the earth, Unoffensive receives reports from around the globe to be published anonymously.

With it, there is the question of how to send those reports securely. Whilst in reality, any form of internet communications is never 100% secure, folks can take steps so they are safer online in order to ensure they can keep working without the burden of prosecution by the law. In this post we want to briefly cover the ins and outs of report sending.

Let us start with the most basic of all. You should NOT send reports online over instagram or Facebook private message. It is not private and it is in fact very easy to track down. This might come as a surprise to many, but we have received reports over social media before, and we suspect it to still be a thing in the future. We do not want to know who you are, and if you do not want folks to know who took action, you should not be using insecure platforms. If, on the other hand, you want to publicise an open rescue, that is for you to choose, but we rarely platform that kind of action as it already carries traction in other social media groups.

So how do you actually send a report? We have an exhaustive explanation on our website under the “Contact Us” tab, but we can quickly explain over here. There are two main methods that you can chose from, one being the form within our website and the other one, using a spam email address. Regardless, both of them require a couple of steps before you do any sending.

The first step would be to connect to a VPN. VPN serves as a mask between your computer and the Internet Service Provider. Instead of you asking the questions to the Internet provider, you tell the VPN to ask those questions for you. You NEED to understand that using solely a VPN does not equate to being secure, anonymous or private online. In this case, we only need the VPN to not let your internet service know you are connected to a TOR network (we will explain this shortly!). You can download and use very intuitively RiseUp VPN or ProtonVPN.

Once you are connected to a VPN, you want to open TOR. TOR is like any other internet browser, but it uses multiple jumps (or nodes) to go from the request to the answer. For that reason, it is a lot more difficult to track down your internet activity. It also comes packed with tools that help with privacy and don’t let websites spy on your behaviour. You can download and install TOR (for free!!) in torproject.org

Once you have connected to a VPN and opened TOR, you have two choices. One is to simply fill the form in our contact us and click send. We have it configured so that it is encrypted and only us holding the private key are able to understand the language of the email.

If you do not want to fill up that form, you can instead use a spam email address (never your personal address!) to send a report. You can go to any spam email service like tempr.email, which creates a disposable address without any details where you can compose an email and send it to unoffensiveanimal(at)riseup(dot)net.

If you need to send media (photos or video) you should be aware of metadata. You can read more about it on our website. Once you got rid of metadata, you can simply attach it (whilst still using TOR and a VPN) to any file sharing service (like WeTransfer, also free) and then paste the link to download the files in the same email as the report.

The report should not include any personal details or anything that can give away your identity. We don’t need to know, and we (almost always) simply copy and paste the report without any editing. Be mindful about what you are writing.

It is as simple as that! You can read more about it on our website www.unoffensiveanimal.is/contact-us

Stay Safe.

LOVE AND RAGE.

You’ve been asking for it for a long time and we have finally managed. All clothing sizes and designs have been restocked, and we have added a new design to the website for all of you who basically have a whole Unoffensive wardrobe!

Our new design ‘All Animals Are Equal’ by @pduthiedraws, is based on a personal take on Animal Farm, by George Orwell. We’ve had enough of folks depicting pigs as evil and using their image to represent dictators and police. Pigs are fucking badass animals, and in our personal Animal Farm story, they are instrumental in bringing down the establishment, one Molotov cocktail at the time! Grab yourself a hoodie or a tee and support our work!

Our tees and hoodies are always printed on organic cotton, certified fair-trade and climate neutral and with vegan ink, so that you feel like the world is better while reading buzzwords about greenwashed capitalist fucking bullshit.

Every order from now until the end of December will include a free Wildfire Magazine and a few stickers, so if you are grabbing a present for a mate, they will get a few extra bits with it!

Remember that our merch is pay as you feel because we let folks decide if they would like to donate extra. We are not a shop, but a collective, and all money raised goes towards the different projects that Unoffensive have, from prisoner, arrest and court support to media production or funding grassroots groups. If you can afford it, throw a couple of extra coins with your hoodie order! Printing costs are high so any extra money is appreciated so we can keep sending money to prisoners or helping with fines!

www.unoffensiveanimal.is/shop

If on the other hand you don’t want any more clothing but you want to support us anyway, remember that we have links for donations:
www.paypal.me/unoffensiveanimal112
www.patreon.com/animalliberation

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RIOT

UA.