'Your Neighbour Kills Puppies' lays out how governments responded to the force and influence of the brave campaigners of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) who attempted to liberate animals in laboratories. Just as SHAC were hit with laws to restrict their protests, smears of ‘terrorism’ or ‘extremism’, character assassinations, and violent policing, so too are progressive campaigns right now. If we are to win, and we cannot afford not to, we need to learn lessons from the past and draw inspiration from them.
PLUTO PRESS: The systemic and institutional exploitation of the planet has exterminated 69 per cent of the world’s wildlife since 1970. One-sixth of the UK’s monitored species are now in danger of extinction. And, shamefully, despite the monumental scientific shift in our understanding of animal sentience, this hasn’t created a paradigm shift in the way we treat non-humans. I know I’m not alone in feeling an enormous weight of guilt for being part of a generation that has failed to get ahead of the curve to deal with these critical and humanity-defining issues… But it doesn’t begin or end with these sorts of existential issues.
Animal research is another ugly example of human interaction with nature. It’s an archaic branch of science which, by now, should be a dark blemish resigned to history books. With in-vitro and other forms of humane testing, its twenty-first-century relevance to human health is questionable at best. Yet, thousands of wild macaques are stolen from their family groups and bundled into sacks before being transported to sprawling, overcrowded farms. From there, it’s a long, miserable journey in cramped, dark cages to the final destination – often a UK laboratory. Fatalities are so normalised that ‘deaths in transit’ are grimly factored into shipping calculations. These primates share some of our sophisticated mental states, including the capacity to plan, problem-solve, and identify inequity. But despite possessing elements of cognitive function equivalent to young children, these condemned beings are sliced open without pain relief.
Have we lost our minds? Of course, it’s not just primates. A sadly diverse assemblage of animal species can be found in research laboratories, from rabbits to cats to horses and deer. But closer to home, as I bed down for the night with my miniature poodles, Sid and Nancy, I’m haunted by the distant howls of dogs in hellholes where, as Tom Harris recounts in the book you are holding, puppies are punched in the face by the ‘civilised’ species they co-evolved to love and live with. We see the emotions of our canine companions when they are happy, sad, scared, or excited. We smile as we watch them wag in their dreams and marvel as they learn to read us far better, often, than we do them. My dogs quite literally saved my life. And yet, over two thousand beagles are bred in the UK annually for the research industry. It’s a painfully short life in small concrete runs or cages, with little stimulation and even less affection. If knowing this doesn’t keep us up at night, it should.
We like to view ourselves as a nation of animal lovers. We have comparatively advanced laws aimed at safeguarding domestic animals and wildlife, and we’ve even begun legally recognising their sentience. Yet, for many animals in laboratories, the level of meaningful protection is pitiful to non-existent. If the Home Office grants a licence, and they usually do, acts of violence towards animals, which would see most of us imprisoned, are legitimised. From my experience, no one should need to be an activist. But thankfully, some people are simply unable to turn a blind eye to the soulless stare of injustice. Whether it’s people like Marcus from JSO trying to slow the climate crisis or Tom and the other brave campaigners of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty who attempted to liberate animals in laboratories. The gentlest, wisest people are often ignored or attacked by those elected to safeguard them. Risking prison, or worse, for trying to shield others from harm, is not a decision anyone takes lightly. These individuals know we cannot allow the narrative to be written by wilful ignorance or vile vested interest.
In Your Neighbour Kills Puppies, Tom lays out how the British and American governments responded to the force and influence of the SHAC model. Much of the response was unprecedented, but it did not happen in a vacuum. Just as SHAC were hit with laws to restrict their protests, smears of ‘terrorism’ or ‘extremism’, character assassinations, and violent policing, so too are progressive campaigns right now. The tactics developed to end SHAC did not end with SHAC. As leaders fail to keep their side of social contracts to protect civilisation and their inadequate laws laugh in the face of screaming defenceless animals, we must continue to call on our democratic right to shout above the noise. When our leaders respond badly by dialling up the distraction and passing new legislation to attempt to mute us, we must mobilise and follow in SHAC’s footsteps. If we are to win, and we cannot afford not to, we need to learn lessons from the past and draw inspiration from them. This book is essential reading for anyone dreaming of and fighting for a brighter tomorrow. Ultimately, the world will be destroyed by a lot of good people doing nothing. So, I’ll end, before Tom begins, by asking . . . what are you going to do? Please do something. SOURCE…
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