Peter Young guest chat on The AR Hub video Transcript

This is the video transcript for the guest chat which took place on The AR Hub on the 30th October 2010

The video comes in 5 parts

Part one

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

www.arhub.net

Peter Young Guest Chat on The AR Hub

The Animal Rights activist and popular speaker for direct action, Peter Young, will be the guest for this weeks guest chat on The AR HUB.

You can find out more about Peter on his wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Daniel_Young ...Or the Voice Of The Voiceless website http://www.voiceofthevoiceless.org/ The main 11pm time displayed is UK time, for a more local time either see the list of times below or check the World Clock http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html Just enter the date in the converter as 30th October 2010 and the time as 23/11 pm. choose "UK/London" as the from time and then choose your local area as the To Time Zone. Hit convert and you will have your local time for the guest chat :) Brief List of Global Guest Chat Times Australia (Sydney): 9am 31st October Australia (Perth): 6am 31st October Australia (Darwin): 7:30am 31st October Canada (Halifax): 7pm 30th October Canada (Toronto): 6pm 30th October Canada (Winnipeg): 5pm 30th October China (Beijing): 6am 31st October Denmark (Copenhagen): 12am 31st October France (Paris): 12am 31st October Germany (Berlin): 12am 31st October Ireland (Dublin): 11pm 30th October Italy (Rome): 12am 31st October Japan (Tokyo): 7am 31st October New Zealand (Wellington): 11am 31st October Russia (Moscow): 2am 31st October Spain (Madrid): 12am 31st October USA (Boston): 6pm 30th October USA (Washington DC): 6pm 30th October USA (Chicago): 5pm 30th October USA (Denver): 4pm 30th October USA (Los Angeles): 3pm 30th October UK (London): 11pm 30th October We fully expect an interesting and intriguing guest chat with Peter and hope you can all make it :) www.arhub.net

Vegans against PETA

I just seen this logo plastered all over facebook by the twilight zone admin Carolyn Bailey linked to a blog post from the Gary Francione wannabe Dan Cudahy. If it wasnt so serious and sad this would be absolutely hilarious, another of the online hermits attempts to divide and conquer! I'm no psychic but I could easily predict this group of self obsessed idiots will soon be starting a new campaign called "Vegans against Vegans" but then again arent they already active in this? We all know they spend their time speaking out against every action by activists that they deem inappropriate under the false pretence its bad for the movement! They claim ownership of an animal rights movement which in many ways clashes with their so called belief system.

Yes these people are a small minority of invaders to the REAL movement and in reality we shouldnt worry about which part of AR they are campaigning against now but at the same time I have always said there are potentially excellent activists out there being fed this bullshit and buying into it. PETA isnt perfect and a long shot short of being the organisation we would all like to see them be but isnt there much more important targets to be concentrating our energy on?

Soon we will see the twilight zone and its insane admins joining forces with the People Eat Tasty Animals idiots in their unbalanced attempts to bring down or discredit PETA

There are enough anti PETA groups out there without the vegans who hate vegans getting in on the act. I say these people are a disgrace not only to the movement they claim to be a part of but the animals they claim to be here for, can they really get any lower?

Thankfully the real AR movement continues great work while these fools play with their distractions on the sidelines and the majority of AR activists are dedicated to the animals. My advice to anyone new to the movement is to avoid these people like the plague and stay focused on what's important. The animals need us more than ever and bashing other orgs or groups who are primarily on the same side is as much use top the animals as vivisection is to human health!

Shaz Kelly AR Hub Interview

Interview With Shaz Kelly

Shaz Kelly is the founder and administrator of the Avalon Guinea Pig rescue based in Nottingham, England.

Q1) Hi Shaz, thanks for taking part in this AR Hub interview. Can you please start by telling us about yourself?

Shaz: Hi ,well I run a guinea pig rescue in Nottingham with several unpaid staff. I work normally 4 hours per day and the rest of the time is devoted to looking after the guinea pigs here at the rescue.

Q2) How did you come to start working with Guinea Pigs in the first place and then start your own rescue dedicated to guinea pigs?

Shaz: I started by having 2 of my own which were mis-sexed by the pet shop,the female then had babies which we kept as pets then we decided there are way too many guinea pigs out there unwanted and looking for homes,sadly there aren't many guinea pig rescues around
so we thought the best thing to do was to pay out and get lots of hutches and cages and advertise ourselves as a place where people could bring their animals that they had no time for rather than just dumping them,which sadly people still do

Q3) You have a commendable spirit which can only serve to help the guinea pigs :) How long has the rescue been in operation and what is the maximum number of guinea pigs you can hold at
any one time?

Shaz: Thank you, well we started about 5 years ago but became " official " 3 years ago ( with our own website etc) the maximum number we can have here at any one time would
be around 150-170 guinea pigs, that's using part of the house to put indoor cages etc in as well as the hutches in the garden and shed.

Q4) With such experience you must have experienced dreadful situations but also fulfilling moments of joy. Can you give us an example of your worst and best experience during your time as a rescue?

Shaz: The worst experience was from an old man that breeds rabbits and guinea pigs,2 boys he gave us were covered in huge deep wounds on their backs,the wounds oozed infection so they were taken to a vet,after 5 weeks of treatment they sadly both died as the infection had eaten through the holes into their lungs and killed them,the vet said that the boys had been left like that for weeks before got them for them to be that bad,it was heartbreaking to lose the little guys as they had such lovely personalities and despite being pulled about having their wounds treated day after day they didn't complain the best experience was a little girl we called Sweetpea,left to die ( by the same breeder) on a shed floor after giving birth to 6 dead babies,24 hours later she was laying on her side bleeding and couldn't stand up,we brought her home and after 5 weeks of massage on her legs,bathing her wounds ( holes underneath where rats had chewed at her) and helping her walk again she was re-homed. there was also a boy piggy we called Alf,brought to us by the RSPCA,he had been dumped on a common in a pile of shavings,his skin from head to toe was thick and crusty and split where he had tried to turn his neck,his eyes were closed due to infection,people thought he was some kinda of hedgehog and didn't recognise him as a guinea pig,we bathed his sore skin with soothing gel and managed to " peel off " the old crusty skin,which left him with no hair all over,we put drops in his eyes and continued with the soothing gel,after 4 weeks his hair started growing back and he put on 500gms in weight,he was placed with a baby boy guinea pig and both were re-homed a fortnight ago. There are times I have shed so many tears over the state of some of the piggies we have had come in,and still they keep coming in.

Q5) Many will remember the online campaign called "Old Father Hubbard" which was mainly brought into the open by yourself. This was where an elderly gentleman who lives locally to you was responsible for creating a hell on earth within his property. An avid breeder of many small
animals and obsessed with profit over life the animals in his care where living in horrendous conditions. Can you give us an update on this situation?

Shaz: Sadly its still going on,as far as we know he was banned from selling from his house,but thanks to 2 girls who went undercover he sold them 2 rabbits,they had been there a week or 2 previous and got a bun out that's constantly being treated by the vets,according to the girls the animals living conditions are worse than before,there was a petition sent out for people to sign but instead of it going to where it should have it mistakenly got sent to him, he now has the names and addresses of people who signed that petition and is going to those peoples houses posting threatening letters through peoples doors,the letters state the people are going to get hurt unless the campaign against him is dropped,the Police are involved as the letters are being taken to them..but while all that is going on he is -still- selling them at the Melton Auction and also buying them from the auction too, i dread to think of the cold and hunger the animals at his place are still suffering in this cold weather,it seems to be going on
forever.

Q6) Sounds very frustrating, hopefully things will get better soon. Please keep us updated! Running a rescue can be emotionally draining, how do you manage to keep it together in times of stress?

Shaz: Its extremely frustrating and as you hopefully it will get sorted soon. Sometimes I just sit down and have a good cry, I think the only way I keep it together is by thinking of those guinea pigs that need us and that if it wasn't for us most of them would probably be dead by now, I do lay awake some nights thinking about them, the little creatures get me through so much bad stuff, other times I go to the York Air Museum and chill out with the guys that work
on the Victor Bomber ( I am part of the Victor Bomber Crew up there) that takes my mind slightly off the bad things, but they're always there in the back of my mind no matter what I do, listening to some Pink Floyd helps a lot too ( as daft as that may sound)
I don't do holidays anymore as too much time is taken up with the rescue,last time I went away to Berlin,a pet sitter looked after the piggies..or should I say " should have " looked after, but sadly we came back and she hadn't done her job properly and due to not putting hay and clean water in when they needed it ( it was mid October) we lost 30 in 3 weeks,2 of them were our first piggies that we had so now I don't bother really going away anymore.

Q7) Sorry to hear that Shaz, losing a companion can be horrific especially when you work so hard to make sure they have a comfortable life! To change the subject a little :) Vegan/vegetarian diets are one of the biggest talking points of the animal rights movement, are you either vegan or
vegetarian and if so when & why did you make that change?

Shaz: I'm now Vegetarian,it changed me when i went to the Melton cattle auctions and saw how the cows and sheep etc are treated down there, all crammed into lorries,beaten with sticks and basically looking sick and ill next door to the auction is the slaughterhouse and there's a certain part where cattle are sent straight into there, queueing up to die..,also what changed me funnily enough is when we stayed at a pig farm in Wales a few years ago,and I saw how the babies were born etc and then the farmer described which ones were going for slaughter. animals deserve a go at life as much as we do,the conditions where animals are
kept before slaughter are deplorable,and I have always said if it has nerves it has feelings, every animal deserves a right to live

Q8) First of all excellent work in having a vegetarian diet, we at The AR Hub are supportive of ALL measures which help the animals no matter how big or small. How have you found the vegetarian diet and what is your favourite vegetarian meal?

Shaz: It takes some getting used to but there wasn't a lot of meat I like anyway
my favourite food is actually Waldorf Salad, I could eat it by the ton !
and Goats Cheese and Honey Ravioli, anything with salad.

Q9) Do you see yourself working towards a vegan diet or do you feel the vegetarian diet is sufficient?

Shaz: I think the vegetarian diet is sufficient for now, I don't think I can go fully vegan yet, I love my goats cheese and salads etc

Q10) While The AR Hub would recommend the vegan diet we would never alienate anyone who is vegetarian. The road to veganism is a stepping stone procedure and as long as your on that road that is the main thing :) Your involved with some online activism, how has your experience been with interacting with other activists online?

Shaz: Its been great, there are some really nice and very helpful people, and so very friendly, it certainly opens your eyes to what goes on behind closed doors.

Q11) Care to elaborate?

Shaz: Any problems or questions that I have had regarding the campaign we're doing against that certain person I actually feel like I have got backing for once rather than us trying to struggle through alone, and that everyone are like minded regarding animals rather than " oh its just an animal "

Q12) Glad your finding it so helpful. Before we wrap up this interview I just wanted to ask about funding. It can be hard financially running a rescue, how do you deal with this aspect of it?

Shaz: We really struggle big time, we had to pay out of our own money to set it all up, we had a large grant from a pet superstore but that went nowhere, we haven't even made enough yet to cover everything we paid out in the beginning. We make appeals for hay and food etc but hardly get anything in return. The only money that's made is through donations when one of the guinea pigs is re-homed and now more people are giving them up its costing more each week, it costs around £150 every 3 weeks for food, most pet food suppliers when they're emailed and asked for anything they can donate don't reply or if they do they don't seem interested, its all about what money they make and don't seem to want to help
rescues. The hutches that were bought with the grant after a year are already
leaking, the company who made them has we think gone bust so we're desperately needing
to put new roofs on the outside hutches before winter comes, most of the time it feels like no one wants to know and these animals rely on us.

Q13) Shaz maybe you could give us your website address as well as details on how to make donations?

Shaz: Ok well the website address is
http://www.freewebs.com/avalonguineapigrescue/

our address is on there and there is also a paypal address
avalonguineapigrescue@hotmail.com

there are stories and pictures on there about some of the guinea pigs we have
had come into the rescue,some sad but some with good endings

Thanks Shaz its very much appreciated. While that concludes the main interview we would like to have a little quick fire round where you choose one of 2 options :)

1) PETA or ALF

Shaz: not sure

2) Facebook or twitter

Shaz: Facebook

3) Sea Shepherd or Greenpeace

Shaz: sea Shepherd

4) War or Peace

Shaz: Peace

5) More or Less

Shaz: More

6) Winter or Summer

Shaz: Summer

7) Book or television

Shaz: book

8) Love or Hate

Shaz: Love

9) Single or Married

Shaz: single

10) Black or White

Shaz: white

The AR Hub would like to thank Shaz for taking part in this interview

Please visit the Avalon Guinea Pig rescue website and if you can make a donation

Would you like to be interviewed by The AR Hub? Would you like to suggest someone else for an interview? contact Dev ious with details :)

The AR Hub is holding a guest chat in just under 7 hours time with the lifetime activist and author Keith Mann

Find out more about Keith here or from his website From Dusk Till Dawn

Here is a brief list of global times for the chat

Australia (Sydney): 9am 24th October
Australia (Perth): 6am 24th October
Australia (Darwin): 7:30am 24th October
Canada (Halifax): 7pm 23rd October
Canada (Toronto): 6pm 23rd October
Canada (Winnipeg): 5pm 23rd October
China (Beijing): 6am 24th October
Denmark (Copenhagen): 12am 24th October
France (Paris): 12am 24th October
Germany (Berlin): 12am 24th October
Ireland (Dublin): 11pm 23rd October
Italy (Rome): 12am 24th October
Japan (Tokyo): 7am 24th October
New Zealand (Wellington): 11am 24th October
Russia (Moscow): 2am 24th October
Spain (Madrid): 12am 24th October
USA (Boston): 6pm 23rd October
USA (Washington DC): 6pm 23rd October
USA (Chicago): 5pm 23rd October
USA (Denver): 4pm 23rd October
USA (Los Angeles): 3pm 23rd October
UK (London): 11pm 23rd October

To find a more local time use the World Clock Converter

While the hub are not asking members to pre-register any questions we do expect members who attend the chat to have respect for our guest and other members. If you would like to ask Keith a question either wait for a break in chat or send a private message to our admin Lorna who will be moderating the chat. You can of course also register your interest in asking a question at any time before the chat begins by sending a message to Lorna.

ARB had Keith as out guest when the ARB Social Network was up an running, it was a very interesting and entertaining night, I am looking forward to enjoying another guest chat with Keith Mann.

To take part in the guest chat just go to the AR Hub network

www.arhub.net

If you have problems signing in or joining the network email us at contact@arhub.net

If Only AR Were A Religion

I have always said that if the animal rights movement were a religion we would receive more respect. By that I meant respect from the wider world not the actual activists within the movement. Now I say not only would we receive more respect from outsiders but we would also receive more dedication from within the movement. I look at the muslim religion with both fear and envy, the followers of this religion are so dedicated to their cause they are willing to give their lives. Can the same be said for the animal rights movement? Does it take the promise of countless virgins in paradise or the guarantee of a place in heaven to demand that dedication?

We can learn a lot from religious movements with their dedication and unity. A muslim women can claim discrimination against an employer simply for not being allowed to wear their burka, should we not also be allowed to claim such discrimination when our colleagues devour their meat filled lunches? Should we not also be discriminated against when our local restaurant advertises its availability of Halal meat? Are we not discriminated against by the McDonalds or KFC adverts flashed across our televisions daily? Of course we are! There is only one difference from the AR movement and the many religious movements out there and that is they have more determination and organisation than us!

All that separates our needs from theirs is a historic book. if the Koran or Bible said eating meat was a sin would we be seeing muslims suicide bombing slaughter houses and christians picketing the fur farms? I have no doubt this would be a reality!

What makes the situation worse is there is no proof for the existence of god, alah, Jesus or Mohammed other than a book written thousands of years ago. AR has the advantage of fact on its side, the facts of AR are there to see for anyone willing to open their eyes or minds! The great injustice against the animal kingdom by human beings has not only existed longer than any of these historic books but STILL exists today!

We need the same determination and unity from our very own activists. Liberation is a reality and if we want it we can have it we just need to work hard enough to get it, together, united and organised!

The Witness

I saw this video on Facebook


And it caught my imagination. I then followed the link to the full documentary and I'm glad I did :)

It has given me the major kick up the arse I was badly needing. After returning to the online world of AR I have quickly become downhearted by the usual BS infighting which plagues the online side of the movement. Watching this guy and listening to his simple equation of what is required of all us activists has given me a refreshing drive.

This mans struggle to get the truth out there not only brought me to tears but has again recharged my batteries and I'm ready to get going again :)

I recommend this doc to anyone who is questioning whether we are making a difference

Watch the full thing here

The Internet Hermits Who Crave A Divided Movement

After a lengthy break from the online side of the movement I recently decided to go back to it on a part time basis. My reason for having a break in the first place was I was becoming disillusioned by those I call the dividers, a group of internet hermits who have decided for reasons only known to themselves to dedicate their entire waking lives to online activity. Activity which includes the determined attempt to divide the animal rights movement and make a mockery of any activist or operation which disagrees with their theory. That theory being the sole use of education within animal rights and any other method of action being deemed not only unacceptable but extremely damaging to the movement. It probably wouldn't be so bad if they actually did go out there and do some education but their refusal to leave their blogs or websites for even the shortest of time hinders their ability to practice what they preach. Normally I wouldn't care less how fake activists such as this spend their time, its their lives after all but the endless stalking and aggressiveness from such divisive hermits made me rethink my online activity. I'm glad I chose to have a break since I managed to get out there and do a lot more ground work which is really what I am all about.

The internet is a great tool for recruitment and educational purposes but due to the highly divisive nature of certain individuals online who constantly try to hijack the online AR movement it is sadly becoming a frustrating and embarrassing method of activism. Recently since I have become involved with the AR Hub network it has come under attack from dividers such as Carolyn Bailey, Roger (Rabbit) Yates and the other administrators of the other single method network. They constantly try to brainwash the online community that other site or blog admins who are not part of their little yes sir no sir group are all for nothing but violence within the movement. This is complete and utter rubbish and if anyone buys this bullshit then they also need to have a look in the mirror. The philosophy I support and promote is the Any Means Necessary philosophy, this of course means that I fully support ALL methods of action as long as they are beneficial to both the movement and the animals. What the dividers always fail to mention is that I am fully supportive of educational and diplomatic methods of action just as much as I am supportive of any forceful methods of action. Before anyone listens to the silly attention seeking accusations from these people I suggest they do a little research first, its not difficult to find out what other online activists support and dont support.

Another act of complete and obvious division circulated by these egotistic and self righteous trolls is the portrayal that the heart and actions of any activist can be weighed by their IQ is nothing but absurd. On many occasions they have tried to ridicule other activists intelligence and bluntly state they can't possibly call themselves AR activists since they are unaware of a certain persons written philosophical work or read it in full detail. Since when did these fakes decide who was or was not part of the AR movement, who made them judge & jury?

Take this ridiculous exchange of views for example
(since first posting this link Carolyn Bailey has heavily edited the comments on her wall by deleting 90% of her own comments and one of my replies, it now doesnt make much sense)

Or this ill informed blog post from Mr Rabbit himself
(Since first posting this link Roger Rabbit decided to delete the entire blog post & comments with it only to re-post it again without the comments of course)

This is my response to that blog post from Yates (scroll down to the comments)

Also a small note on the activists who have given their time to Bailey's site as guests only to be abused and attacked afterwards, Pete Buthane & Anthony Marr amongst others! It is no secret that Bailey & Yates want you on there so that they can make you look like a fool. I have to ask myself why good activists freely provide their services to this site for them to be shamefully ridiculed and insulted. Mr Paul Watson from Sea Shepherd is their next target, for a site and administration which openly and directly insults the Sea Shepherd organisation as well as Paul himself its nothing short of a waste of an opportunity and a disgrace to hard working activists out there doing something real! Something these hermits know nothing about.



Those who know me from the days of ARB and MahKah will know Bailey and her band of merry fools have given me a rough ride in the past for no reason other than I was administrator of ARB. This involved the release of my personal telephone number to the internet and the harassment of ARB/MahKah members. This stopped once I closed ARB (note: I didnt close ARB because of them ;) but has once again raised its ugly head as I venture into a new network.

Before they spread more bullshit let me reassure you this is not a post centred on jealousy or a means of discrediting another site. I'm not interested in competition within the AR movement, I have always fully supported a united movement working together in the hope of achieving liberation for our animal friends which is why I get frustrated when dividers like this are so dedicated in keeping it divided.

I just wanted to make sure any ARB followers and Hub members knew the situation. Now lets get on with the REAL work :) hats off to all the true activists out there who are fighting the real fight and making a true difference for our long suffering friends!

Pete Bethune Hub Guest Chat Review

Yesterday on the AR Social Hub we were lucky enough to have as our guest Mr Pete Bethune, the captain of the Ady Gil sea vessel which was sank by a Japanese whaling ship during a Sea Shepherd Campaign early 2010. he then single handedly boarded the Japanese whaling ship responsible for the attack on the Ady Gil which led to his arrest and trial by the Japanese authorities. now he is back and proving himself as a worthy speaker and campaigner for a number of issues including Animal Rights. before the chat I had heard from a certain group who had entertained Pete as a guest on their site that he was a hypocritical meat eater out to make a quick buck off the back of his sudden fame within the environmental and AR communities. To be entirely honest I would not have asked Pete to be a guest on the hub so soon after he had been a guest on another site. However pete had been invited before by the WAAR administration and I fully respected that.

The guest chat with Pete didnt get off to the best of starts since due to a misunderstanding about times Pete was late coming onto the Hub. As always with these open chats (no predetermined questions) it was a little chaotic at the beginning but once things had settled down hub members asked Pete some excellent questions and I have to say he gave respectable answers.

There were questions about his time in Japanese custody to which Pete told us the Japanese were excellent hosts and very friendly, all apart from a sergeant who was a little rough with him. Then came a question about whether or not there would be an Ady Gil 2, Pete explained the problem of the costs of such an undertaking for Sea Shepherd but he was unsure at the present time whether this would be possible. he did say SS were trying to secure another ship to the value of $1 million at the moment. Then the issue of Pete's dietary lifestyle came into play, he was asked to comment on how he could be so emotionally attached to the plight of other living beings when he himself is not vegetarian or vegan. At first I have to admit his answer surprised me, he stated he had only eaten meat twice since his liberation from Japan. There was a definite silence in the hub chat after this and I am pretty sure most activists in there where thinking the same thing. How could Pete say this as if it were a good thing, how could such a prominent figure in the world of AR have such views. Pete then continued to explain that he was trying very hard to lead a full vegetarian lifestyle which would eventually lead to a fully vegan diet for him. I am sure there were still mixed emotions about this in the chat but for me if its a case of encourage or depress I always think it best to encourage. Pete said he was trying to be honest with us and I must admit I admired his bravery to come into a dedicated animal rights site like the hub and yet still announce his struggle with his dietary lifestyle. As I said in the chat yesterday I fully believe veganism to be a stepping stone journey which has to be given encouragement throughout the journey by those who have made that journey, to ridicule or repel such travellers only serves to alienate possible vegans from completing that journey.

Before I knew it we were well over the hour mark and although Pete was willing to hang around an unfortunate incident occurred with other activists (not loyal members of the hub) who decided to make the situation difficult.

Overall the guest chat with Pete Bethune was highly interesting and I am glad I was able to attend. I found Pete to be both an admirable and honest person who I hope makes that journey to veganism to enhance his AR activism. Thanks to Pete for being the Hubs guest and to the members for making it a remember-able guest chat.

As the hubs first guest chat I look forward to more :)

ARB Is Back On The Social Curcuit

ARB was approached by the administrators of the WAAR Social Network and NewAR Online with the idea of joining together onto one social network site as a dedicated online animal rights hub. I thought about it since I wasnt so sure about going back to the social network situation but thought it would be largely beneficial to both the animals and the movement, somewhere we can all concentrate our online operations in one place.

The ARB Blog will remain as will the NewAR forum. We hope you will join us at the hub and look forward to hosting some great guest chats, interviews, fun events as well as serious debates. Each site is only as good as its members and followers so really the admins can only do so much, what this online social hub will do is really up to you.

I look forward to seeing any ARB followers, past or present over there :)

Click here to check out the new hub

http://www.waararb.co.cc

Eyes Of Slaughter

Twice a week for the past few months I have driven past a local slaughterhouse, once in the morning and again in the evening. Each and every time i do pass this hell hole inside I'm screaming, for the first time the other day I seen a truck parked down the side of the house of horrors and they were unloading the sheep. I made eye contact with a few of these poor souls as they were leaving the truck and I was ill. My entire body was shaking as I wrestled with this insane situation. There were two voices in my head, one was telling me to remain calm and there was nothing I could do. The other voice was raging with anger screaming that those abused creatures needed help NOW, not when us activists manage to organise our little picket protest with our banners and posters just to be ignored by the ignorant. This is why we need more haste within the animal rights movement using Any Means Necessary. If there was an organised and structured movement capable of immediate deployment anywhere it is required then those that are suffering and need us the most would have half a chance!

In reality there simply wasnt anything I could do for those animals that day, thats the brutal truth of the matter. I'm not giving up though and fully intend action against this hell hole, its what us activists are here for and what we must do!

The Opinion Of Choice

So many times when telling someone I am vegan and why I am vegan I get the reply "well its all down to each person opinion or choice". Bollocks!!! Its nothing to do with my opinion or my choice its to do with FACT!

FACT: EVERY animal including humans wants to live a life free from suffering & abuse.

FACT: Human Beings are responsible for causing endless amounts of suffering & abuse.

FACT: Each individual has an obligation not to be part of that suffering & abuse to the best of their abilities.

FACT: If you consume meat, dairy products, use fur, use products from animal testing or play a part in the human domination of other sentient beings for financial, moral or personal gain then YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!

Animal Rights is not a religion or belief, its not a difference of opinion and its certainly not an optional choice its a lot more simple than that. Its a RIGHT! A right to live a life free from suffering and abuse.

Just like the confusion, hurt and pain a human child feels who has been subject to suffering and abuse each and every animal experiences similar emotions. The majority would never stand by and watch a human child experience such pain and emotion so why do some ignore the same amongst the animal kingdom? They say ignorance is bliss, I say ignorance is an illness. Just like depression or any mental dysfunction, ignorance allows us to create our very own matrix. Do you enjoy being robotic and part of the assembly line or can you take a second to WAKE UP and see the system for what it is?

You may choose to be ignorant or even express your own opinion but me, I'll stick with FACT!

Dont tell me its a difference in beliefs when I KNOW billions of animals are suffering and being abused every day. Its not a belief its a simple matter of fact versus fiction. You choose to believe in fiction and I know it to be FACT!!!!

Try opening your eyes and leave the robotic existence behind, become less of a number and more of a individual. You may be surprised at what you find but I can assure you that you will never look back!

ARB Joins NewAR

It has been a while since I have posted but I was asked to help out with the online arm of the NewAR organisation and after careful consideration I decided to go for it! I like the vision of NewAR as well as the direction it is trying to take Animal Rights, its no big secret I have said for some time now the animal rights movement needs more organisation and structure, it seems I'm not alone in this way of thinking (thanks NewAR ;)

Anyway I'll be working with NewAR for the foreseeable future and highly recommend any ARB followers to consider joining us. You can find out more about NewAR at the NewAR public open forum (remember if you join to use a nickname), I look forward to seeing some of you there!

http://newar.freeforums.org/portal.php

Promising New AR Network

I came across a new animal rights network which is looking promising for those of us who support any means necessary. Its called NewAR and looks and feels just as good as the old ning sites like ARB, I have signed up and will keep this blog updated with its developments!

Click here to go to the NewAR network

Ning Users BE WARNED!!!!!

I would just like to take the opportunity to warn the AR community about the custom social network website Ning. As most of you will know ARB was the first animal rights concentrated social network at the beginning of 2009 using the Ning platform. Since then a LOT of other AR Ning netoworks have popped up, some great and others not so good. At the beginning of 2010 after some serious cashflow problems Ning announced they will no longer be providing a free service with all free sites to be closed down in due course if they did not convert to a Ning paid service. After hearing about Ning ending their free service it was decided to close ARB down rather than go to the paid option however some of us decided to continue with Ning and are opting for the paid service, BIG MISTAKE!

First of all you have to realise why Ning decided to stop offering its extremely popular and successful free service, simply because its in SERIOUS financial difficulty with debts running into the millions. Ning will unlikely recover from these debts and in the end will be no more, in the meantime their trying desperately to get some cash and using underhanded tactics to achieve this.

I have spoken to many Ning creators who transferred to the paid service recently only to have a great deal of money taken from their credit cards, well over and above the advertised amount for the paid service! When these Ning creators have contacted Ning asking for their money back guess what happens? Yes they never get a reply! Its daylight robbery in the making and when Ning decide to jump ship and run (which I feel will not be long after they finally stop the free service) there will be little chance of Ning users seeing their money again.

So please consider yourself warned and spread the word, DO-NOT PAY FOR NING! There are alternatives out there, maybe not as eye catching as ning but just as useful. If I was to reccomend one then it would have to be Spruz

The important thing to remember is most of what you want to do can be done using free services on the internet, when paying for a service check and double check they can be trusted :)

Who REALLY Runs Facebook?

Here's an interesting video detailing how Facebook's privacy policy is..... Well they don't really have one. Everything on Facebook is fair game to the highest bidder and there are plenty of scary bidders out there taking advantage!

Friendly Cat Finds A New Friend

This lovable cat finds a new friend

Armed Resistance Is On Its Way

Many of you will know I am a huge supporter of Any Means Necessary when it comes to the animal rights movement. This covers every option available to us from informing people about what REALLY happens in the real world, educating and teaching to armed resistance, no holds barred attacking. Well I just wanted to talk a little more about my vision regarding the armed resistance animal rights so badly needs. For years the animal rights movement has been a moral driven movement which has held a strict unwritten code of conduct stating that no other living being should be harmed during the movements activities. While I agree this would be such a beautiful road to walk on I have to face reality and realise its not really getting us anywhere fast! Yes we have achieved amazing things in our history, mainly getting animal rights into peoples faces but we're constantly hitting brick walls at every turn. Now I say lets try something new, something radical, something desperate. Those we speak and fight for cannot wait any longer, they need us more than ever and I for one hear their screams every time I see pictures like these:

Of course most of you will have seen these pictures before and have been equally outraged as me but its clear to me that whatever we're doing isnt working fast enough. We then have to ask ourselves what can we do that would have an immediate impact, we have to answer that question with another. What will make people think? Yes the pictures, videos and educational operations are working but in a limited and slow capacity. We need something which has an immediate impact on the world and in my opinion that is an armed resistance. A resistance that lets every animal abuser worldwide know that they will face the consequences of their actions in the most severe way. Its time to step off our moral pedestal and face the enemy on level ground, show them we will no longer allow this holocaust to continue.

Many time when I speak to other activists about an armed resistance I get the same response, "we can't allow violence to tarnish our movement" Humans are animals too so we cant possibly hurt another human" "we would just be as bad as the abusers if we used violence" and so many more. I just cannot accept this way of thinking as a realistic movement, all our enemies know is violence, all they respect is violence and I say its time they were shown some respect!

There is also the issue that we may all be locked away in padded cells as soon as the authorities get wind of our resistance but I firmly believe with dedication, organisation and structure we could mount an underground resistance capable of instilling fear into the abusers. As much as I love the ALF and what it has achieved I now see the ALF as an excellent stepping stone and we must now move onto the next step and organised and structured movement which also includes a respected leadership. Don't worry I'm not putting myself forward as I would rather be on the front line but if we are to be organised and structured then we must have good leadership. This I admit is the stumbling block to an armed resistance since power hungry misguided activists could become an issue but with a little thought and understanding we could manage to overcome this!

An Armed Resistance within animal rights IS coming its just a matter of time, sadly that is exactly what the animal kingdom doesnt have is time.

Gay Couple Buy Daughter Custom Mink Coat

I was reading about a gay couple who had spent a fortune on creating their own little family which is fair enough but then I also read that they bought their 10 year old daughter a custom made mink coat, saying to the 10 year old girl "I don't care who throws paint on you". Should these guys actually be in charge of children? Me thinks not! Here is the article in full.
(Link to the original article at the bottom)


Couple with children

The family in My Weird and Wonderful Family (Channel 4) took a bit of getting my head around. They're more of an unclear family than a nuclear one. So there are gay dads Tony and Barrie. That's easy enough. And they have three kids – Saffron, Aspen and Orlando. Fine. The complicated bit is how these children came about, and I was quite relieved that even the kids themselves seem a bit muddled about it. Saffron says she's Aspen's twin sister, and the evidence certainly points that way – they came out of the same woman, at around about the same time.

They didn't get in there in the traditional way, though, as she wasn't their mum, but a surrogate. Their biological mother was an egg donor, chosen for her looks and her brain; one of them was fathered by Tony, and the other by Barrie. I don't think the kids have been told who's whose (we're not, anyway). To all of them, Tony is Dad and Barrie is Daddy, or possibly it's the other way around. What does that make Saffron and Aspen? Half-twins?

It gets more complicated. Because Aspen's egg split, and one half was put on ice, to be used later. So Aspen and Orlando are actually identical twins, even though Aspen is four years older. Orlando will always know what he's going to look like in four years' time: when he looks at his older brother, he is kind of looking into his own future. Freaky. Orlando says that if it hadn't been for Tony and Barrie, then he would have been a crocodile, but I don't think that's right. The three kids cost £250,000 to make.

With me so far? Good, because it gets better, or worse, depending on how you view all this. Three kids is so last year, now Tony and Barrie want more – another couple of half-twins, but with a different donor. This time they're going on looks alone, and have picked out a 6ft catwalk model from the biological mum catalogue. No one's allowed to know who she is, because it's just easier that way.

Saffron wants sisters, but she's out of luck: they both turn out to be male. By my calculations, one will be her half-brother, and the other won't be related to her at all, as they will have no common parents. But that's looking at it in a very narrow-minded, old-fashioned kind of way.

There is a small scare: one of the foetuses is showing a higher than normal risk of developing Down's syndrome. There is always the possibility of putting it up for adoption if it doesn't come out right, says Barrie. They're fine, though – two beautiful boys, Jasper and Dallas. Probably best to keep the receipts just in case. How long is the guarantee on a baby, I wonder? Now they can be brought back home to Essex (the baby-making takes place in California, where it's legal), one big happy family.

Well, there are a few little problems. Like the kids getting teased at school. And other parents complaining that Barrie has hijacked the school pantomime to showcase his own thespian talents as the Fairy Godmother. And Eamonn Holmes on breakfast television suggesting that what they're doing isn't natural. And the fact that pretty much everyone else in the country agrees with him.

Certainly some of their queeny behaviour, Barrie's especially, doesn't help. Like asking the kids who they prefer, him or Tony, Dad or Daddy. And getting Saffron a specially made mink coat for her 10th birthday, and declaring: "I don't care who throws paint on you." That's not really going to help.

(The Mink: From Farm To 10 year Old Girls Coat)

I'll leave all that to people who know right from wrong: outraged Daily Mail readers, God botherers, anxious liberals, people who have no problem at all with it. And you: let the debate begin.

As television, it's fabulous – one minute jaw-dropping, the next strangely touching. Daisy Asquith's film looks great, too; I like her trick of shooting them against a white background, like those photoshoots families do. She doesn't judge; her style is gently probing rather than confrontational. She gains their trust, and they give her – and us – what we want. The kids, too, because that's who we really want to hear from. They're certainly spoilt, precocious perhaps, and there is a touch of the Outnumbered monsters about them. Some of what they say sounds like it could have come straight from Barrie or Tony. Of course, it does – they're the parents, that's where language comes from. But they're nice. Normal even. Whatever normal is.

Click here to view the original article

Canadian Parliament Eats Seal In Defiance

Canadian parliamentarians tucked into a meal of seal meat on Wednesday to defy both animal right activists and the European Union, which has banned imports of seal products.

Some two dozen guests, surrounded on all sides by media, crammed into a small room off the main parliamentary restaurant to hear speeches backing the annual hunt off Canada's East Coast, which the EU says is inhumane.

"This support begins on the plates of Canadians," said federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea as she prepared to eat three small medallions of double-smoked bacon-wrapped seal loin in a port reduction.

The EU imposed its ban last year after a decades-long fight by what Shea called "misguided and mean-spirited" anti-seal-hunt activists. The seals are either shot or hit over the head with a spiked club called a hakapik, which critics say is cruel.

All of Canada's major political parties say they are in favor of the hunt, which takes place on ice floes in March and April.

"The Europeans simply don't know what they're talking about. Since time began human beings have lived with animals and they have culled animals," said Michael Ignatieff, leader of the main opposition Liberal Party.

He spoke at an earlier reception where waiters passed through the room carrying platters of seal terrine snacks. Ignatieff ate several for the benefit of photographers.

"It tastes delicious, actually. It's a meaty taste, a little gamy," he declared.

The meal was arranged by Liberal Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette, who said the hunt provided income for fishing communities in the Atlantic.

"We're sending a message to the European parliamentarians ... we want to say something so that opponents do not take to the floor with lies," she told reporters.

The EU ban has slashed demand for seal furs, meat and oil. Poor weather conditions and a lack of ice mean this year's hunt could be scrapped.

Contact Gail Shea (above) & Tell her what you think of the seal hunts: Shea.G@parl.gc.ca

Contact the idiot above (Michael Ignatieff) and let him know what you think of him Ignatieff.M@parl.gc.ca

To Read The original Article Click Here

Confused Much???

I remember when I first got myself involved with the online animal rights movement which is deeply rooted more in on facebook than anywhere else as far as I am concerned. Having created and administered the ARB social network no one can deny any other AR forum or network would love to have the attention of all those facebook AR activists, in fact as I have said many times one of the reasons I started ARB was to try and unite the online AR movement onto one site. Many people seen ARB as a success but not me, to me it failed. Maybe the goal was too far or the dream was just that, a dream but in the end ARB wasnt heading in the direction it should have been.

I look at the current online movement and there is little difference to the online community I joined nearly 2 years ago. I struggle to comprehend why we cant embrace a united and organised movement on or offline. Those of you who know me will be sighing deeply right now and saying "here he goes again about the united & organised AR" but there's no need to worry because I have finally realised its not going to happen. That realisation doesnt stop me from being confused. There have been a lot of opportunities for the online AR community to embrace a united and organised AR such as ARB, NIO, Mahkah, the ALF forums and even animal rights zone if it would open its doors a little wider (which it does seem to be doing these days). Yet some people are so hung up on facebook its scary. I understand people like to stick with whats familiar but every now and then it would help to take a walk on the other side and TRY something new!

The Ins & Outs of Exotic Animal Smuggling

Today I came across this article on another site which I found rather disturbing. What people will do for money never fails to repulse me. To think of the confusion and suffering these animals are enduring is both sickening and outrageous.

What kind of sick f***er is buying these rare and endangered animals.

here's the article I was reading

Earlier this week, airport authorities in Wellington, New Zealand, caught a smuggler as he tried to slip onto a flight. The German citizen wasn’t smuggling drugs, guns, or cash, though. His cargo was a bit more alive: 44 endangered skinks and geckos, all stuffed into his underwear. Why would anyone want to stuff reptiles into his underwear? Because there’s serious dough in it; the geckos would have been worth $2,800 apiece to European collectors.

Although this sort of smuggling job sounds bizarre, the truly shocking thing is how common such arrests are. It doesn’t get the same publicity as illicit drugs or weapons, but the illegal wildlife trade has quietly become one of the world’s biggest black markets. Here’s a look at how it works.

Just how big is the international animal racket?

The black market for wildlife is second only to the illegal drug business in size. It’s currently estimated to be worth more than $20 billion. Yes, that’s billion with a “b.” And it’s not just elephant tusks that are changing hands under the table. For every type of endangered species out there, there’s an eager collector waiting to shell out a lot of cash. For example, a pair of Queen Alexandra’s Birdwings—the world’s largest butterflies, with wingspans of up to 14 inches—sells for about $10,000. A baby chimpanzee goes for as much as $50,000. But the black market isn’t just for cute critters. In March 2009, New York officials broke up a huge smuggling ring that specialized in snapping turtles, rattlesnakes, and salamanders.

Why are so many criminals getting into wildlife smuggling?

In addition to being extremely profitable, it’s pretty difficult to get caught smuggling endangered animals. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is staffed with fewer than 400 law enforcement agents; by comparison, the Drug Enforcement Agency has 11,000 employees. And if you do get nabbed, the punishments are much less severe than in the drug trade. Let’s say you’re a narcotics dealer, and officials find you with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of heroin. Even if it’s your first offense, you could face a minimum of 10 years in prison, and you’ll be a convicted felon. But if you’re an animal smuggler with no prior convictions and you get caught with an equivalent cache of illegal butterflies, you might not even spend the night in jail. And if you’re a repeat offender, the consequences still aren’t so bad. When Hisayoshi Kojima, the world’s most wanted butterfly thief, pleaded guilty to 17 smuggling-related charges in 2007, he received 21 months in prison and a fine of just under $39,000. Such low-risk, high-reward conditions have led many drug traffickers to diversify into the wildlife business.

But what’s so bad about dealing butterflies?

Many scientists believe that the illegal wildlife trade exacerbates one of the gravest problems facing mankind: the mass extinction of species. Biologists like Harvard’s E.O. Wilson predict that half of all plant and animal species will be extinct by 2100, and that could mean dire consequences for humanity. Plants and animals pollinate our crops, filter our water, regulate the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, help decompose waste, and lead scientists to new medical breakthroughs—all free of charge. Each time a species goes extinct, we lose one of these unpaid workers. And because wildlife smugglers tend to target the species that are already the most vulnerable, they’re speeding up the rate at which we’re losing plants and animals.

Who’s buying this stuff?

This is the question that keeps wildlife agents up at night. Although officials have scored some major coups breaking up smuggling rings, the traffickers often refuse to reveal their buyers, which makes it tough to figure out what motivates them. Consider the example of a Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, which can grow up to 10 feet long and has a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. It’s venomous, and its saliva contains virulent bacteria. Who would want to buy that? Yet, Komodo dragons fetch more than $30,000 on the black market.

Part of the answer may lie in the psychology of collectors. Whether they’re amassing baseball cards or Beanie Babies, most of them start by gathering the common items and then build to the more unusual ones. Eventually, they start seeking out the things that are truly rare. As author Bryan Christy put it in his book The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World’s Greatest Reptile Smugglers, reptile collectors tend to follow a common progression. First, they get bigger species, then meaner ones, then unusual ones, and, finally, illegal species, which are also frequently venomous.

In truth, the animals that wind up living in some collector’s menagerie are the lucky ones. Many trafficked animals and insects are sacrificed to dinner plates and medicine cabinets. In China, turtles are often turned into turtle soup or ground into aphrodisiac powder. Other animals are killed so that smugglers can harvest a certain organ or body part. In a number of Asian cultures, bear paws are thought to impart strength and virility, and their gallbladders are used to treat everything from cancer to hemorrhoids. A single bear gallbladder can fetch thousands of dollars. And as we all know from the Indiana Jones movies, the practice of eating monkey brains is still alive and well in many parts of the world; in the United States, though, monkeys are usually smuggled in to be pets.

So how do you smuggle a monkey through an airport?

In your pants, of course! But the trick doesn’t always work. Just ask the guy who tried to smuggle two pygmy monkeys into Los Angeles in 2002. Upon landing at LAX, his brilliant plan was to discreetly stuff them into his underwear as he went through the airport. But his traveling companion blew their cover in customs, when several birds of paradise burst out of his suitcase and flew around the terminal. More recently, a smuggler was caught hiding a monkey under his hat on a flight to Peru, and another female smuggler was caught strapping a monkey to her belly and pretending she was pregnant on her way from Thailand.

For some reason, stuffing animals in one’s trousers is a favorite tactic among smugglers. In 1995, two men were arrested at the Mexican border after customs officials noticed that the bulges in their pants were moving. It turns out that the slithering bumps were actually pantyhose filled with more than a dozen snakes.

Even when traffickers get caught, the stories rarely end well for the animals. Because they’ve been pulled from their normal habitats and potentially exposed to all sorts of diseases, stolen animals can’t simply go home. Instead, they end up quarantined in zoos or in wildlife refuges. And while that isn’t the worst fate that can befall an animal, it does nothing for the survival of the species in the wild. From a conservation standpoint, sneaking an animal out of its habitat really isn’t any different from shooting it for its hide.

How Much for that
Baby Gorilla
in the Window?

Wondering if you got a good price on that creature in your basement? Here’s what the world’s hottest endangered species are going for these days.

Hyacinth Macaws

Native to: South America
Price: up to $20,000
Why they’re so hot right now: This parrot’s large size and beautiful blue feathers have made it a favorite among collectors. The poaching of macaws has devastated wild populations and driven up prices, which makes them even more popular.

Chimpanzees and Gorillas

Native to: Central Africa
Price: more than $50,000 for babies
Why they’re so hot right now: Because they’re cute when they’re little.

Sperm Whales

Native to: the world’s oceans
Price: up to several hundred dollars per pound; one whole whale could cost you a few million. Also, one sperm whale tooth can run you $500.
Why they’re so hot right now: If you thought hunting for Moby Dick went out with Herman Melville, think again. Although the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, whale sushi is still a delicacy in Japan, and the teeth continue to be carved and sold as knickknacks.

Ploughshare Tortoises

Native to: Madagascar
Price: upwards of $30,000
Why they’re so hot right now: Because they might not be around much longer. With fewer than 1,000 ploughshares left in the wild, they’re some of the world’s most endangered animals.

Oenpelli Pythons

Native to: Australia
Price: $30,000
Why they’re so hot right now: This large python can change colors like a chameleon, shifting from dark brown during the day to pale silver at night.

Chinese Alligators

Native to: the lower Yangtze River
Price: $15,000
Why they’re so hot right now: In 1999, commercial developments destroyed the alligators’ habitat to such an extent that, today, only about 130 survive in the wild. Rarity like that lures the collectors.

If ever there was a doubt about the insanity mankind this is a prime example of it.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE