"No More Torture, No More Lies" - Reflections on the World Day for Animals In Laboratories March and Rally

Listening to speeches in Whitworth Park

Yesterday I joined hundreds of fellow activists for the annual World Day for Animals In Laboratories march and rally, this year held in Manchester.

The group I went with arrived sometime just after midday, joining the large gathering in Whitworth park, where there were various stalls with vegan food, campaign materials, t-shirts etc, and the speeches - and some poetry. After these the march left the park, down Oxford Road. At first, there didn't seem to be much chanting, but soon enough those with megaphones were leading us with shouts of "No more torture, no more lies - Every six seconds, an animal dies" and "Close down the animal labs!"



As we reached Manchester University, the chant turned to "Shame, shame, shame on you!" Manchester Univiersity are one of many Univiersities in the country who carry out animal experiments. A two minutes' silence was held to remember all of the animals who have been killed because of vivisection, and to think about all of those millions of animals still suffering in labs right now.

After the silence, the march continued through Manchester, with protesters banging on drums, blowing whistles, shouting down megaphones, or chanting the various anti-vivisection chants.

Around two hours after we set off from Whitworth Park, we arrived in Albert Square. There were more speeches. Listening to information about the torture inflicted on animals is heartbreaking, but we need to be armed with these details if we're to get the largely apathetic public, as well as politicians and scientists, to realise that vivisection is cruel and unnecessary.

This was the first World Day march I've been on. We got our message out there - after all, how could the thousands of shoppers we marched by ignore our placards, leaflets, banners, costumes and chanting?! But, of course, we don't leave it here. We simply can't forget the animals' suffering. We must keep campaigning with activities such as more demos, info stalls, leafletting and letter writing. 

We must do what we can for the animals.

Why You Shouldn't Bet On Lives

Two horses were killed at this year's Grand National

20 horses have died on the Grand National course since 2000.

It's not just the Grand National race that claims race horses' lives:

• Out of approximately 18,000 foals who are born into the British and Irish racing industries each year, only 40% will get to the race track. Some of the foals who don't make it are sent to slaughter.
• The horses kept to produce these foals are forced to endure a life of boredom, manipulation using drugs and artificial lighting to control and speed up reproduction, and long periods of isolation. Their misery can go on for more than 20 years.
• For the 7,500 horses who leave British racing every year, the future is often bleak, with few getting the decent retirement they deserve.
• Around 420 horses are raced to death every single year

PLEASE DON'T BET ON LIVES - BOYCOTT HORSE RACING

 click for more info on horse racing



My Veganism

It was sometime during November 2007 that I went from being a lacto-ovo vegetarian to becoming a vegan. Unlike my vegetarianism (which started October 2006), going vegan wasn’t an overnight thing. It was a fairly gradual transition. In hindsight, I could have, and really should have, made the change sooner. (How best to go about going vegan is something I plan to cover in another post in the near future.)

So, three years and two months of veganism. Has it changed me as a person?

No. But very much Yes.

Going vegan isn’t joining a cult. I’m still very much me. Yet it has changed me. It’s changed the way I perceive certain things, especially in regards to the rights of other sentient beings. I honestly feel it has made me more compassionate, more empathetic towards animals, people and planet.

On a practical level, it very much shapes the way I live. And that’s not just avoiding animal products in food, clothing and toiletries – it’s avoiding cruelty in as many areas of my life as I can. It’s not supporting animal circuses, for example. It’s getting involved in vegan and animal rights outreach and activism to try and create positive change.

So yes, being vegan has had a profound effect on my life.

I’m sure many will agree with me. And many will disagree. Your veganism, like pretty much everything, is personal to you.

Please feel free to share how veganism has affected you as a person, or your lifestyle.