Cambridge Badger Cull Protest and Vegan Stall at the Strawberry Fair

On Saturday, June 7, about 150 people braved the weather and marched from Guildhall in the Market Square of Cambridge to the Strawberry Fair – Midsummer Common to stop the badger cull.

The march was organised by Cambridgeshire Against the Badger Cull and supported by Care For The Wild and the Badger Trust.

Before the protesters set out, three anti-cull speakers discussed the politics behind the badger cull, the lack of scientific evidence to support the cull, and the situation on the ground.

Dominic Dyer (CEO for Badger Trust and Policy Advisor for Care For The Wild), in his inspired speech, said:

Most of the badgers that are being killed are healthy, and the reason why they are being killed is for political reasons. They’ve been demonised. I wrote a piece for the Huffington Post a few weeks ago to say that we’ve been playing the badger-blame game for too long. Basically, what we’ve been doing is blaming the badgers for the incompetence, negligence and deceit of the heart of our farming industry and government that’ve allowed bovine TB to spread so widely. […]

This is bad politics. It’s bad because people have had enough. They question the decisions taken in government. They can see that you made them for grubby political compromises. They can see that you’ve pushed aside all good scientific advise. They can see that you didn’t give a damn about humaneness. They can see that you are willing to kill tens of thousands of animals just to back up some votes in some rural constituencies and to keep the support of the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Countryside Alliance and that is an absolute disgrace. […]

We will continue to fight against this crazy, cruel badger cull in the fields. We will continue to fight against this crazy, cruel badger cull in our towns and cities. We will continue to fight against this crazy, cruel badger cull in the media, in the courts, in the council chambers. But we will win this debate and when we do British people can say, it was us who made a difference in this country, it was our love and respect for wildlife that changed this damaging, disastrous, cruel policy […]

Peter Martin (Gloucester Against Badger Shooting or GABS) described the situation in the ground during the last cull and the disastrous role played by the police:

We were in contact with the police since the start so we were quite surprised in the early part of the cull that we were being hammered by the police, and stopped, and searched, and followed, when, in fact, GABS members wearing bright fluorescent jackets, entirely visible when everything we were doing was above board and legal. Now, the police realise now that they made a lot of mistakes. Every time we were intimidated by a collar and we reported it to the police nothing was done.

He described the measures that will be taken in the case the cull goes ahead:

We are now going to demand incident numbers. Every time we are being intimidated we are going to demand an incident number which means it goes into their system, which means they have to track it, which means they have to do something about it. So, when you all come down to the cull zone next time, if it goes ahead, and it is still possible it won’t, it’s very important that you bring your camera phone with you or some camera recording device.

And talked about vaccination:

We are starting to find, as Dom [Dominic Dyer] was saying, that a number of local farmers, and an increasing number do not want the cull. They have started to read the science; and, here we are, in the home of science, and they’ve started to agree that vaccinating is cheaper, more effective, faster than culling.

Tom Langton, a freelance ecologist, talked about the controversial Republic of Ireland culling programme and the inaccurate and misleading BBC report that badger culling helped reduce bovine TB in Ireland.

After the speeches, the protesters marched towards the Strawberry Fair where Cambridgeshire Against the Badger Cull and Animal Rights Cambridge held a vegan stall with face painting, plush toys, delicious sweets and lots of information on how to stop the badger cull.

If you care, get involved!

Badger Stall in Cambridge City Centre

Animal Rights Cambridge set up a stall over the weekend to raise funds in support of groups opposing the cull, which is very likely to be rolled out again this summer/autumn. We were also promoting the Cambridge March against the Cull to take place on Saturday 7th of June. The march will start from the Guildhall on Cambridge’s market square at noon.​

Cambridge Against the Badger Cull – March on Sat 7th June 2014

Cambridgeshire Against the Badger Cull in Facebook

Cambridge Badger Rally in Facebook

ARC Outreach – NAVS, The Black Fish, LUSH

Today, Animal Rights Cambridge teamed up with National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) and took to the streets to speak for animals in laboratories, helping people understand why there is no need for animals to be used in research. We had lots of chats with people, helping them see how the medical, cosmetic and household chemical industries exploit animals. We explained how horrifying the journey from birth to death is for the 4 million animals used for research in the UK every year, and showed them what they can do to help.

NAVS sent us over a hundred ‘Section 24′ petition postcards, which were snapped up by the public quicker than you can say ’empty cages’!

We also had the privilege of attending Lush CAMBRIDGE’s The Black Fish charity pot day where we learned about the desperate state of the world’s oceans and what our friends at The Black Fish are doing about it. Exciting news coming up regarding Cambridge’s involvement in marine issues…watch this space!

Thank you to all who helped on the stall, to NAVS for the materials and their continued work against vivisection. Thanks also to the fantastic Cambridge shoppers, families and passer-by who stopped to learn and think about the animals in laboratories. And to LUSH for being generally amazing, plus The Black Fish, who tirelessly speak for the animals in the globe’s oceans, and help us land-dwellers untangle the mess that we have made of them.

Until all are free!

Vegan Stall on Mother’s Day

On Saturday 29 March, Animal Rights Cambridge celebrated Mother’s Day with a vegan stall in central Cambridge. We had plates with chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter chocolate cookies, macaroons, cashew nut spread, empanadillas (a type of Spanish pastry) and focaccia topped with onions, courgettes and peppers. We also offered vegan cheese from Vegusto. The vegan food was handed out to people walking by to show that a more compassionate and delicious diet is possible.
We also handed out over 300 mothers’ day vegan messages to raise awareness of the plight of Britain’s Hardest Working Mothers: the farmed cows. It was very encouraging to meet people who knew about the suffering caused by breaking the maternal bond between the cow and her calf. Others were shocked to learn about the tragic and cruel fate of the male calves who are either shot or sent away in long journeys shortly after birth. Many pledged to change their diets to reflect their compassionate values. Will you take the vegan pledge?
If you would like more information about becoming vegan and about the nutritional and health benefits of a vegan diet you can visit a number of websites, including:

• Viva
• The Vegan Society
• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which includes information on raising vegan children.

Check a couple of vegan recipes used for the stall.

Cambridge Against Live Lobster Boiling

Yesterday, 22 Animal Rights Cambridge activists took to the streets of Cambridge to speak up for the terrible suffering and abuse of lobsters at Browns Bar & Brasserie.
We staged a marathon protest that spanned 9 hours [with a break during restaurant quiet-time], which included passer-by and customer education using information fact sheets, conversations and leaflets, we chanted with megaphones, held speeches, blew whistles, set off sirens (we were SO loud, sorry locals but you know what to do: ask Browns to end lobster abuse), and at the end of the night held a 2 minute silence in vigil of the lobsters who lost their lives that day, and for the animals around the world who also perished at the hands of humans.
The campaign will continue throughout Cambridge, at all establishments that deal in live creatures, whilst also educating the public about speciesism, animal exploitation, and veganism.
Browns staff mocked, taunted and ridiculed us, but the majority of public support was compassionate towards these poor abused creatures.
We will continue campaigning for the cessation of live beings being used in restaurants as long as the establishments insist on this horrendous and barbaric practise.

Cambridge Against Live Lobster Boiling Protest

Protest at Browns Restaurant to end the horrific treatment of boiling lobsters alive
Date: Thursday, 27th February 2014
Venue: Browns Restaurant, 23 Trumpington Street, Cambridge
Time: 12.30pm – 2.30pm and 7pm – 9pm

Let’s give those poor abused lobsters a very loud voice and tell this establishment in no uncertain terms that we want lobster OFF their menu immediately!
Further event details

Blackmail 3 Solidarity Statement

Animal Rights Cambridge stand strongly in solidarity with the Blackmail 3. We support their determined fight for animal rights and condemn the state’s blatant attempts to silence Debbie, Natasha and Sven.
We at Animal Rights Cambridge have been active in the fight against animal cruelty and particularly HLS and Cambridge University animal laboratories for decades and we are convinced of the righteous intentions behind their actions.
Our group has been hard hit by state repression many times, but this only brings us closer together, and in greater numbers. Thus we give our unequivocal support to the Blackmail 3 in this trying time.
Debbie, Natasha and Sven, we share your grief caused by the horrendous experiments and many cruel deaths at HLS but we also share your resolve to end these atrocities.
You are not alone and we wish you well.

Antivivisection Coalition Vigil for Primates in Cambridge University laboratories

This coming Saturday, February 15, the Antivivisection Coalition (AVC) is organising a torchlight vigil for every primate held in Cambridge University laboratories.
The vigil aims to bring awareness to the brutal conditions that primates endure every day and to spread the message that change is not only possible but also just and necessary.
Details:
Date: Saturday, 15 February
Time: Noon
Address: The Senate House, University of Cambridge, Kings Parade, Cambridge, CB2 1ST
More information: AVC website

Vegan Food Giveaway in Cambridge City Centre

Animal Rights Cambridge held a free vegan food give-away on Saturday November 23 to inspire people to embrace a vegan diet that is healthier, environmentally-friendlier and more compassionate towards other animals.

The public sampled from a selection of home-made vegan sweet and savoury dishes, as well as goodies from Redwoods and Vegusto. We gave out vegan leaflets, recipe cards and encouraged tasters to take the vegan pledge.

The public’s response was very positive and we hope that more people realise that by becoming vegan we are personally choosing a compassionate and ethical diet and preventing the horrendous animal suffering inherent within the dairy, egg and meat industries.

Enjoying free vegan food

Handing out the vegan pledge