Category: Unoffensive Reports

Via: Animal Liberation Press Office

“CLEVELAND, OH—FBI Cleveland and the FBI Toledo Resident Agency continue to seek information from the public regarding the release and vandalism surrounding several mink farms in Northern Ohio and Michigan several months ago.

The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) claimed responsibility for the releases. According to the ALF Liberation Press Office website, ALF is an international, leaderless, decentralized political and social resistance movement that advocates and engages in what it calls nonviolent direct action in protest incidents of animal cruelty. Arson is one of the many tactics utilized by ALF. ALF’s goal is to cause financial hardship to entities whom ALF believes to have committed acts of animal cruelty. Members of ALF and other underground organizations feel that to truly liberate animals, the unjust laws that allow their exploitation must be broken.

The releases and criminal activities stem from occurrences at various locations on the following dates:

• November 8, 2022: ALF release 100 Mink in Massillon, Ohio – between 2:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m.
• November 9, 2022: ALF released 800 Mink Pipkorn Farm, Michigan
• November 15, 2022: ALF released 10,000 Mink in Van Wert, Ohio – between 2:00 a.m.-4:00 a.m.
• December 19, 2022: ALF released 4,000 Mink in Wayland, Michigan
• February 1, 2023: 2 females vandalized a semi-truck at a mink farm in Mercer County Ohio – between 2:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m.

The FBI is working collaboratively with local law enforcement agencies, including, but not limited to, Van Wert County and the Mercer County Sheriff Offices.

The releases caused significant economic strain to the locations where the vandalism occurred. In one instance, the farm closed entirely.

Due to ALF being a leaderless movement and the subjects who carried out the crimes potentially being transient, the FBI is seeking information on individuals who were involved in attempt to provide a successful judicial outcome for the local business owners who suffered financial loss.”

Mid May, activists in Denmark liberated two lobsters from a MANY supermarket. They did their homework, found what sea they came from, and released them back into the wild. After that anonymous report was shared, local activists in Denmark and beyond got to work.

By having raised the live lobster trade by MANY, those anonymous activists inspired a local storm. Activists emailed and called MANY demanding to stop the sale of live lobsters. They warned them that if they didn’t a pressure campaign would be set up against them, with direct action and protests.

MANY really felt the heat and emailed back to those reaching out, letting them know that they took their concerns very seriously and that they would put an end to the sale of live lobsters from August 1st onwards.

The action of some anonymous activists inspired enough people who not only felt liberating those lobsters was right, but who also decided to put even more pressure on the company, backing those taking direct action, defending the lobsters and warning the company to put an end on the abuse.

This is a clear show of how direct action, regardless of how small it might seem to be, can have incredible impact. Not only two lobsters were freed, but it united folks from different ways of life, raised the issue and created a united front to fight back against injustice.

It is worth mentioning too that whilst many people advocate for direct action to occur within existing campaigns, raising the profile of that campaign or creating a front where the target feels they either talk to those who are campaigning and find a solution, or they have to deal with those who do not fear breaking the law, in this case a seemingly small act of liberation inspired the phone/email storm that ultimately bagged a win.

Always defend direct action and never forget the power of people!

UNTIL WE WIN

PS: To the anonymous activists who took those lobsters to freedom; we hope you know how much that act has impacted animals. Congratulations on your win.

We seem to be back on track. Multiple people are collectively working on different series well as keeping tabs on prisoners and prisoner support tasks, which is really helping with keeping Unoffensive afloat. We can’t express enough how amazing it is that folks came forward and we are truly grateful that they did and helped push UA forward once again, we really did not want to see the project die.

Because social media algorithms are absolute bullshit, remember that engaging with those series like frontlines, prisoner support or A is for Anarchy is key to reach as many folks as possible. The engagement that prisoner support posts has is a very small percentage to the posts where we share anonymous direct action news. We wouldn’t really care much about “engagement” and “likes” if it didn’t directly translate to supporting prisoners, the amount of letters written and the amount of donations for groups, individuals, court cases and commissary. So please, do drop reactions and comments on those posts so we can push them to more folks who might be able to either learn or support in some way!

In talking about support, we are also asking for folks to donate some cash if they can afford it. We have upcoming costs with platforms, tech services and website/server related expenses that we are going to need help with! We have many avenues for donations (from Paypal and Patreon to Monero and Bitcoin), so if you are able to, please consider donating even if it is just a couple of coins, it really helps tremendously. We mostly use Monero for any tech related cost, as it is a fairly private coin, but it doesn’t matter the platform you use to support. For monthly donations, do join our patreon, but please understand that we do not create “patreon only content” because we do not believe that content and education should be put behind a paywall. It is worth mentioning once again that Unoffensive does not have employees or wages, and that all donations are used either to upkeep tech services related to the collective and the website, or sent to prisoners and activists with court case fines.

Paypal: unoffensive_animal (att) tutanota (dot) com
Patreon: www.patreon.com/animalliberation

For cryptocurrency donations, you can find our wallet addresses here:

Please donate if you are in a position to do so, and share if you can’t.

SOLIDARITY IS OUR BIGGEST WEAPON

UA

Submitting hit reports is one of Unoffensive Animal’s cornerstones. We believe that those taking direct action and wishing to share their actions with the public should do so anonymously and safely.

We have created a page on our website where folks can simply introduce their text and click on “encrypt and submit”, but to use this feature, people need to think of their own anonymity. Using the TOR Browser *should* keep the sender more anonymous.

Another important aspect to think about is to avoid giving personal information in the report. Understand that we are not going to edit reports, and they will simply be copied and published, so do not tell us who you are or how old you are or what your address is. We don’t care, we don’t want to know and you should not put us in a position where we need to lie to protect the anonymity of activists.

In terms of media, photos and videos are very useful for a hit report. You must take care to clean the media before sending it. This is twofold. Firstly, ensure that the footage does not have identifiers. If it shows a tattoo or identifiable clothing or even background that could be used to prosecute you, you need to sort that out. Secondly, you need to remove metadata from the media before sending it. This is very easy. Simply use one of the tools recommended here: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/data-redaction

Once you’ve checked it over, upload that media to any bullshit data transfer service (like ufile.io) and copy the link, you can paste it with your text before sending.

If you do not wish to use the website feature, you are very welcome to send an email to unoffensivereports (at) protonmail(dot)com but please use common sense. Use a throwaway email address from a spam address like an anonymouse email. Creating a “report-specific” email address is NOT good enough. You shouldn’t use the same email address twice to send reports.

You can find detailed information on how to contact us here:

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT RIOT

UA

Photo: Russian ALF liberating foxes, 2005.

We believe we’ve found enough folks to keep the project going, so we have reopened the website. 

This means we can once again receive anonymous reports, and folks who have any prisoner/arrest/court support needs can reach out again. In the near future, we will set up a public prisoner support email address so that the prisoner support team can directly communicate with those who might need some support (or with their solidarity groups if they are in prison). For the time being, our usual email address will do just fine for this matter. 

From Monday onwards, we will be back to a semi-regular schedule, and with the help of multiple people who have offered to submit regular work, we will get back on track with news about prisoners and campaigns from around the world. 

Folks are still welcome to reach out with single submissions if they wish to publish about a specific topic or if they want to write something on a regular basis. 

Unoffensive Animal was born to educate and bring news to the public, to support those who fight and to give a platform to those who wish to remain anonymous. That ethos stays there, for as long as we have the energy and capability to keep going, but it is also important to remember that Unoffensive was born and should stay as a collective. You are part of that collective if you want to be, and as per the definition of Direct Action, don’t wait for others to do what you want to see done. Reach out and support, let’s work together and make this platform a positive tool within the animal liberation movement. 

If you can afford it, please consider donating to UA. We do not get wages, money goes to prisoner/arrest/court support for those who reach out, and to expenses related to tech, servers, websites and domains. 

https://www.patreon.com/animalliberation

Solidarity always. 

Defend Direct Action. 

Unoffensive was born many years ago as a tool to bridge radical underground action with the social media environment which most animal lib activists and vegans got their activism news from. Since then, we have started many projects and attempted to bring as many different news and struggles as possible to all our followers and readers.

After six years of working on the project daily, we really could do with fresh voices and support from other folks who would like to contribute. We did put a call for submissions not that long ago, but sadly most of the offers were on the art side of things which UA doesn’t tend to publish much about, and in the end, we got back to square one with no new contributors. We have decided to make clear what UA is looking for, and then let you all take part in it if you have time and wish for this project to keep going.

With our level of energy and time and without extra contributors, we won’t be able to carry on with the collective.

Of course, we are happy to hear about other ideas and articles, but here is a skeleton of the very basics of what we are looking for.

THE FRONTLINES attempts to bring news about current campaigns. Some campaigns we have focused on lately (and would like to publish more about) are CAFT USA’s actions against the fur industry, Defend the Atlanta Forest or Palestine Action. Folks within the campaigns are welcome to send a round-up of events every couple of weeks, but even if you are not part of the campaign but can keep a constant eye on what’s been happening and write a summary, that would be fantastic!

ALFRIDAYS used to be a video series where we would publish short videos or long documentaries of historical events relating to the animal liberation and earth liberation movement, and give an insight into the history behind it and perhaps external further reading. If anyone would like to take that task on, please reach out!

A is for Anarchy was an attempt at explaining basic anarchist concepts to folks who are not used to reading politics. Short and sweet, we have introduced concepts like Mutual Aid, Direct Action or the Black Block. The articles are not long, but they need to aim to be very simple and clear explanations of anarchist concepts for all those who might be doing their first steps as anarchobabies!

There are other topics and ideas that we would love to discuss with folks who feel like they can contribute, and we are always happy to hear yours! 

If you think you can dedicate an article a week, every couple of weeks, or even once a month, please reach out over email and let’s get talking.

Unoffensive Animal is a collective, and we all make it. If you want it to carry on and have the time and energy, step forward and let’s collaborate!

UNTIL WE WIN

Unoffensive Animal.

We have had a few extra folks follow our socials lately, so let’s do a quick introduction.

Unoffensive Animal is a media platform that receives anonymous direct action reports from around the world. We also attempt to facilitate prisoner support updates for animal liberation, anarchist and earth liberation activists, be it by sharing updates about their case or prison situation or simply by encouraging folks to write letters, as well as trying to send cash to folks for commissary or legal fees. Lastly, we also serve as an education platform (when we have the time to work on extra stuff!), and publish advice on technology and security, on history of the animal liberation movement or on anarchist concepts.

Last time that we did a money update and explained that we had sent money to prisoners, we sadly lost a few patreon supporters. We can only imagine that they had joined feeling they were funding direct action, so we want to make something very clear. We do not take part in actions, we don’t know who sends anonymous reports and we do not fund illegal activities. All the money generated from patreon support as well as donations or merch sales goes either to prisoner support, arrest support and court fines for folks who contact us about it and to the maintenance of servers, website and other tech stuff that keeps our page running. We do not take a salary as we are all volunteers, but that does not mean that UA doesn’t need funding! Servers and domains are a constant expense due to multiple countries banning our website from being hosted within their territory, and activists that face a fine or prison are always welcome to request our support, we will always try and help as much as we can.

If you folks can afford it, please consider donating to Unoffensive. We have PayPal, we have Monero and Bitcoin wallets if you prefer cryptocurrencies and we have a patreon page. It is worth noting that our patreon page is NOT “another social media” and we do not publish “exclusive content”, as we do not believe in publishing stuff behind a paywall that only those who can afford it can actually access.

If you can, please drop some coins over PayPal on

[email protected]

Join our patreon:

www.patreon.com/animalliberation

Or send some coins through monero:

Thank you to all that have supported us for many years

SOLIDARITY ALWAYS

UA

We have received a submission about Punk Aid, a project raising funds for Free the MBR Beagles after producing a collaborative song that you can download (and donate for) on Bandcamp. Hear them out!

“I’m sure readers to the page are no strangers to the Free the MBR Beagles campaign. Activists fighting for the closure of the American multinational Marshall Biosciences in Cambridgeshire, and the liberation of the 2000 odd puppies they hold captive there.

Many methods have been used to bring the fight to them; most famously the Camp Beagle established directly out side the puppy farm that maintains a constant vigilance. Also the actions of Animal Rebellion and their incredible day light liberations of around twenty innocent puppies!

Well now it’s the turn of the punks! Working remotely, we thought “What can we do to help the campaign?” We brought together a collective of pro-animal liberation activist punks and have produced a song in support of the MBR beagles and the activists that fight for them in the true spirit of DIY anarcho punk!

It features contributions from over 12 bands, members of which have for many years been involved in animal rights campaigns such as hunt sabbing and protests against Huntingdon Life Sciences.

You can view the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ryCQ9Tm0r0

or download the tune here:

https://punkaidfortheanimals.bandcamp.com/

ALL profits raised from the download will go directly to the Free the MBR Beagles campaign!”

We realise that it isn’t often we publish where donations go, and that is mostly due to lack of time to write more articles! But we thought we should do a quick update on last week’s donations to different prisoners’ funds in the hopes that some of you can join us and send some coins to them too!

We have sent $150 to Eric King’s support PayPal, as the support group put a fundraiser up to get some cash sorted for when he is released from prison. Whilst being out of prison is a fantastic feeling, it is hard to get back to society, hold a job (or even get one) and take care of your mental and physical health after whatever time you’ve been incarcerated. We hope that Eric and his family and friends raise the much needed funds for when he is free. You can drop some coins to his fundraiser here, at the time of writing this he is 45 USD away from the goal!:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/release-funds-for-political-prisoner-eric-king

Or you can directly donate to the support team for commissary and other expenses:

We also sent $150 to Ladislav via comrades from Philly ABC. They set up a fundraiser for his release (January 2024) and they really could do with more support as they have only raised 590 USD of the 5000 USD goal, so donate to it or share it around as much as you possibly can:

https://fundrazr.com/027Cec

We sent $150 to Marius Mason, a trans, anarchist, environmental and animal rights prisoner serving the longest eco-sentence ever in the USA. He was convicted of sabotage and arson in 2009 and is serving a 22 year prison sentence. You can donate to his fund here: https://supportmariusmason.org/donate/

Through our comrades in the UK ALFsg we sent $150 to Mel Broughton, who is sitting in prison awaiting trial and needs both economic support and moral support in the shape of letters and books! You can check out the ALFsg and maybe even become a member, aiding in the support of animal liberation prisoners around the globe:

https://www.alfsg.org.uk/

Lastly we sent $250 to the SUSARON4, who are also awaiting trial in Chile accused of the arson at SUSARON meat packaging plant. We would’ve liked to donate more to them as they are four prisoners, but that’s as much as our funds allowed us to!

If you can, please support them here: www.paypal.me/solidaridad4

If you can support any of them, please do so! And if you’d like to support Unoffensive (we send money to prisoners, but also to activists facing trials or having to pay fines, and we use some of the donations for equipment and website related expenses) you can donate or join our patreon here:

https://unoffensiveanimal.is/support-us/

www.patreon.com/animalliberation

SOLIDARITY!

Solidarity Apothecary has sent us a text remembering Gilly which we believe you all should read. Remember that the anonymous faces of the Animal Liberation Front (and many other movements) do have a name attached to them, which normally is only shared once they’ve passed away. And remember that in a hyper masculine society, we tend to undestand the ALF as a men run concept, when it many cases it is quite the opposite.

“Today is the 7th anniversary of Gilly’s death.

For folks who didn’t know her, she was an absolute fierce anarchist and animal liberationist. Obviously it’s impossible to quantify as the animal liberation front is an anonymous, underground movement – but my bets are that she was one of the most active ALF organisers in history. Through the 80s and 90s and all the years before she became unwell, she would raid labs, farms and all sites of animal abuse freeing countless animals.
She actively sabotaged the badger cull and coordinated resistance to it in the original Krebs trials – so much so that it had a 95% failure rate.

She was an active hunt sab, involved in many grassroots campaigns, as well as prisoner support. You can see copies of the South East Liberator mag on the Talon Conspiracy archiving project website, which details some of the things she did – only to be shared after her death.

She was a surrogate mum to me and taught me more about anarchism than any book ever could. She would text me every single time I had a prison visit without fail for years on end and supported me through my sentence. She’d been inside and knew what it was like. She was spiky and anti-social to many, but also caring, kind and loyal to those close to her. Men get celebrated as ALF heroes, while women like Gilly get invisibilised, especially if they develop chronic illnesses.

I’ll never forget her and our movements shouldn’t either. Please remember Gilly today. Feel free to share this post.

Rest in power sweet Gilly, I miss you.”

“