OPEN RESCUE OF 10 HENS (Spain)

Igualdad Animal press release;  http://www.rescateabierto.org
click here to view a gallery of photographs from the rescue;  http://www.flickr.com/photos/igualdadanimal/sets/72157608398954553
click here for video:  http://www.vimeo.com/2482885

"Animal Equality / Igualdad Animal rescues ten hens

In order to claim respect for animals on International Animal Rights Day, Animal Equality presents its third open rescue, in which our organization released ten hens from an intensive farm where they were enslaved to produce eggs.

Seven Animal Equality activists (Ivan, Javier, Sharon, Eu, Conchi, Jose and David) - assisted by other colleagues on the outside - entered an intensive farm in Toledo (Spain) to rescue ten hens who were being exploited and documented the truth behind these places.

We entered the farm through an open door, and not using force at any moment. In many occasions, discovering the reality behind the hermetic walls of the animal exploitation industries is as simple as opening a door and looking inside. Tens of thousands of hens were inside and unfortunately we could only rescue ten, those for which we already had a home waiting. During the rescue we split into several groups and while some were opening cages and freeing the prisoners from their cells, others documented the action and another group recorded in video the lives of hens exploited for their eggs. A wheelbarrow with corpses in one of the corners of the farm reminded us that some did not even reach the slaughterhouse, which is where they all are sent when their egg production drops.

Once the ten hens were in boxes, we were ready to leave. We brought them in our van to a temporary shelter and the next morning they were taken to a veterinarian we trusted and he recommended a treatment for their recovery. The hens were suffering from vitamin deficiencies, had internal parasites, osteoporosis probably from the loss of calcium suffered due to laying eggs as well as from the absence of sunlight. They probably also had their liver damaged due to the hyperproteinic food they were forced to eat in order to obtain the greatest number of eggs from them.

Eight of the ten had hardly any feathers covering their body as can be seen in the photographs.

The lack of vitamins, the presence of parasites and friction with the bars of the cage caused the falling of the feathers. Stress lead to pecking one another and sores, leading the sores to worsen with each pecking. Cannibalism is common in systems of hen exploitation, therefore, the exploiters cut their peaks to reduce economic losses.

They are now in a good place where they are cared for and their needs are met, away from any kind of exploitation and where they can begin to enjoy their lives by taking long walks in the sun, digging into the ground or making their own nests from grass without the fear that somebody will harm them once they stop laying eggs.

The rescue was carried out on a farm with battery cages, with cages upgraded to be mandatory from 2012 throughout the European Union. But on farms where the battery model is not used, hens continue to be deprived of liberty, used as resources for human benefit and eventually brought to slaughter. In Spain, more than 47 million hens are victims of these exploitation systems that seek to meet our demand for eggs. Another 47 million male chicks -their brothers- are also victims of our egg consumption, although they are often forgotten and don't even appear in official statistics. In all farms male chicks are killed either by being crushed alive or gassed, simply because they don't lay eggs and aren't profitable for exploiting.

With this rescue, not only do we act to help the ten hens we rescued from their cages, we also want to claim the end to the use of all animals. This open rescue is an act of civil disobedience that also pretends to generate social debate. Today, animals are considered property of humans and, under that view, this action could be viewed as a theft or robbery by the owner of the center of exploitation and the speciesist laws that exist. But the laws are not always synonymous of justice. A little more than a century ago it was legal to enslave other humans, for example. It is unfair to see other animals as our properties, as if they were objects that existed for our benefit. Each and every one of them is an individual with her or his own interests which must be respected.

Regardless of any differences between us and other animals, we are all capable of feeling and we want to enjoy our lives without being enslaved.

We want to remind everyone that we can contribute to the end of animal exploitation by adopting a lifestyle that respects them. Not participating in their exploitation by going vegan is also saving animals in a direct way.

For the abolition of slavery animal.

Animal Equality / Igualdad Animal
Educate, Investigate & Liberate"

>>

A NIGHT OF ACTION ENDS WITH FIRE AT RODEO GROUNDS (Mexico)

anonymous communique (translation);

"After a long wait, the early morning between December 10th and 11th finally came; with anger in the gut and molotovs in their hands, activists from the Frente de Liberación Animal-Pasión y Rabia [Passion and Rage], took to the streets of Mexico City to demonstrate their rejection of this speciesist society, where everywhere you see people wearing shoes made with the dead body of what was once a living being, where as long as the human palate is satisfied it does not matter that lives were tortured, deprived of their liberty and ultimately murdered to make their favorite dishes, and thousands other forms of exploitation and speciesism that is lived day to day in modern society.

That's why we set a target: a rodeo, where people have fun at the expense of the suffering of an animal forced to do things that break their natural and wild cycle. But before we arrived at our target, along the way we passed various speciesist businesses; of course we could not hold ourselves back and we had to leave a message of hatred of them; that's why we have visited:

-A meat market, a store of milk and cold cuts, a hamburger establishment, a restaurant where they sell tacos, burgers, pizzas, among other products that come from exploitation, and a branch of the disgusting 'hipocampo tortas'; these were sprayed with dark green and brown paint, and a pet store was sprayed with the above and was also set on fire.

Locks and padlocks on a poultry shop were sealed, and a dairy shop and a delicatessen and a pet store.

- Messages were left on two meat and 'pork' markets: Meat is murder and murderers as well as the symbols of the FLA; Corona bull killers was painted on a seller of Corona (a major brewer that is responsible for polluting water and destroying the planet, not only that, it is also a sponsor of bullfighting), and skin is torture, don't buy them, was painted on a shop where they sell and repair leather shoes.

Done with that, what we had found on our way that delayed us, at last we reached our main objective, the rodeo where liters of gasoline were poured and lit with the rage of some molotovs; while the fire was burning, our desires to see an end to animal exploitation were burning, but that will not just happen; little by little, we will continue helping businesses that profit at the expense of animal suffering close.

Frente de Liberación Animal - Passion and Rage"

>>

HUNTING TOWERS TOPPLED (Czech Republic)

received anonymously;
click here for additional photos:  http://directaction.info/images2/Czech_hunting_Nov08/Czech_hunting_Nov08/index.html

"Hunting is murder
On November 18th five big hunting towers in czech were sawed, smashed and signed with slogans
HUNTING = MURDER!

'for the animals'
Animal rights activists czech"

>>

FIRES MARK 'A NIGHT FOR CHICKENS' (Italy)

anonymous report:

"Varese (Italy) - December 2, 2008
Incendiary devices have been left near cars (one of them a Porsche) owned by 'Japan Chick Sexing', a company specialized in sexing chicks. This is the first ring of a chain of exploitation linking cages, imprisonment, intensive farms, slaughterhouses.
Sexing chicks means dividing newborn chicks by sex, killing the wrong ones with suffocation or mincing them.
Males born from genetic selection whose goal is to have egg-producing females will be killed, they will never produce eggs!
Hens born from a selection to have fast fattening males will be killed, they will not produce enough eggs and will never be male chicks.

This was a night for the chicks.

ALF - Fire Group"

>>

TIRES FLATTENED ON UCLA VAN (USA)

reported anonymously:

"On behalf of all the animals being imprisoned in and around the campus of ucla, we took some action this Wednesday night. Sitting all alone and parked in a structure, was a ucla van. so we decided to inflict some pain ourselves. A little blood (paint) and some knife wounds ( flat tires ) should do the deed.

ENOUGH is enough UCLA - stop the torture, stop the PAIN. We will not rest until your vivisectors do.

Anonymous"

>>

WINDOWS SMASHED AT INFAMOUS RESTAURANT (Sweden)

anonymous report:

"Sweden, Umea, 10/12

On the night of the 10th we once again smashed all the windows of the Resturant Garaget.

The resturant has made itself famous by not only serving its usual killed lambs and babypigs, but also cooking a whole 270 kilo ox.
As long as animals are being tortured and killed, the ALF is not going to rest!
ALF"

>>

FIVE HENS RESCUED (Czech Republic)

anonymous report:

"Five young hens were liberated from battery cages
The five lives were rescued the day of the 6th of November and given a new home full of sun and fresh air. They can spend the rest of their lives in this better, beautiful home and be free. This action is dedicated to czech activist and open rescuer Michal Kolesar. (www.michalkolesar.net)
'for the animals'
'Animal liberation activists' czech"

>>

WORKING TELEPHONES BECOMING HARD TO FIND (Mexico)

received anonymously:

"On December 11 the Frente de Liberacion Animal in Mexico sabotaged 25 telephones of the disgusting company Telmex in an act of direct support for our fighting comrades in Colombia, we are glad to know that the attacks that are badly needed in Latin America have this continuity, we hope that the flame will not go out in Colombia and that they continue on!

Continuous, well-planned sabotage is the worst nightmare of the exploiters.

A fighting embrace!

For animal, human and earth liberation!

FLA Mexico"

>>

CIRCUS ADVERTS TRASHED (France)

anonymous report:

"location : FRANCE
targets : circuses"

>>

COMPUTER VIRUS SENT TO VIVISECTORS (USA)

received anonymously:

"UC Berkeley vivisector Ralph Freeman and all of the current lab members in Freeman's Visual Neuroscience Lab ( http://neurovision.berkeley.edu) were sent a trojan horse virus embedded into email. This virus is designed to completely wreck their computers while leeching all vital personal information they've ever entered into their systems.

It is time to buy new computers, and after that, save yourself the hassle that will follow and get the fuck out of this cat killing lab. The lab where kittens as young as six weeks live in daily fear and trauma from the violence that you are responsible for. The cats in stereotaxic devices with holes drilled into their skulls are what drives us and we will do anything to end your torture.

We've read the past communiques where other anonymous activists have visited Freeman's home and broken windows, with this action we want to send the message loud and clear that those who torture non-humans to death are not safe at home nor at work. We will go on the offensive against every form of oppression that surrounds; whether it be racism, sexism, homophobia, or speciesism.

In addition to Freeman ( freeman@neurovision.berkeley.edu), we sent the virus to Brian Pasley ( bpasley@socrates.berkeley.edu), Thang Duong ( thangd@uclink.berkeley.edu), Elena Allen ( eadelle@uclink.berkeley.edu), Nina Yang ( ninay@neurovision.berkeley.edu), Lars Eric Holm ( larseric@neurovision.berkeley.edu), BaoWang Li ( libaowang@neurovision.berkeley.edu), and Ahalya Viswanathan ( ahalya_v@uclink.berkeley.edu)

This action is dedicated to all those fighting for primate freedom at UCLA and all those who have taken action as of late against the animal murder industries in Central and South America. It is for the billions of animals currently enslaved.

--HACKERS FOR TOTAL LIBERATION"

>>

TIRES SLASHED ON MEAT COMPANY VANS, BUTCHER SHOP LOCKED SHUT (USA)

received anonymously:

"Last week, a butcher shop in Georgia had a U-Lock placed around its security gate in the middle of the night. They were closed for two hours behind schedule the next day. This cost them hundreds in lost sales and locksmith fees.

That same night, three tires on a wholesale meat company's van were slashed with a pairing knife, easily attained from the kitchen section at Safeway. This business also had their locks glued.

The next night, we cut off the gas to three fast food restaurants in the middle of a busy night.

Sabotage can be easy, risk-free, and cathartic. We have no excuses. We are the ALF.

--ALF Georgia"

>>

BULLFIGHTING SPONSOR SABOTAGED (Columbia)

reported on Liberación Total:  http://liberaciontotal.entodaspartes.net

"On the night of December 5th activists from the Autonomous and Anarchist Cell of the FLT (ELF) and FLA (ALF) took to the streets of Bogota to sabotage the telephone booths of ETB (Bogota telephone company), well known as a major sponsor of the speciesist slaughter in the bullring. Armed with shears, spray paint and stickers with anticivilization and threatening messages, we ripped out the mouthpieces and left the phones unusable.
This was only the beginning, the disgusting 'bullfighting season' is approaching and the actions will not stop.

For the liberation of all, wild and green violence!

CAAELF ¿bogota?"

>>

CABLES CUT ON POULTRY COMPANY TRUCKS (Mexico)

anonymous report:

"In front of the disgusting company, Bachoco, 2 of its trucks were sabotaged. Activists of the FLA of Mexico cut the cables; those idiots will soon realize they are without them.

If the exploiters do not rest in destroying the earth and the animal species, then why do we have to in attacking them?

FLA México"

>>

MORE TELMEX PHONES OUT OF SERVICE (Mexico)

received anonymously:

"The born-evil owner of the company Telmex, Calos Slim, knows more than anyone else that he and his great industrial power in this country are the ones responsible for the exploitation of animals, of the water, of the land, of the mines and other natural resources, for that reason and because we consider it one of this planet's executioners, we sabotaged 12 Telmex phones and popped 4 tires of one of his trucks.

These attacks will not stop, because our rage is infinite!

Frente de Liberación de la Tierra (FLT) - México"

>>

Related article  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/414408.html (6th)

More info  http://www.animalliberationfront.com