From the 12th to the 15th September, I
was lucky enough to participate in the third annual International Animal Rights Conference, held in Esch, Luxembourg. My presentation, on the opportunities for
campaigners to use existing animal welfare laws as a means to pursue
abolitionist goals, was delivered alongside a host of other talks, workshops
and films over the course of the weekend. I was honoured to be given the
opportunity to speak on the same stage as activists who I have admired for
years, and delighted to discover new names whose work will, I am sure,
influence my campaigning for animals going forward.
The conference brings together people from all over the
world to share theories, strategies and updates surrounding the global animal
rights movement. I knew it was going to be extremely informative and I had been
looking forward to it for months. Perhaps what I hadn’t expected was the
overwhelming energy and emotion which I, and the other participants, experienced
throughout the days. Of course we work in a movement which fights the most horrific
suffering so discussing this work was never going to be a walk in the park. But
whilst there were moments of genuine gut-wrenching horror at the stories of
hunting, stealing family pets to sell to laboratories or the dog meat trade, vivisection,
factory farming and all of the other abuses that we are working so hard to
stop, the emotion that I came away with was neither depression nor
hopelessness. Because for every horror story, there were ten stories of
compassion, of determination, and of hope. Genuine heroes saving tens,
hundreds, thousands of lives and giving absolutely everything they’ve got to ensure
that the victories are ever greater and the horrors increasingly diminished. I
sit on the train on the last leg of my journey home feeling more energised and
determined than I can remember.
Highlights were numerous and I would recommend putting aside
some time and working your way through the talks, which have all been published
on the Vegan Kanal YouTube Channel. To get you started, make sure you watch (click on name to link to video):
Pattrice Jones on intersectionality in theory and practice
(if your response is “what is intersectionality?” you must watch this talk!)
Sharon Nuñez on the fantastic investigative work of Animal
Equality
Nick Cooney on the best way to change hearts and minds to
benefit animals
Chris De Rose on his life as an activist (contains graphic
content but do try to watch it through)
Claudio Pomo on the Green Hill campaign in Italy
I could write reams but each speaker tells his or her story
better than I could reword it here so do watch what you can – I just hope you
get as much from the talks as I did. I will certainly be returning next year
and, in the meantime, I am looking forward to continuing the discussions
started over these few days, developing new ideas, projects and strategies to
turn this positive energy into real results for the animals.
