Boots campaign

An Animal Liberation Primer, 2nd and 3rd Editions  (Publishing dates unknown. Country of origin unknown) Popular primer widely distributed in the 1990s.  Focused on security culture, direct action philosophy, tactical decision making between animal rescues and economic sabotage, and how-to directions.

Animal Liberation Primer, The (Publishing date unknown. Country of origin likely USA) Containing material mostly culled from other similarly named primers, this is a short how-to guide for small scale property damage, arson, and liberations. Contains a basic run down of security measures, mental preparation, and history of the Animal Liberation Front.

Animal Liberation Through Direct Action (Date of publication likely 1998. Country of origin likely England) One of the better primers available in the 1990s, the pamphlet discusses the basic security, surveillance, and planning necessary to carry out liberations and economic sabotage. Also includes a brief history of the movement, a first hand account of a mink farm raid, and statements from various ALF cells.

As Darkness Falls (1995, USA.) Dangerous, amateurly written, likely made by people with little personal experience utilizing direct action.

Earth First! Direct Action Manual 1st Edition (1997. Eugene, OR. USA) Earth First! chapters on the west coast of the United States won a few campaigns using blockading and civil disobedience in the 80s and 90s. As word spread about new tactics developing in the forests there was a clamor from other activist groups to build their own lockboxes, barrels, tripods, and “black bears.” The DAM Collective answered this demand by printing the Earth First! Direct Action Manual, a nicely illustrated, bound book containing how-to instructions on scouting, security, dealing with police, and setting up voluntary arrest scenarios utilizing “lock downs.” It also contained short articles about Critical Mass, The Animal Liberation Front, varying theories on non-violence as an ethic vs. tactical choice, and practical security measures for activists.

Going Underground for Animal Liberation (1993. England) Thoughts on animal liberation, the value of direct action, and security measures.

How to Sink Whalers, Driftnetters, and Other Environmentally Destructive Ships (1993. Chico, CA. USA) The scuttling of ships used to harm the ocean has a long and proud tradition in our movement. Classically, large boats were sunk with limpet mines attached magnetically to their hulls, but another method became popular in 1986 when David Howitt and Rod Coronado sank two boats in harbor in Iceland by opening the sea water intake valves. Their method, originally published as an epilogue in later editions of Dave Foreman and Bill Haywood’s Ecodefense, was later excerpted for publication in this zine format gem.

Interviews with ALF Activists (1986. England) According to Keith Mann, Interviews with Animal Liberation Front Activists had an initial print run of around 1,500 copies which were mailed to to the postal boxes of supportive groups. Inside were detailed instructions on fire bombs, as well as press clippings and interviews with the people behind much of the resistance taking place in England. Readers will notice pages missing from our .PDF of “Interviews.” After many years of photocopying, the final several pages- which contained addresses of laboratories- had become obsolete. In fact, many of them were out of date at the time of publication as they had been taken from documents issued by the Home Office 5 years prior to printing.

Into The 90s With The ALF (1991. England) Basic cut and paste primer from early 1990s. Discusses the course of direct action and hunt sabotage after the murder of Mike Hill.

Meeting the People and Ideas of the Animal Liberation Movement (Publication date unknown. Amsterdam, Netherlands) Containing mostly reprints from early issues of No Compromise, this is a good read with a mouthful of a title!

My First Little Book of GM Crop Decontamination (Date of publication likely 2002. Country of publication likely England) Essentially a more complete, British version of The Nighttime Gardener with illustrated instructions on locating and destroying genetically modified crops.

Nighttime Gardener (2000. United States) Originally released to coincide with the WTO protests, Nighttime Gardener quickly became the standard primer on anti-bioengineering crop pulls. These actions, which were once popular all across the world, were aimed at preventing GM cross contamination with other plants and corporate control of agriculture.

Power is Ours, The (Publication date unknown. Country of origin unknown.) Basically a reprinting of the Into the 90s with the ALF with a new lay-out and introduction. Contains a small piece about a raid carried out against the Oxford University vivisection program where 64 cats were rescued.

This Is The ALF 1-2 (1990, 1994. New Zealand) A brief snapshot of the animal liberation movement in New Zealand from the late 1980s into the 90s. The Diary of Actions is impressive for a country of this size.

We are still seeking primers. If you have them- or other publications of note- please contact us!