Dave Agranoff (snitch)

One off publications are zines or short books with a single installment.

Got the Hollowpoints for the Snitches (2005, City of publication unknown. USA) An examination of the consequences of activists who provide evidence to the state written during the Green Scare. Comes complete with a rogues gallery of traitors. Our least controversial publication!

Grand Juries: Tools of Political Repression (1998. Portland, OR. USA) After his first few subpoenas, Craig Rosebraugh wrote this essay just in time to receive six more subpoenas. The tone of the publication is a little heavy handed, academic, and politically naive, but contains a good overview of grand juries.

Homo Milk (1992. Sacramento, CA, USA) A true treasure produced by Tom Scut and Todd Pollution Circus. Super queer, super vegan, and very influential in its time.

Hunt Saboteurs Association New Members Pack (1987. Exeter, England.) The Hunt Saboteurs Association is among the most important organizations in the history of animal rights. Starting in 1963, it was one of the first protest organizations for animals in the modern era. Its means were always direct action oriented, and many of our greatest organizations, activists, and philosophies originated with HSA participation. This New Members Pack is a great place to start learning abut the early tactics of the group.

Inside / Out: Diary of Madness (2001. St. Louis, MO. USA) Inside / Out is the story of Brenda Shoss’ experience at the national demonstration which took place in Little Rock between October 27th and 29th in 2001. Brenda, a devoted animal rescuer and mother, represented the broad diversity of the campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences during its early years. She hardly fit the image of militant campaigning. Happily marching alongside pierced punks and anarchists, Brenda’s mild mannered and patriotic politics did not clash with those held by her comrades: instead her presence signaled a movement able to break through to a wider audience. Throughout her account of the demonstrations she evokes the anger and outrage that prompted thousands to band together, despite their differences, to fight to shut down HLS.

Inside the Cages: animal liberation and imprisonment (2013. South London, England) lewis pogson’s account of his imprisonment in England for animal liberation actions. The final chapters deal with post-release supervision and are a must read for those trying to understand the long term legal consequences of a serious arrest.

It’s a Man’s Game (Publication year unknown, likely early 1980s. Leeds, England) It’s A Man’s Game is a short zine written after an anarchist men’s weekend, outlining what they perceived as sexism in the UK’s Hunt Saboteur Association. The authors argue that all men involved in hunt sabbing engage in behaviors that oppress women, and that women and animals are alike because women are “enslaved as wives” and “used for entertainment, cheap labour, and sex.”
For a zine claimed to be inspired by women’s strength, it is notably absent of evidence of women voicing their own concerns with the sabbing scene. Instead, women are portrayed as yet another helpless and oppressed creature that needs protecting by enlightened men – mirroring the paternalistic dynamic of how many animal rights activists view animals.
The solutions to sexism proposed by the zine are to disassociate with the HSA, have structured meetings to prevent any one person from talking more than another, and to spend time doing blindfolded trust exercises as a group to build respect for women.

Keep Fighting: Three Interviews with Britain’s Animal Liberation Front Press Officers (1996. Minneapolis, MN. USA) An almost entirely fantastic little zine containing three highly influential interviews with Robin Webb, Ronnie Lee, and Robin Lane covering the arguments in favor of direct action. There are, however, some arguments on human population in Lee’s interview that will disappoint.

Let’s Get Free (2002. Eugene, OR. USA) Let’s Get Free tells the story of Jeff “Free” Luers’ arrest, trial, and sentencing, along with some short articles and illustrations by Jeff himself. It was sold to benefit his legal defense and prison commissary fund before he eventually had his sentence reduced from 22 years to about 10 years on appeal. It manages to capture some of the shock and anger felt by the activist community when one of our best comrades was buried inside the prison system as a reminder to stay in our place. What it doesn’t capture is the strength, sincerity, and warmth of Jeff Luers. The state failed to tame this warrior. Free is free!

The Complete No Compromise

No Compromise 1-30. Includes Strategic Non-Violence for Animal Liberation insert included with issue #8 as separate publication. (1996-2006, Sacramento, CA / Minneapolis, MN / Caldwell, NJ / Old Bridge, NJ / Santa Cruz, CA / San Francisco, CA)

Text postNo Compromise, which billed itself as “The militant, direct action newsmagazine of grassroots animal liberationists and their supporters,” was the most important animal rights publication of the 1990s. Despite its many problems, frequent delays, and constant changes in editorial staff, the magazine energized the movement in a way that is difficult to explain to a generation that never witnessed pre-internet activism.

In the mid 90s there were a few, isolated groups around the country who were participating in civil disobedience actions and staging loud protests against local labs and fur stores. These groups were largely unaware of each others’ existence and without a gathering like Earth First!’s Round River Rendezvous, unable to share tactical advice or co-ordinate targets.

In 1996 there was a national meeting of animal rights activists in Washington DC dubbed World Animal Awareness Week and March for the Animals. The event was considered a failure as only 3,000 of the estimated 100,000 participants materialized. But staff from No Compromise were present passing out the first issue and asking grassroots organizations for their contact information. Suddenly groups like the Animal Rights Direct Actions Coalition were meeting with the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, the Animal Defense Leagues, and the Student Organization for Animal Rights.

As the grassroots grew increasingly aware of the efforts of other organizations, regional demonstrations began being planned. The first such demonstration after the March for Animals took place at the Seattle Fur Exchange, where activists used bike locks to attach themselves to each other and block the drive way of the fur auction. All of the action got reported on in No Compromise, and suddenly bike locks gave way to lock boxes, which gave way to super boxes and barrels and tripods as civil disobedience tactics spread across the country wherever the magazine was distributed. There was an explosion not just in voluntary arrest scenarios, but also in underground direct action. The print runs of No Compromise kept climbing and it became the must read publication for animal rights militants.

The tone of the magazine at its start was hopeful, and each issue was packed with increasingly daring protests and direct actions. As the movement struggled to find focus and dealt with the departure of founder Freeman Wicklund, the the mood shifts to frustration and confusion, only to be plucked back into hopeful territory with the rise of SHAC.

After 30 issues, the steering committee of No Compromise decided to stop publishing in 2006. Their decision could not have come at a worse time. With the SHAC website and newsletter killed by the convictions of the SHAC 7, Bite Back being published only sporadically and with a limited focus, and the Earth First! Journal mired in infighting, the sudden absence of No Compromise meant that the primary sources for radical animal liberation news, opinion, and strategy were the twin sewers of online social networks and the North American Animal Liberation Press Office. These were dark times for our movement, and we are only just beginning to recover.

Holocaust #4

In: Periodicals

Holocaust #4 (1994, Syracuse, NY USA.)

Holocaust was published and edited by Kris Qua, who, during his time as a high school student in upstate New York, founded the first chapter of the Animal Defense League. His magazine was as influential as his group, and in the Syracuse area it helped spark the participation of a number of young activists. Its politics were not perfect, and I am sure that many of our readers will be disappointed with the anti-abortion rhetoric at this end of this issue written by former Hardline adherent Dave Agranoff. Most issues contained similar articles. Still, Holocaust was an important publication from a key region during an era of growth and change in the movement.

It is also exceedingly rare! We post this issue in the hopes that our readers will check their collections for the rest of the series as we would very much like to have a complete set. Contact us at conflictgypsy ((at)) gmail ((dot)) com if you can help us finish our collection of this historically significant east coast zine.