Hunt Saboteurs Association

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

Sabotage : A Comic / Zine About The Fine Art Of Hunt Sabotage (1992 – Cardiff, UK) Produced by the Vale and Valleys Hunt Sabs, this short zine provides exactly what the title suggests. The interior has articles and comics from a wide cross section of saboteur subcultures, from crusties to older folks in white tennis shoes. The quality of the content is all over the map as well, but still makes for an interesting look at sabbing culture and technique in the early 1990s.

SHAC – A Campaign That Made History (2013. City of publication unknown, Italy) Originally published as “SHAC: ha fatto storia.” The english translation is not perfect, but makes for a good overview of the FBI’s “Operation Trailmix” in the US and INTERPOL’s “Operation Achilles” in Europe. The collective that made this booklet has a blog at shacmadehistory.noblogs.org

SNARL! Handbook of the Leeds A.L.F. (1985. Leeds, England) Hilarious, youthful, arrogant, and obnoxious- and just a little bit dangerous. Ignore the sketchy how to’s and enjoy the rest!

Still Angry? The Compilation Tape and Fanzine: A Benefit for the Toronto ALFSG (1987. Toronto, ON. Canada) The Toronto ALFSG released many of the publications on this site and were one of the best sources of information on direct action for non-humans in the 1980s. In order to financially support their work they released this cassette and zine compilation in 1987. The bands featured are primarily from Europe, North America, and South Africa and run the gamut of punk sub-genres. The zine and liner notes are typical of their era- cut and paste style graphics, juvenile interviews, and plenty of righteous frustration with law and order.
Due to a file error, we currently only have Side A of the cassette digitized. Please accept our apologies, we will post the full cassette eventually… Maybe…

True Story of Stumpy the Bear, The (City and date of publication unknown. USA) The US Forest service auctions off public land for private profit at a net loss to the taxed classes. How does an organization behave so badly for so long without anyone noticing? The USFS has as part of its solution a cartoon bear…
Radical environmentalists subvertised the heck out of Smokey in the 80’s and 90’s to great effect. The free Smokey comic books given out at ranger stations were replaced with these Stumpy comics.

Up Against The Law (1987. London, England) Before the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act or the advent of Ag-Gag laws, western governments were using other means to protect the profits of animal abusers. Through methods legislative and extra-legal the British government was particularly skilled in disrupting the efforts of animal liberationists. By the late 1980s these attacks had become so commonplace that J.J. Roberts (the collective pen name of John Page and Jane Holgate) wrote Up Against the Law as an effort to give activists a means to fight back.

The Complete S.A.R.P. Newsletters

In: Campaign newsletters, Periodicals

Support Animal Rights Prisoners newsletter #1-5 (1991 – Northampton, England)

The Primer Collection

In: Primers

Expand for title and publication data...

Primers are typically self published, anonymously distributed zines containing DIY instructions on sabotage, civil disobedience, or other forms of direct action. Due to the laws suppressing certain materials in the United States we must censor primers containing bomb making or incendiary device instructions. While primers in the environmental and animal liberation movements seldom focus on consequences, please be aware that following the advice in these publications could lead to arrest, incarceration, death, or severe repression of yourself and others. These publications are dated, their instructional value may not hold up in light of new legislation, security measures, and other technological advancements. Please see our site disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

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!

Black Beast / Turning Point

In: Periodicals

Black Beast 1-3 / Turning Point 5-8 (1985-1987. Oxford, UK)

Arkangel

In: Arkangel, Periodicals

Arkangel 1-5, 7-11 (1989-1994. London, England)

Flesh and Blood

In: Periodicals

Flesh and Blood 1-8 and 10 (1980-1992 – Hertfordshire, England)

BUAV Liberator

In: BUAV Liberator, Periodicals

BUAV Liberator (Various issues, 1983, 1984, and 1986. London, England)

The Complete ALF Supporters Group newsletter

In: Most Popular, Periodicals, The SG

The ALF Supporters Group newsletter 1-19 (1982-1986. Nottingham / London, England)

The Complete The Beast

The Beast International Times Supplements 1-2, The Beast 1-10 (1978-1981. London, England)

On the 5th of November of 1947 a baby lowland gorilla, stolen from his home and family in West Africa, arrived at the London Zoo. As it was Guy Fawkes day, this newest prisoner was named in his honor. Guy the Gorilla went on to become one of the biggest money makers for his captors, and thousands of visitors would gawk at him, occasionally throwing him sweets to eat. Eventually the candies rotted his teeth, and during a surgery to repair them, he had a heart attack. The budding animal liberation movement in the UK took notice, and a group of people began producing buttons with Guy’s face on them. As the buttons grew in popularity, this small group decided to make a newspaper, and soon The Beast became an insert in International Times. After two such inserts the editors struck out on their own, and soon this beautiful publication was on newsstand racks in England and abroad. It was produced for two short years, and remains one of the best animal liberation (and anti-nuke!) publications of all time.

The Beast began it’s run during a time of global social and political decay. As the voters of the west fell under the spell of charismatic and brutal conservatives, a broad coalition of anti-nuke, anti-fascist, union, conservationist, environmentalist, and animal lib activists entrenched themselves to fight back. As things “hotted up” in the streets, the staff of the magazine followed the action and ideas of an astonishing number of people and groups. The tone in the early issues is optimistic, brave, and intelligent, and offers a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of activists during the era.

The history covered is equally incredible. Articles offer the story of the first animal liberation raid in the United States, the origins of the Hunt Saboteurs Association, and the early days of the Animal Liberation Front. Lost figures, like OG U.S. Hunt Sab and eco-prisoner John Walker, come back to life in these old pages. Important thinkers, such as Henry Spira, Peter Singer, Richard Adams, and Paul Watson were regular contributors. Then, there are the images! Between the full color, glossy covers are amazing pictures of early raids, movement legends, and epic moments on our movement’s timeline. One such photograph, taken in 1980 and shown in issue #10, captures a small group of Animal Liberation League activists standing with banners in a field, bandannas covering their faces, fists in the air. More than 30 years later young people still show that same spark of rebellion and hope.

Targeting the information inside to a wide variety of “animal protection” ideologies, The Beast quickly drew the attention of people ranging from old school anti-vivisectionists to environmentalists. This new readership included people like McLibel defendant Dave Morris, Animal Liberation Front co-founder Ronnie Lee, and open rescue pioneer Pattie Mark. By the time the full size magazine had an existence independent from the International Times, foreign correspondents were already on board and writing about the emerging movement for animal liberation taking place globally.

Animosity #3

In: Periodicals

Animosity #3 (1984, Stafforshire, England)

We rarely post a single issue of a periodical to TALON, preferring instead to post an entire year or run so that readers can watch as stories develop and politics evolve within a publication. In this instance we are making an exception. For the last several years we have tried, without luck, to track down further issues of Animosity- a publication of the Keele University Animal Rights Group. Our hope is that one of our readers might help us to obtain the rest of this student-militant zine.

Animosity appears to have been written largely by anarchists with an insider’s knowledge of the animal liberation movement, and broad, anti-capitalist politics. If anyone can help us to discover the authors or more issues of this intriguing publication, please contact us HERE.