STRIKING AT THE ROOTS:
A Practical Guide To Animal Activism

Striking at the Roots – the latest in animal activism books - will empower activists to make the most of their skills. From simple leafleting and tabling to shelter work and taking direct action, this book clearly explains where to begin, what to expect and how activists can ensure their message is heard.

Clearly people want to make a difference but how? Striking At The Roots will respect the economy of activists’ time and money – and offer advice in the best possible way on how you can help the animals. We caught up with the author, Mark Hawthorne, in the process of currently writing his second book.

Abolitionist: Jam-packed full of useful advise, tips on lobbying, what happens if an activist gets arrested, how to conduct a veggie hotdog feed-in and all the other things activists need to know first tell us why did you wrote Striking At The Roots, Mark?

Mark Hawthorne: The idea began years ago when I first got into activism and could not find a practical how-to guide for speaking out for animals. The world is filled with books on how to get rich or how to fix a leaky faucet, but how many books are there that explain how to get involved in animal activism? 

I want to show people that getting active for animals is easy, it is important and it can be fun. Anyone can volunteer at a local animal shelter, for example, and most people are capable of engaging in the models of activism described in the book. Activists speak out for billions of animals who suffer needlessly every year, so I hope this book empowers people to get active for the voiceless. 
 
Why is food an incredibly powerful component in an activist’s tool kit? 

The main reason people don’t go vegan is they don’t think it’s convenient. They think eating vegan means giving up all their favourite foods, leaving them with lettuce and tofu. Well, activists can use food to show others that living cruelty-free – or at least living as compassionately as possible – is not hard at all. Yes, it requires a little education, but once you get the hang of it, a whole new world opens up.  

Food is our common touchstone. Because of food’s place in our lives, it offers the promise of transformation, since what we place in our bellies can be the bridge to a higher level of compassion. The very act of sharing a delicious plant-based meal with someone more accustomed to dining on dead animals may not inspire them to immediately embrace veganism or vegetarianism, but it helps disabuse them of the myth that vegan food is strange, that it is hard to prepare and, perhaps the biggest false premise, that a meat-based diet is ideal for optimum health.   

I always advise activists that when they bring a dish to a potluck or family gathering, bring the recipe … especially if it’s a dessert, because anyone who tries your cookies or cake or brownies or whatever is going to want to know how you made this fantastic dessert without eggs or dairy. 

Knowing all you know now, name 10 points that activists should do to get active for the animals. 

1. Go vegan. This is very important. If you can’t go vegan, try giving up meat, eggs and dairy products one day a week, then add another day every week.
2. Educate yourself. Know the issues surrounding animal rights. You needn’t be an expert, but it’s important that you know what you’re talking about when you discuss factory farming, vivisection and other forms of animal abuse.
3. Leaflet. It’s very easy and very effective. You can order flyers and leaflets from Vegan Outreach, the Vegan Society and many other groups.
4. Contact a local animal sanctuary, shelter or wildlife centre and ask about volunteering.
5. Ask your school cafeteria or one of your favourite restaurants to carry vegan or vegetarian entrees.
6. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about an animal issue in the news or something you’re concerned about, such as a rodeo or circus coming to town. Better yet, join a writers group run by organisations like Animal Liberation Victoria and others.
7. Visit www.alv.org.au, www.humaneeating.com or www.mercyforanimals.org and order a veggie starter kit; give it to a meat-eating friend.
8. Order buttons and shirts with anti-cruelty messages from an animal rights groups near you.
9. Include a signature line in your email with links to one or two of your favourite animal rights videos or current campaigns.
10. Finally, remember that the public is always assessing animal activism, so be polite, be prepared to answer common questions – such as “Where do you get your protein?” – and bear in mind that not everyone is going to get it right away. Most of us grew up eating meat, so try not to be too hard on people.

 Where do you place veganism in the scheme of animal activism?

I think a plant-based diet is the single most important thing a human can do to help non-human animals. Worldwide, 55 billion land animals are raised and killed for food every year. Hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens are imprisoned in grim wire cages, and millions of dairy cows are subjected to indefensible cruelties. If you can do nothing else to make a difference in this world, at least give up eating meat, eggs and dairy foods. It’s not only good for the animals, but it’s better for our bodies, it helps the environment and it benefits the world. I also happen to believe it’s good for the soul. 

Are animal activists making a difference for non-human animals? Are human ethics slowly changing meat-eaters point of view? 

Yes, I believe activists are making a difference. For example, right now the government of Spain is about to give rights to life, liberty and protection from torture to great apes. That is tremendous, and it would not have happened without animal activists being vocal about animal rights. Moreover, veganism is becoming more mainstream every day, and consumers are learning the truth about what goes on behind the closed doors of factory farms. I’m working on a campaign now to ban gestation crates, battery cages and veal crates in California, and the public support for this is amazing.  

Not only are we hearing about victories for animals almost every day, but animal exploiters are worried – they know animal activists are winning, and they know public opinion is changing. For example, a new study by a coalition of groups in the U.S., including the Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary and the Animal Legal Defense Fund, found that the vast majority of people support animal protection and animal advocates.  

Unfortunately, the success of animal activism has led to a crackdown on activists around the world. A recent, high-profile example is police arresting and detaining Martin Balluch and other activists in Austria without any charges. Is it a coincidence that Martin and his colleagues have been campaigning to have a chimp named Matthew Hiasl Pan declared a person and given some legal status in Austria? 

Yet, thanks to activism, I believe the tide is turning against animal factories and animal abuse. But we’re not there yet with medical research. Activists need to do a better job of exposing the cruelties of vivisection and overcoming the perception that animal testing is the best option. 

As well researched as ever, how did you know that lamb chops are practically a point of national pride on Australia Day? 

[Laughs] I wish I had some great answer that showed how smart I am, but the truth is I simply asked. I was smart enough to not believe all those Paul Hogan commercials shown in the U.S. 20 years ago, that everyone Down Under eats shrimp on the barbie. So I asked Patty Mark of Animal Liberation Victoria and Pam Ahern of Edgar’s Mission what people there eat on Australia Day, and they both came back, unfortunately, with lamb chops. 

What is the role of sanctuaries in the modern-day animal rights movement? 

Animal sanctuaries are tremendously important. These are not just safe havens for animals rescued from slaughterhouses, auction yards or vet schools – these are vegan education centres. The only contact most people have with farmed animals is when they eat them. But sanctuaries provide an opportunity for anyone to meet pigs, chickens, cows, goats and other animals raised for food – to see that these are intelligent, sensitive beings with personalities and feelings. I challenge anyone to spend time with a turkey and then think the same way about eating one at a holiday dinner. 
My own transition from vegetarian to vegan took place after visiting a sanctuary here in California called Animal Place, and now I volunteer there. I was speaking with the sanctuary’s co-founder, Kim Sturla, the other day about a letter she recently received from a 12-year-old boy who had toured Animal Place with his family. He said after visiting the animals, he went vegetarian. Just being at a sanctuary helped him make the connection that animals are friends, not food. Whenever I give talks, I strongly encourage activists to spend time at sanctuaries – to get some face time with the faces they’re working so hard to protect. 

What did you discover while researching the new animal law movement, the legal system and the budding vibrant animal law activists working within the legal system? 

That’s a great question – and an excellent example of how things are changing. Eight years ago, there were only nine law schools in the U.S. offering courses in animal law. Today, there are 90, with more being added all the time. I am privileged to work with a group called the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which works to advance the interests of animals through the legal system, so I get to see how legal professionals are going to bat for animals every day.  

The field of animal law is steadily growing, with more and more law students becoming interested. Of course, it is expanding worldwide, with groups like Voiceless working to improve legal protection for animals in Australia, the Animal Rights Legal Advocacy Network fighting for animals in New Zealand and law schools in the UK offering courses in animal law. There’s even a college in China that offers a course in animal law. And those are just a few examples, of course. Laws are a reflection of a society’s values, so it’s important to have advocates who can speak up for animals in court. 

The legal system is far from perfect – it still regards animals as property, for example – but the legal profession has been making a tremendous difference for animals, and this is an exciting time for students studying animal law.  

What were some of the surprises for you working on Striking At The Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism? 

I was surprised by how many animal organisations and activists there are – especially male activists. As disingenuous as this may sound, I had the impression that men represented a fairly small percentage of those engaged in animal activism. Yes, there are people like Paul Watson and Andrew Tyler, but I thought they were the exception. I found out I was very wrong. Although women do make up most of the animal activists, the ratio is not as lopsided as I thought it was, and speaking with men like Phil Clayton, Paul Shapiro, Gene Baur, Andrew Butler and Erik Marcus renewed my hope that we can accomplish something as a team. And those guys are just the more well-known names. For every Tom Regan or David Horton there are a hundred guys out there whose names we’ll never see in print, working in the trenches on behalf of animals.  

Also, I couldn’t understand why there are relatively few resources that support animal activists – that give them fresh ideas and empower them. So to augment the book’s message, I created a blog devoted to animal activism, http://strikingattheroots.wordpress.com/. It will feature profiles of activists around the world, activism news, examples of successful campaigns – that sort of thing. 

Contact: strikingattheroots.com