Interviewing the Interviewer: Kevin Watkinson

Kevin Watkinson from “A Taste of Leeds”

By Claudette Vaughn

CV:Tell us about your activism Kevin?

KW: I'll tell you a bit about my philosophy, which is in all probability is an amalgamation of different ideas I’ve come across over the years. For many people they go through a type of Ghandian phase, and I went through this to come out the other side. Preferably by showing a stoic face, demonstrating discipline, solidarity, determination and strength in numbers you'd effect change. Given the scale of the abuse and violence within the animal industry, and the size of the animal rights movement, it's difficult to see that changes will happen in the near term without significant pressure being exerted on individuals involved in the animal industry, and their supporters, which includes principally government. The entire system needs to change and people need to be faced
with the facts of their abuse of non-human sentient beings.

You hear people wanting you to go away, but they already know, and this is something, this knowing starts to gnaw away, and this can bring about changes on a personal level. Maybe slowly or quickly, depending on the person.

But the most important part of my activism is veganism. It's animal liberation on a very fundamental level. In the UK it's getting easier and easier and I am yet to find a good argument not to follow it. If you want to start chipping away at the animal industry it is the obvious way forward. Weakening the animal industry will also weaken its supporters. The present political system ought to be wary of the growing number of vegans. These cruelty free people are dangerous to the health of the State!

CV: What campaigns are you currently working on?

KW: The Leeds veggie and vegan group are planning to put on a vegan fayre this Spring, coinciding with national vegetarian week. There'll be vegan food, films and music, plus the opportunity for local campaigning groups to attend along with wholefood shops, juice places, and general businesses involved in the vegetarian/vegan scene. It'll be quite small compared to Bristol/London vegan fayres but it's principally aimed at Leeds and the surrounding areas.

Vegan fayres are all the rage in the UK at the moment.

On a personal level and with the help of others, I’m hoping to set up an exhibition of people's perceptions of animal testing to be shown firstly at Leeds University. Recently, Animal Aid (www.animalaid.org.uk) ran an expose on some of the practices that go on in the 'science' department, the report focused on the efficacy of sixteen years of research funded partly by the British Heart Foundation and involving the systematic abuse of beagle dogs. A summary of the damning report can be seen here:
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/madscience/painfulsum.htm

It's plain to see that the University at present gets away with conducting animal experiments without sufficient scrutiny from both within and outside the institution. Arguments opposing vivisection and the potential alternatives to this practice are not to be found in the student press, seemingly amongst University employees (with the philosophy department maintaining a deathly silence) and even among students. Hopefully if this project gets off the ground things will start to change.

CV: What's your connection to anarchist ideas?

KW: I became particularly interested in alternatives to the current political system when training to be a social worker. The kind of things I saw and the procedures I was expected to follow, brought home to me the very fact that the present capitalist way of doing things is just not working, no matter how much you might want to think it's alright, or that things are going to get better. It was just an incessant referral of cases that you had very little time and resources to do anything about. It was fundamentally disempowering to people, which is in fact the opposite to the good intentions of social work. That is, if you view social work as a movement for change, and not as an agency aiming to resolve crises to help maintain stability and the status quo.

In regard to animal rights, the present power structure makes it very difficult to change the way in which nonhuman animals are treated, it’s very difficult to get someone who supports the animal industry through the purchase of products tested on animals, and through eating them to represent you on a level that you would like. Similar issues can be found in regard to humans and the environment. In this regard I support non-hierarchical decision-making. The voices of the minority should not be marginalised.

Anarchists though, are an interesting bunch when it comes to animal rights, for instance, examining and understanding the oppression of groups of people can be extrapolated to the oppression of other sentient beings, yet this is not an area as representative amongst anarchists as it might be. Anthropocentrism is a difficult shroud to cast off.

CV: Tell us about the work you do for "A Taste of Leeds".

KW: The Leeds vegetarian and vegan group produce a quarterly newsletter about vegetarianism and veganism. It kind of ties in health, fair trade and environmental issues too. There are interviews with different people around the vegan movement, and interesting articles that different readers have found and sent in. Along with handy tips and recipes.

The group has monthly pot luck lunches and arranges other outings, and also attends local community events selling vegan cakes and distributing information about vegan related issues.

CV: Are you attending the 2006AR Conference this year?

KW: I'd like to.