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THE THEORY
AND
PRACTICE OF HELL"We have enslaved the rest of animal creation and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form."
William Ralph Inge
Each day we butcher millions of other sentient beings because we like the taste of their flesh. The functional development and intensity of suffering of our victims tends to match the capacities of human infants and toddlers. The contrast in our attitude and behaviour toward them could scarcely be greater.
Imagine the anguish caused by an oxyacetylene torch applied, if only to a few seconds, to your child's face. Unspeakably appalling? Yet each day we pay by our choice of food purchases to have other living creatures treated no less abominably. An over-statement? Surely factory-farming and the apparatus of mechanised killing, even in their worst excesses, can rarely be that bad? No, in a sense the reality is worse. This is because what it's like for our victims is more terrible than we can typically imagine. In fact, on the few occasions in life when pain that's even relatively severe strikes us down personally, we are shocked into an ugly realisation. The casual use of the word "pain" evokes only the palest shadow of the frightfulness of the experience that lies behind it. Pain really is uniquely awful. The state-dependence of memory helps us forget. The problem is not that our everyday language is emotive. It's that we can't use it to be emotive enough.
Jewish writer Hanna Arendt once wrote of the "banality of evil". For it transpires that most of the bureaucrats who actually organised the human Holocaust in the Nazi era were not sadistic psychopaths in the usual sense of the term. Many were devoted husbands, loving fathers and cultivated family men. They were motivated by a distorted sense of duty rather than a relish for bloodshed or suffering for its own sake. Somehow it seems the "dissociation of sensibility" between their feelings and the effects of their actions was complete. The same is true of most of our own vivisectors, abattoir managers and the bureaucrats in charge of the mass-killing apparatus. So they shouldn't be demonised. They must still be stopped.
Life in a state of Nature is nonetheless often little kinder than a life of barbarous abuse by Man. So should we respect the ways of Nature simply because they are "natural"? Or is homage to the pain-ridden products of selfish genes as harmful a superstition as any? In one sense, after all, animals no more need liberating than babies and toddlers need liberating: they need looking after. In The Hedonistic Imperative I argue that there is only one long-term way to abolish the ghastliness of suffering on a planetary scale. Such a strategy entails eradicating its biological roots via the systematic application of genetic-engineering and nanotechnology. This major transition in the evolution of life will replace the DNA-driven substrates of raw nastiness. Their molecular architecture will be succeeded by modes of consciousness more beautiful than anything we can currently imagine. Counter-intuitively, there are grounds for speculating that the world's last aversive experience, probably some (relatively) minor pain in some (to us) obscure marine invertebrate, will be a well-defined event. It will be as precisely dateable as any other historical milestone; and far more important. For it will mark the end of the ugliest chapter in the history of life on earth.
Some people who care deeply about animals are still shocked at the implications of such an ambitious species-project. A great many animal-lovers would oppose the loss, for instance, of the symbolically-charged big predators in their traditional guise. This is in spite of the cruelty and suffering inflicted on the weak, the old and the vulnerable which their present carnivorous habits entail. To anyone of a vaguely humanistic or spirituo-religious disposition, a blueprint to end the primeval DNA regime might seem the vision of a soulless technocrat. Yet there's nothing soulful about rampant, pointless and utterly out-of-control suffering. The much-advertised "Death of God" shouldn't spell the loss of paradise, too; and there is only one scientifically literate way its promise is ever going to be realised.
So what can be done right now? Fighting the ideology that sustains the vast apparatus of oppression is indeed vital; but shutting down the apparatus itself is what counts. Here, without addition or alteration, are the Animal Rights FAQ and the ALF FAQ. Their presence on this site should in no way be taken to sanction or condone any of my views.
D.P.
Animal Liberation by Peter Singer (rev.ed. 1995) ISBN: 07126744446
Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F.)
Frequently Asked Questions
by the North American A.L.F. Supporters Group
What is the Animal Liberation Front?
The Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F.) carries out direct action against animal abuse in the form of rescuing animals and causing financial loss to animal exploiters, usually through the damage and destruction of property.
The A.L.F.'s short-term aim is to save as many animals as possible and directly disrupt the practice of animal abuse. Their long term aim is to end all animal suffering by forcing animal abuse companies out of business.
It is a non-violent campaign, activists taking all precautions not to harm any animal (human or otherwise).
Because A.L.F. actions are against the law, activists work anonymously, either in small groups or individually, and do not have any centralized organization or co-ordination.
The Animal Liberation Front consists of small autonomous groups of people all over the world who carry out direct action according to the A.L.F. guidelines. Any group of people who are vegetarians or vegans and who carry out actions according to A.L.F. guidelines have the right to regard themselves as part of the A.L.F.
The A.L.F. guidelines are:
- TO liberate animals from places of abuse, i.e. laboratories, factory farms, fur farms, etc., and place them in good homes where they may live out their natural lives, free from suffering.
- TO inflict economic damage to those who profit from the misery and exploitation of animals.
- TO reveal the horror and atrocities committed against animals behind locked doors, by performing non-violent direct actions and liberations.
- TO take all necessary precautions against harming any animal, human and non-human.
PLEASE NOTE: The North American A.L.F. Supporters Group is a completely separate organization from the A.L.F. YOU CANNOT become a member of the A.L.F., or an A.L.F. activist, by supporting the North American A.L.F.S.G.
What is the Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group?
The purpose of the A.L.F. Supporters Group is to support the work of the Animal Liberation Front by all lawful means possible. This includes:
- Support of imprisoned activists,
- support and defense of the A.L.F.,
- educating the public as to the need and rationale of direct action,
- providing a communication forum through the Supporters Group newsletter,
- raising funds for all the above S.G. activities.
There are A.L.F. Supporters Groups all over the world. The North American A.L.F. Supporters Group (NA-ALFSG) is responsible for co-ordinating A.L.F. support within North America.
Our main projects right now are supporting activists who are imprisoned for alleged involvement in animal liberation activities and publishing a magazine three times a year.
The Supporters Group is for those who wish to support the A.L.F. without breaking the law. We encourage the participation of all activists -- including those who are unable to, or who do not wish to, take part in direct action.
How Do I Become a Member of the North
American A.L.F. Supporters Group?Suggested costs for a membership to the North American ALFSG, including a year's subscription to "Underground", are on a $20-$30 sliding scale. Canadian subscribers can pay in Canadian currency; we ask that US and overseas subscribers pay in US currency (US cheques or money orders). All money, EXCEPT that going towards merchandise and distribution should be sent to the NA-ALFSG's Ontario mailing address (see below).
Cheques and money orders should be made out to: NAALFSG.
We are a 100% volunteer organization. All money raised goes directly to the work of supporting animal liberation and assisting imprisoned activists. Supporters can help raise money by: making personal contributions; promoting our magazine "Underground" and our other merchandise; organizing fund-raising events; designing merchandise; and suggesting strategies for our fund-raising efforts.
What are the Projects of the North American ALFSG?
Prisoner Support
- Letter writing: prisoners rely on letters as their link to the outside world. Letters to newspapers help inform the public about the plight of imprisoned activists.
- Publicity: articles for magazines, letters to the editor, public speaking, and other media work such as radio broadcasts help fundraise and raise awareness. Of course any press work that is done under the name of the North American ALFSG must be approved by the North American ALFSG.
Newsletter
- Contributions to the newsletter: articles, letters, graphics, action reports, communiques...everything helps.
- Distribution/Subscription drive: if you can help us distribute the newsletter or increase subscriptions, that helps us educate about animal liberation.
If you have any other ideas, please let us know. We welcome your feedback and participation.
How Do A.L.F. Cells Communicate Securely?
If you are a member of an active A.L.F. cell, send us any clippings, or your own report, with date, time, place, and a few details about the action. Send your reports on plain paper, using block capital letters, or a public typewriter that many people have access to. Wear gloves at all times so your fingerprints are not on the paper, envelope, or stamp. Do not give your address, and don't lick the stamp or envelope; wet it with a sponge. Remember you should expect that all of our mail and any other support groups' mail is opened and read by the authorities.
DO NOT inform us of upcoming actions BEFORE they happen. Towards animal liberation and freedom for all political prisoners,
How Can I Contact the North American ALFSG and find out about merchandise, newsletters and distribution information?
Please direct all inquiries to the following address:NAALFSG
PO Box 69597
5845 Yonge St.
Willowdale, Ont
M2M 4K3
CANADA
naalfsg@envirolink.org
