Change Through Action
Help needed for a stall in Ashton town centre which will have a focus on the meat industry, particularly the appalling plight of turkeys, call or text the MAA phone if you can come: 07809 293370
Meet at Piccadilly train station in Manchester 10am or 11am at Ashton bus station.
On Sunday 15th, MAA decamped from sunny Manchester to that London to lend assistance to the fur protests at Harrods. The journey took an age due to sundry motorway blockages but eventually we got there and were met with soup and cake. They are good that London lot.
There are several doors in and out of Harrods so at these demonstrations people tend to make their way around the building, protesting at each set of doors for a period of time.
Although sometimes it can be horrifying to see the amount of fur being worn by Harrods shoppers it is a positive demonstration to join in with as the anti-fur presence is highly visible to thousands of people at this Central London tourist attraction.
Due to its nature as a tourist attraction it is also possible to give information to people who don’t always get to see the anti-fur arguments in their home cities. Sunday was no exception with people from MAA and London giving information to shoppers who were convinced to shop eleswhere and who also took leaflets for their friends so that they could all write and complain to Harrods.
The day ended with a birthday singalong, chips and more cake – which again was good.
Harrods is the last department store in the UK to still sell fur. Lets carry on helping to change their minds about this policy.
For more details about the fur trade please see CAFT.
Saturday 14th saw further anti-fur protests in Manchester. Shops that last week gave the pretence of not being bothered by our presence, this week drew down their shutters. They were able to hideaway in their shops but this did not and will not stop their potential customers from being told about the horrific fur trade that they are helping to support. For more information about the rabbit fur industry please see CAFT
Saturday also saw an information stall in Chorley with lots of positive conversations with people about how moving towards a meat free diet can be a benefit to personal health as well as helping end animal suffering.
To get involved with the new Animal Rights group for the Wigan/Warrington area please get in touch with MAA (07809 293370 or blah@manchesteranimalaction.org.uk) and we will point you in the right direction!
The 1st meeting of the group is at the Coven in Wigan on Saturday 28 November.
The Coven,
42-44 Wallgate,
Wigan,
WN1 1JU.
01942 237 800
Finally…
Lets not forget that Greyhound Action still need ongoing help with the campaign to get the Belle Vue greyhound racing stopped. Yes some dogs will end up in nice homes due to RGT (the Retired Greyhound Trust), but 1000’s more will end up dead as finished with, injured or surplus to requirements. Dog Racing is a blood sport and needs to be put in the bin with bear baiting, cock fighting and the like.
Demonstrations are held every Saturday from 6pm to 7:30pm. (Dress Warm!)
Greyhound found alive with both ears hacked off at Bedlington Northumbria
Benefit gig in aid of Liverpool Hunt Saboteurs, this Saturday, 14th November at Next To Nowhere, Liverpool’s Social Centre, 96 Bold Street. Bands – Mashemon, Rattlebus, Post Romantics and discoteque sounds. Doors 7.30, 1st band 8.30. Entry by donation (£3 suggested minimum). Food available. Bring your own booze! Liverpool hunt sabs go out every week to sabotage hunting (which still goes on despite the ban) and protect wildlife, come and support us and have fun at the same time 
Hope to see you there!
After the usual large amounts of food had been scoffed at the monthly meeting we all poured out of Mod Pop Cafe to campaign about shops selling fur in Manchester.
We had a sucessful day!
Rags to Bitches on Tib Street very kindly agreed to give a fur free policy via email to CAFT.
And again Cow in Piccadilly Gardens agreed to contact CAFT with a fur free policy in the week!
We then moved onto Belstaff and Ran where demos look to be more long-lived.
Still 2 out of 4 and a breakfast isn’t a bad day’s work. Anything that helps put an end to the disgusting fur trade.
Some MAA members with the stamina to stay the course even then stayed about town to help with the greyhound demos at Belle Vue.
We have a busy month here at MAA…below are the things we’re doing. To help with any action or to suggest an action just get ring the MAA phone – 07809 293370 or email blah@manchesteranimalaction.org.uk
Saturday 7 November 2009
Fur campaigns in Manchester
Cow (by Piccadilly bus station) – have removed fur from Sheffield and Nottingham following demos.
From Rags to Bitches (Tib St) – took fur out last year but have it back in.
UPDATE – have now promised a fur free policy!
Belstaff – still selling fur despite saying they would stop.
RAN – did take fur out, need to check current situation.
Thursday 12 November
Leaflet drop in Bramhall.
Angela Beer sell fur every winter – help convince them that people do not want to shop anywhere that supports this brutal death industry.
www.caft.org.uk
Friday 13 November
Vegan Month Stall
Market St from 11am
Saturday 14 November
Fur demos in Manchester
Details TBC
Sunday 15 November
Fur Demo at Harrods
Transport from Manchester at 8am.
Get in touch if you want to help.
Tuesday 17 November
Ask A Vegan
Animal Aid are organising this event promoting veganism. Stall in central Manchester on Market Street.
Event TBC
Friday 20 November
Vegan Month Stall
Market St from 11am
Saturday 21 November
Turkeys, Ducks, Xmas Death, etc
Stall in Ashton – meet at Piccadilly station 10am or Ashton Bus Station 11am.
There will be various leafleting door-to-door to promote veggie/vegan diet/Christmas.
People can get leaflets by getting in touch and then leaflet their local areas.
Saturday 28 November
Wigan group First Meeting!
Get in touch for details
Vegan Fair
Upstairs at the Breck Club, Breck Rd, Poulton (next to train station), Saturday 28 November from 12.30pm
Films, food, information, poetry!
Saturday 5 December.
Dogs 4 Us
Campaign against this pedigree dog breeder / dealer in North Manchester
Hundreds of puppies are on sale.
MAA meeting
Meet at Cafe Pop, Oldham St for breakfast, discussion and planning for the month ahead!
Saturday 12 December
VIVA! Day of Action
Sainsbury’s Day of Action to persuade supermarket not to sell factory farmed ducks (and general promotion of veggie/vegan diet).
11am: Stall on Market Street and tour of city centre Sainbury’s.
Leafleting in Wigan and Bolton.
Details TBC
Also…
Egypt dogs
Volunteers needed to trap and spay stray dogs in Egypt – being co-ordinated by Freshfields Animal Rescue.
Get in touch. if you can help.
Peacocks
Homes are needed for up to 100 peacocks from a breeder in Rainford who died recently.
Get in touch. if you can help.
Please contact us if you would like to come and demonstrate against the sale of fur at Harrods.
Transport leaves Manchester at 8.
Harrods is the last department store in the UK to sell fur and is also a tourist attraction.
Hi.
Due to major technical issues that involved rabbits eating computer equipment, the maa blog has been a little quiet of late.
However we have been a busy lot!
Circus demos, fur demos, the national fur march, greyhound demos, getting foie gras off menus, hunt monitoring, planning the next stage of the shark fin campaign, vegan stalls, the anarchist bookfair, rabbit farm demos…you name it, we’ve done it…except update this site!
If you would like to see how you can get involved in helping animals please come along to the maa meeting this Saturday 7th November 10ish Cafe Mod Pop Oldham Street Manchester City Centre.
Just a quick reminder to say that we’ll be at Belle Vue on Saturday evening and hope you’ll be able to join us to ensure that as many people as possible, who’ve taken advantage of the 1p meal deal, won’t be tempted to return again, however cheap to them …. they need to know the true cost paid by the poor dogs! 6pm – 7:30pm
Belle Vue Stadium
Kirkmanshulme Lane
Gorton
Manchester
M18 7BA
October 09 meeting minutes
First things first….
For updates, keep checking this blog
http://manchesteranimalaction.wordpress.com/
This is designed for anyone involved in MAA to contribute to, please do!
Join the facebook group called, you guessed it… Manchester Animal Action! Couldn’t be simpler!
Email us on: blah@manchesteranimalaction.org.uk
Join the email list by sending an email to manchesteranimalaction@lists.rbgi.net
Text us on:
07809 293370
1. November is National Vegan Month, we need to arrange a separate meeting to organise for Sunday 1st November free vegan food day. MAA have been given full use of Earth Café for this (basement of Manchester Buddhist Centre).
Action: Contact MVS and MVVS to see if they want to help with the day.
2. Continuation of the subgroup ‘Manchester Shark Action’ and the shark fin campaign. We succeeded last year in helping get shark cartilage off the shelves in Holland & Barrett and local health food shops in Manchester. Now we need to focus on convincing restaurants in Chinatown to stop selling it. Sea Shepherd use effective campaign tactics such as going into Chinese restaurants that sell fins and then openly showing their disgust and leaving. Also they collect signatures and send them to restaurants with a covering letter explaining the horrors of shark finning. This is having a big effect as it’s hitting them economically.
Action: Contact Sea Shepherd for literature.
Anyone interested to discuss this campaign, meeting Tuesday 3rd November 7pm, Font Bar, New Wakefield Street, just near Oxford Road train station.
3. Use of PR stunts to highlight issues e.g. previous successful ‘zombie dancing and samba’ style demos outside Kurt Geiger! Businesses hate the attention that such visual stuff brings. We need more ideas about how to enliven our demos!
4. Battery chickens and how to raise awareness about them.
Action: Start thread on email list to discuss pros and cons of urban henhouses for rescued chickens
5. Saturday 17th October Anti-Fur demo in London. Minibus will be booked so people definitely interested need to email the list to confirm. Will be leaving Piccadilly early morning, cost between £10-15.
Actions: Contact MVS to see if anyone is interested in coming, book minibus
(See CAFT.)
6. Anti-Fur campaigns.
Angela Beer in Bramhall continues to sell real fur. There will be a pre-demo residential leaflet drop on Thursday 8th October, meet at Piccadilly 7pm. Text MAA phone if interested.
Demo: Saturday 10th October, meet at Piccadilly 11am.
Afflecks Palace is now fur-free and this has been written into shop owners’ licenses by the owner of the building, fantastic!! Worth checking to see if the vintage shops are letting things slip through. (First floor café in Afflecks now sells vegan milkshakes!)
TK Maxx had some fur in recently and but took it off the shelves and apologised when they realised their mistake.
House of Fraser, same as above.
Belstaff still selling fur.
(See CAFT.)
7. It is Global Anti-McDonald’s day on Friday 16th October. Agreed to do evening flyering, Friday 23rd October 7-9pm, meeting outside the Oxford Road/Portland Street McD’s 7pm.
Action: Get flyers.
8. National SHAC march, Newcastle, Friday 9th October, meet at 12pm, Civic Centre. This is about Sanofi Aventis who are a customer of Huntingdon Life Sciences.
9. West Midlands Vegan Fair, Wolverhampton, 24th October 11am-5pm.
10. Bobby Roberts ‘super circus’ is back in town, in Farnworth, Bolton. Demo held on Friday and again on Saturday after the meeting! A good idea recently was to give away free tickets to the Moscow State Circus to families who we turned away from Bobby Roberts! (See CAPS.)
Action: We need more ideas of positive alternatives like this!
11. Tory Party conference anti-hunt demo, meet at 11am Monday 5th October, in front of the Town Hall, Albert Square. This has been organised by FACCT (Fight Against Cameron Cruelty Threat) as the Tory party plan to repeal the Hunting Act.
12. We need a working megaphone!
Action: Test old one, if it doesn’t work we will buy a new one!
13. Christmas is coming, time to plan a BIG turkey campaign. All agreed residential leaflet drops a great idea for November and December.
Also, need ideas for possible Christmas-style cards reflecting the reality of life for turkeys.
Action: Order Viva! Christmas leaflets.
15. Foie-gras. A number of restaurants are selling it in Manchester including the Lowry Hotel, Macdonald Hotel nr Piccadilly and the Park Inn on Cheetham Hill Road. There is a successful campaign against this up and running, with a thread on the MAA email list, plus possible demos planned.
16. Reminder about Belle Vue Greyhound Stadium. Greyhound Action are out there every week peacefully campaigning against this relic of a bygone era. MAA support them every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, handing out leaflets to the punters going in and talking to them about the cruelties involved in this industry, 6-7.30pm meet at entrance.
17. North West Hunt Sabs are going out every week and weekend now, effectively and peacefully stopping a load of mindless thugs savagely killing foxes and other wildlife. Email the list if you are interested in getting involved.
Just a quick reminder that this Thursday is an anti-greyound demo at Belle Vue.
We don’t live in the Victorian era and watching animals as entertainment has to stop. Especially relevant to greyhounds, lets stop it where it all started.
Every year 1000s of dogs die;the injured, the finished, and those that don’t make the grade. Help educate the punters that their bit of fun on a night out supports this blood sport.
Animal Aid Animal Rights
