Results of International Animal Rights Day

[Gorilla]

Thanks to Uncaged Campaigns for this report.

7th International Animal Rights Day (IARD) - 10th December 2004

CANDLELIT VIGILS AROUND THE WORLD CALL FOR RIGHTS FOR ANIMALS

On and around Friday 10 December 2004 - the 7th International Animal Rights Day organised by Uncaged - animal campaigners in all corners of the UK and across the world gathered for candlelit vigils and protests at places where the rights of animals are abused. This was the most
successful ever International Animal Rights Day, spreading a positive message about the need for a new attitude of respect and tolerance towards the other animals with whom we share this planet.

England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland

International Animal Rights Day (IARD) is growing into a major day of action. There were over 40 separate events in the UK, including vigils at the following sites where animal experiments take place: Harlan UK (Leicestershire), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals (Ramsgate, Kent), National
Institute for Medical Research (London), and Cambridge, Southampton and Leeds Universities. There were also vigils at: battery farms in Cornwall and Tanworth in Arden (West Midlands) http://www.geocities.com/wmids_anima.../IARD2004.html; at Walthamstow (London) and
Coventry (West Midlands) greyhound tracks; at butchers; and the shops of charities that fund vivisection (Kent).

In addition there were many campaign stalls in town centres and High Streets in order to allow the public to sign up to the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (www.uncaged.co.uk/signform.htm)and to receive information about what being 'for animal rights' really means: public debate and passionate, intelligent opposition to cruel practices such as those at vivisection laboratories. Not a question of putting animals before humans, but a rational philosophy that leads one to respect all life.

There was also a large vigil at the Home Office, 50 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AT. The Home Office quite literally signs the death warrants for millions of animals killed in animal experiments every year, and has come under intense pressure to come clean about the
corrupt way it licenses and 'regulates' animal experiments after Uncaged's devastating Diaries of Despair expose. (There are regular protests at the Home Office on the last Friday of every month - contact Uncaged for more details.)

Uncaged staged a large and striking vigil at the University of Sheffield, which also vivisects animals (visit www.uncaged.co.uk/sheffield.htm for details of recent examples of Sheffield University vivisection). There was a great turnout from the University and local animal rights groups, and excellent support from the public - many of whom 'beeped against animal cruelty'. This protest and those across the UK attracted a great deal of interest from print, TV and radio media. Many Uncaged supporters also managed to get letters about the day of
action printed in their regional newspapers.

Worldwide

There were over a dozen non-UK countries participating in this year's International Animal Rights Day, including: the Netherlands, France, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Italy.

Our friends at International Campaigns, France, co-ordinated a string of vigils and campaign stalls in Paris, Nice and Lille, on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th December, against the country's fur, vivisection and meat industries. For the second year running Een DIER Een VRIEND (EDEV)
organised a large 230-person IARD protest in the Netherlands. There was a 7km march through the town of Delft, and vigils at the BPRC and TNO vivisection sites in Rijswijk. In the Republic of Ireland there was a vigil outside Government buildings with a huge banner reading 'Time For
Animal Rights,' followed by a march through the city of Dublin

More details and photos from these and other vigils, and protests will appear on the Uncaged website at http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iard7.htm shortly.

[John]

My calender says that December tenth was human rights day.
I know that humans are animals but I was unaware that it is also animal rights day.