Keith Mann
Encyclopedia
Keith Mann is a British animal rights
campaigner and writer, alleged by police in 2005 to be at the top of the Animal Liberation Front
(ALF) pyramid. He is the author of From Dusk 'til Dawn: An Insider's View of the Growth of the Animal Liberation Movement (2007). Viewed as a cause célèbre within the global animal rights movement, he has acted as a spokesman for the ALF, attracting the support of celebrities such as Carla Lane
and Celia Hammond
. He was the subject in 2006 of a Channel 4 documentary by Yousaf Ali Khan
, Angels of Mercy?.
Mann first came to widespread public attention after being sentenced in 1994 to 14 years imprisonment, reduced to 11 years on appeal—one of the longest sentences handed down to an animal rights activist—after being arrested in 1991 for conspiracy to set meat lorries on fire and for having escaped from custody; he was found by police working in an animal sanctuary run by the Celia Hammond Animal Trust, which had employed him unaware of who he was.
He told The Guardian in 2005 that the government in the UK had undermined the right to protest, which had driven activists to engage in tactics such as economic sabotage. He has since turn his attention to mainstream politics, and stood unsuccessfully for parliament in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency for the Animal Protection Party
in the May 2010 general election. He said the point of fielding animal rights candidates was not so much to gain power, but to have a voice in the election process.
, Greater Manchester
, by his father, who worked as a caretaker, and his mother, Doreen, whom he describes as having done "everything else." His mother is supportive of his animal rights activism. She spoke to Ali Yousaf Khan in 2006 for a Channel 4 documentary on Mann: "To normal people, they're going to say he had no right to touch somebody's else property ... But frustration comes in here. He's petitioned, he has asked, he's demonstrated, he's done all sorts of things to ask these people not to do this ... If they were to speak to my son now, ask him what did he see behind these locked doors patrolled by guards and dogs, what did he see that would make him so angry, that he would have to go so far and destroy somebody's property."
His first job was on a dairy farm while on a youth training scheme at school. He writes in From Dusk 'Til Dawn that his lasting memory of the job is the cows crying out all day searching for the calves that had been removed from them. He first came into contact with animal rights activists in 1982, when local hunt saboteur
s were handing out leaflets in the street. His first removal of an animal from captivity was when he took a rabbit from a hutch that he used to walk past every day, after having asked the owner for weeks to do something about the rabbit's situation. He writes that this incident changed his view of theft forever, and that he thereafter viewed himself as a "proud ALF activist." His next removal was of a tub of goldfish from a fairground, resulting in him having 53 goldfish in his bath for weeks until he found good ponds for them. These acts of "liberation," as Mann sees them, led to others to which he says he is unable to confess.
He writes that his involvement with the Animal Liberation Front has led to the happiest and saddest times of his life, as well as danger and trauma. "There is something thrilling about this," he writes, "the rush of adrenalin that comes from facing the unknown—alarms, a chase, live animals, dead animals, prison, none or all of it." He has been arrested, charged, and convicted for things he writes that he did not do, and has gone without food in prison because he was unwilling to eat animal products. He has fallen off buildings and through a roof, swum through a river wearing wellington boots before jumping soaking wet on a bus and begging a free ride; has been shot at, spat on, driven at, and punched, chased by men with spades, and had elephant urine thrown over him by an angry clown.
He was held on remand for 18 months, during which he was moved 19 times to different jails or police station cells across the country, which his mother said meant he had no chance to prepare his defence. On 22 June 1993, while still on remand, he escaped from Stretford police station and went on the run. He and his partner, Angela Hamp, took jobs at Celia Hammond's animal sanctuary, though Hammond had no idea at the time who they were. The police raided the sanctuary, and in 1994 Man was sentenced to 14 years in jail, reduced to 11 years on appeal, for 21 offences including possession of explosives, incitement, criminal damage, and escape from custody.
On 13 December 2003 Mann and another activist who remains unidentified entered Wickham Laboratories
and removed 695 mice being used to test botulinum toxin
, sold commercially as Botox and Dysport. He was arrested at his home and the mice were returned to the laboratory. He argued that the tests were illegal because the product was being tested for cosmetic purposes
, which is banned in Britain. The Southern Animal Rights Coalition
also received paperwork which they say demonstrates cosmetic Botox was being tested on animals. A court rejected Mann's defence, ruling that the tests were in compliance with UK regulations, because Botox is also used for therapeutic purposes to prevent muscle spasm. In April 2005 he was found guilty of burglary and given 230 hours community service. On leaving the court, he threatened a director of the company, telling him: "Your trouble has only just started, you will need to look under your bed," as a result of which he was charged with contempt of court and sentenced to six months in custody, which he served in Winchester Prison.
believed the group was linked to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
(SHAC), an international campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences
, a contract animal-testing facility. The homes of five air transport executives were attacked within days of the Gateway campaign beginning. Mann said, "Once we have stopped the airports, which we will do before too long, it is going to be difficult for them to find other ways of bringing animals in."
and featuring Britches
on its cover, offers a behind-the-scenes account of the animal liberation movement
.
in the 2010 general election; the area has been the focus of protests against the building of Oxford University's Biomedical Sciences Building. Mann received 143 votes or 0.3 percent; Harris lost the seat to Nicola Blackwood
of the Conservative Party.
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
campaigner and writer, alleged by police in 2005 to be at the top of the Animal Liberation Front
Animal Liberation Front
The Animal Liberation Front is an international, underground leaderless resistance that engages in illegal direct action in pursuit of animal liberation...
(ALF) pyramid. He is the author of From Dusk 'til Dawn: An Insider's View of the Growth of the Animal Liberation Movement (2007). Viewed as a cause célèbre within the global animal rights movement, he has acted as a spokesman for the ALF, attracting the support of celebrities such as Carla Lane
Carla Lane
Carla Lane, OBE is an English television writer responsible for many successful sitcoms, including The Liver Birds , Butterflies , and Bread ....
and Celia Hammond
Celia Hammond
Celia Hammond was a model in the 1960s, and has since become known as a campaigner against fur and for neutering of cats to control the feral population.-Modeling career:...
. He was the subject in 2006 of a Channel 4 documentary by Yousaf Ali Khan
Yousaf Ali Khan
Yousaf Ali Khan is a British film director. He wrote and directed Skin Deep , a short film about racism, and Talk With Angels , another short film about a young boy whose mother suffered from schizophrenia, a film that was partly autobiographical and which was nominated for an Oscar...
, Angels of Mercy?.
Mann first came to widespread public attention after being sentenced in 1994 to 14 years imprisonment, reduced to 11 years on appeal—one of the longest sentences handed down to an animal rights activist—after being arrested in 1991 for conspiracy to set meat lorries on fire and for having escaped from custody; he was found by police working in an animal sanctuary run by the Celia Hammond Animal Trust, which had employed him unaware of who he was.
He told The Guardian in 2005 that the government in the UK had undermined the right to protest, which had driven activists to engage in tactics such as economic sabotage. He has since turn his attention to mainstream politics, and stood unsuccessfully for parliament in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency for the Animal Protection Party
Animal Protection Party
The Animal Protection Party was founded in England in 2008 to represent an animal rights perspective.-2010 general election:The APP stood in four constituencies in the May 2010 British general election, chosen because the sitting MP was viewed by the APP as representing the interests of people or...
in the May 2010 general election. He said the point of fielding animal rights candidates was not so much to gain power, but to have a voice in the election process.
Background
Mann was raised in RochdaleRochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, by his father, who worked as a caretaker, and his mother, Doreen, whom he describes as having done "everything else." His mother is supportive of his animal rights activism. She spoke to Ali Yousaf Khan in 2006 for a Channel 4 documentary on Mann: "To normal people, they're going to say he had no right to touch somebody's else property ... But frustration comes in here. He's petitioned, he has asked, he's demonstrated, he's done all sorts of things to ask these people not to do this ... If they were to speak to my son now, ask him what did he see behind these locked doors patrolled by guards and dogs, what did he see that would make him so angry, that he would have to go so far and destroy somebody's property."
His first job was on a dairy farm while on a youth training scheme at school. He writes in From Dusk 'Til Dawn that his lasting memory of the job is the cows crying out all day searching for the calves that had been removed from them. He first came into contact with animal rights activists in 1982, when local hunt saboteur
Hunt saboteur
Hunt sabotage is the direct action that animal rights or animal welfare activists undertake to interfere with hunting activity.Anti-hunting campaigners are divided into those who believe in direct intervention and those who watch the hunt to monitor for cruelty and report violations of animal...
s were handing out leaflets in the street. His first removal of an animal from captivity was when he took a rabbit from a hutch that he used to walk past every day, after having asked the owner for weeks to do something about the rabbit's situation. He writes that this incident changed his view of theft forever, and that he thereafter viewed himself as a "proud ALF activist." His next removal was of a tub of goldfish from a fairground, resulting in him having 53 goldfish in his bath for weeks until he found good ponds for them. These acts of "liberation," as Mann sees them, led to others to which he says he is unable to confess.
He writes that his involvement with the Animal Liberation Front has led to the happiest and saddest times of his life, as well as danger and trauma. "There is something thrilling about this," he writes, "the rush of adrenalin that comes from facing the unknown—alarms, a chase, live animals, dead animals, prison, none or all of it." He has been arrested, charged, and convicted for things he writes that he did not do, and has gone without food in prison because he was unwilling to eat animal products. He has fallen off buildings and through a roof, swum through a river wearing wellington boots before jumping soaking wet on a bus and begging a free ride; has been shot at, spat on, driven at, and punched, chased by men with spades, and had elephant urine thrown over him by an angry clown.
Escape and imprisonment
Mann was first arrested on 15 October 1991 after being accused of planning to set a number of meat lorries on fire. He told Channel 4 that he and other activists were protesting against the treatment of chickens in factory farms. "We wanted to do something to stop them from doing what they were doing to the birds. ... The only alternative we had, we could have walked away, that was what we wanted to do ... But too many people walk away, which is part of the problem, part of the reason it's happening ... We thought, we'll burn the lorries. That'll stop them from doing what they're doing to the birds tonight. It'll also cost them a fair few pounds ..."He was held on remand for 18 months, during which he was moved 19 times to different jails or police station cells across the country, which his mother said meant he had no chance to prepare his defence. On 22 June 1993, while still on remand, he escaped from Stretford police station and went on the run. He and his partner, Angela Hamp, took jobs at Celia Hammond's animal sanctuary, though Hammond had no idea at the time who they were. The police raided the sanctuary, and in 1994 Man was sentenced to 14 years in jail, reduced to 11 years on appeal, for 21 offences including possession of explosives, incitement, criminal damage, and escape from custody.
Wickham Laboratories
Wickham Laboratories
Wickham Laboratories is a contract analytical testing laboratory that supports Food, Healthcare, Medical Device, and Flood disaster recovery industries...
and removed 695 mice being used to test botulinum toxin
Botulinum toxin
Botulinum toxin is a protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and is considered the most powerful neurotoxin ever discovered. Botulinum toxin causes Botulism poisoning, a serious and life-threatening illness in humans and animals...
, sold commercially as Botox and Dysport. He was arrested at his home and the mice were returned to the laboratory. He argued that the tests were illegal because the product was being tested for cosmetic purposes
Testing cosmetics on animals
Testing cosmetics on animals is a form of animal testing, intended to ensure the safety and hypoallergenic properties of the products for use by humans...
, which is banned in Britain. The Southern Animal Rights Coalition
Southern Animal Rights Coalition
The Southern Animal Rights Coalition is an umbrella organisation for groups campaigning against animal abuse in southern England. SARC campaign on a variety of issues, one being focusing on pets. They also campaign against animal testing, furs, wild boar farms and more recently foie gras and...
also received paperwork which they say demonstrates cosmetic Botox was being tested on animals. A court rejected Mann's defence, ruling that the tests were in compliance with UK regulations, because Botox is also used for therapeutic purposes to prevent muscle spasm. In April 2005 he was found guilty of burglary and given 230 hours community service. On leaving the court, he threatened a director of the company, telling him: "Your trouble has only just started, you will need to look under your bed," as a result of which he was charged with contempt of court and sentenced to six months in custody, which he served in Winchester Prison.
Gateway to Hell campaign
In 2007 Mann was involved in Gateway to Hell, a campaign aimed at airports, ports, and freight firms importing animals for experimentation. The National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination UnitNational Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit
The National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit is a British police organization funded by, and reporting to, the Association of Chief Police Officers that coordinates police action against groups in the United Kingdom it describes as extremist. As of April 2007, it was headed by...
believed the group was linked to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty is an international animal rights campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences , Europe's largest contract animal-testing laboratory. HLS tests medical and non-medical substances on around 75,000 animals every year, from rats to primates...
(SHAC), an international campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences
Huntingdon Life Sciences
Huntingdon Life Sciences is a contract animal-testing company founded in 1952 in England, with facilities in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire; Eye, Suffolk; New Jersey in the U.S., and Japan...
, a contract animal-testing facility. The homes of five air transport executives were attacked within days of the Gateway campaign beginning. Mann said, "Once we have stopped the airports, which we will do before too long, it is going to be difficult for them to find other ways of bringing animals in."
Writing
Mann's first book was published in May 2007. From Dusk 'til Dawn, with a foreword by British poet Benjamin ZephaniahBenjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
and featuring Britches
Britches (monkey)
Britches was a stump-tailed macaque monkey born into a breeding colony at the University of California, Riverside . He was removed from his mother at birth, had his eyelids sewn shut, and had an electronic sonar device attached to his head — a Trisensor Aid, an experimental version of a blind...
on its cover, offers a behind-the-scenes account of the animal liberation movement
Animal liberation movement
The animal-liberation movement, sometimes called the animal-rights movement, animal personhood, or animal-advocacy movement, is a social movement which seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, an end to the status of animals as property, and...
.
The Animal Protection Party
In January 2008 SPEAK Political—since renamed The Animal Protection Party—was set up to speak on behalf of animals and announced that Mann would be standing as an electoral candidate. He wrote on his website that the party would be fielding candidates in areas with MPs who, in the view of the movement, were supportive of companies who use animals, or of practices regarded as abusive by the animal rights movement, such as fox hunting; the point would be not so much to gain power but to have a voice in the electoral process. Mann stood in Oxford West and Abingdon against Liberal Democrat MP Evan HarrisEvan Harris
Evan Leslie Harris is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon from 1997 to 2010, losing his seat in the 2010 general election by 176 votes to Conservative Nicola Blackwood....
in the 2010 general election; the area has been the focus of protests against the building of Oxford University's Biomedical Sciences Building. Mann received 143 votes or 0.3 percent; Harris lost the seat to Nicola Blackwood
Nicola Blackwood
Nicola Claire Blackwood is a Conservative Party politician. She was elected as Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon in the 2010 election.-Political career:...
of the Conservative Party.
Education
Keith Mann was a guest of Animal Rights Zone (ARZone), appearing as a Live Guest on the global animal rights social network, which is transcribed on the online site.See also
- Southern Animal Rights CoalitionSouthern Animal Rights CoalitionThe Southern Animal Rights Coalition is an umbrella organisation for groups campaigning against animal abuse in southern England. SARC campaign on a variety of issues, one being focusing on pets. They also campaign against animal testing, furs, wild boar farms and more recently foie gras and...
(SARC) - Barry HorneBarry HorneBarry Horne was an English animal rights activist. He became known around the world in December 1998, when he engaged in a 68-day hunger strike in an effort to persuade the British government to hold a public inquiry into animal testing, something the Labour Party had said it would do before it...
- Behind the MaskBehind the Mask (ALF)Behind the Mask: The Story Of The People Who Risk Everything To Save Animals is a 2006 documentary film about the Animal Liberation Front . It took three years of filming, interviewing, and editing to complete. The movie was created by animal-rights lawyer Shannon Keith, who owns Uncaged Films and...
- VeganismVeganismVeganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
Further reading
- Keith Mann's website, accessed 29 October 2010.
- Vaughan, Claudette. "No Apologies! No Compromises! No Prisoners!" Abolitionist Online, accessed 15 November 2007.
- Speech by Keith Mann at SHAC meeting, Western Animal Rights NetworkWestern Animal Rights NetworkThe Western Animal Rights Network first appeared in 2005 as a coalition for animal rights groups in the West of England and South Wales and acted as a news service for animal rights demos and action reports....
(WARN) YouTube, 2007, accessed 29 October 2010. - Sackur, Stephen. Interview with Keith Mann 1/3, 2/3, 3/3, BBC Hardtalk, 15 June 2007, accessed 29 October 2010.