Billed as the latest large scale protest in the city following the resumption of building at the controversial new animal laboratory on South Parks Road, the animal rights protestors today adopted diversionary and autonomous tactics that left the police panicking.
Last month a similar event resulted in five arrests when the police went back on their word in negotiations over the permitted route, by penning in th 650 protesters. Of those arrests four have since had their charges dropped, including the individual who was kicked in the balls in the cells. There was considerable embarrassment for the police when mp3 recordings of the negotiations were released on an activist website.
In the last week there has been a notable rise in harassment of protesters by the police, often desperate to find out what was planned for today. Following several clear cases of bad faith on behalf of Thames Valley Police all contact has been cut and the lack of information has caused them to be wrongfooted.
Today several groups of protesters assembled. Large groups marched to the laboratory and back, while others stayed in town and carried out protests against Vodaphone and other university targets. Police had to resort to imposing a section 14 order over the entirety of Oxford but it had little effect.
One group started outside the Said Business School and gave the police the slip with a march into town. Several mounted police were seen galloping through the town knocking passerbys to the side, as their radios carried desperate commands to prevent the activists reaching the centre.
At Vodaphone one individual was arrested for handing out leaflets while the several officers, an inspector among them, roughed up several females and forced them into the corral created on Market Street.
Meanwhile several other autonomous groups took independent action and visited a large number of university buildings to ensure the message was heard by everyone. They repeatedly lost the police, blending in and reappearing at random.
There was one arrest at 5pm for a section 5 offence, the police apparently disliking an image on a poster. Both arrested individuals are now released.
Activists have left the city on a high note, feeling that they have achieved a considerable amount in spreading their message through out the public and university. The police paid the price for their previous deception, having lost the goodwill of the protesters, and were made to look fools instead.
Future protests are planned along with the weekly Thursday afternoon protests at the site. For more information see www.speakcampaigns.org.uk
In the last week there has been a notable rise in harassment of protesters by the police, often desperate to find out what was planned for today. Following several clear cases of bad faith on behalf of Thames Valley Police all contact has been cut and the lack of information has caused them to be wrongfooted.
Today several groups of protesters assembled. Large groups marched to the laboratory and back, while others stayed in town and carried out protests against Vodaphone and other university targets. Police had to resort to imposing a section 14 order over the entirety of Oxford but it had little effect.
One group started outside the Said Business School and gave the police the slip with a march into town. Several mounted police were seen galloping through the town knocking passerbys to the side, as their radios carried desperate commands to prevent the activists reaching the centre.
At Vodaphone one individual was arrested for handing out leaflets while the several officers, an inspector among them, roughed up several females and forced them into the corral created on Market Street.
Meanwhile several other autonomous groups took independent action and visited a large number of university buildings to ensure the message was heard by everyone. They repeatedly lost the police, blending in and reappearing at random.
There was one arrest at 5pm for a section 5 offence, the police apparently disliking an image on a poster. Both arrested individuals are now released.
Activists have left the city on a high note, feeling that they have achieved a considerable amount in spreading their message through out the public and university. The police paid the price for their previous deception, having lost the goodwill of the protesters, and were made to look fools instead.
Future protests are planned along with the weekly Thursday afternoon protests at the site. For more information see www.speakcampaigns.org.uk
Comments
Hide the following 17 comments
Well...
29.01.2006 01:00
I was in the city centre today when the march was supposed to be going on- nothing visible except a few poor confused people in 'smash HLS' (nice choice of verb there, hurrah for random intimidatory tactics... not) who didn't seem to know what was going on and looked very, very lost.
A damp squib of a day, methinks. Better luck next time... or not.
pro-science
Oh,
29.01.2006 01:04
pro-science
What are you on about......?
29.01.2006 12:36
What are you on about? The protest that actually happened? Or your idea of a successful animal rights demo? Whilst your protest tips:
"A few people shouting here and there will just look unimpressive"
and
" If you're going to bother to have a "protest" people might as well know one is going on."
will have taken many activists by surprise and probably will now lead to an entirely new style of campaigning, your advice is completely redundant. If your actual goal is to try and stop these animal rights demos then shouldn't you be complaining to the police who through their standard heavy-handed reactions escalated the attention and the awareness of the public exponentially, helping the campaigners no-end?
Or are you just bitter that the animal rights campaigners are doing so well?
Gary B
well done
29.01.2006 13:25
I long for the day when animals are treated with the respect they deserve.
pro-science
Pro Science
29.01.2006 22:22
And i was proud to be there!
Alan B Stard
Gary B,
30.01.2006 07:21
I don't really care whether the 'mini marches' go ahead or not, I don't think they do anything to genuinely sway public opinion, but it did make me chuckle that animal rights activists would bother to waste their time indulging in a protest which had barely any visible impact at all. Evidence, I think, that the majority of you are 'anarcho-loons' just desperate to "get one over" on the police. Very mature of you all.
And for those who break the law and trespass, destroy property, threaten or harrass people involved in scientific research (or those whose nurseries contain their kids ffs) I have of course nothing but the greatest, purest contempt.
Finally, no, I won't "eat shit and die". I'll eat meat and live, thank you very much.
pro-science
visibility
30.01.2006 13:16
'Getting one over on the police' is not the be-all and end-all for most protesters, but this was an effective and necessary response to over-the-top police tactics, and if the cops are made to look silly in the process, then that's a bonus - they deserve it!
*
re: pro-science
30.01.2006 16:46
NOT "eat shit and die" OR "eat meat and live" EQUALS "eat shit and live like a dumb fuck"
jools
Article pretty biased
31.01.2006 15:01
Really? Because if a galloping horse knocks someone to the side, the poor person will be seriously injured. There's even a chance of death. Funnily enough, there were no reports of this in Oxford on the day of the protest, despite several passerbys allegedly being knocked down. Police cover-up? Or hyperbolic nonsense from a very biased and sensationalist anti-science campaigner?
If you can't report accurately, at least try to report plausibly.
John Boy
Horses
31.01.2006 18:09
Tofu Liberation Front
Tofu Liberation Front
response on horses
31.01.2006 23:40
The bit about horses came from eye-witness accounts from protesters who had marched from the Said Business School into to town. The police were seen moving quite dangerously through the crowds on George Street, their horses hitting passers-by. Where you there to witness it?
As an ex-sab I have encountered horses many times and know from personal experience that you can have collisions with horses and come away well, since instinct in horses make they shy away naturally from such contact.
Back under your bridge, troll.
FTP
Delusional enslaved front
01.02.2006 19:01
How big are your teeth "tofu liberation front" will you be sinking your puny nashers into an individual birds or mammals neck like a lion or a wolf or will you be using an external weopenry object like a gun or a knife for the kill and a hot stove/oven to soften the bodyily flesh for your carniverous teeth(not forgetting the culinary sauces to disguise the taste and improve the colour, will you be borrowing that from your fellow lion or wolf)
Mick
In response
03.02.2006 09:46
FTP - Your so intellectual with your choice of words - omnipresent....nice word, but somehow I think you are bitter at not attending one of the most elite Universities in the world like me. Never mind, I'm sure you did well at the piss poor institution you once attended (if you did at all).
Vegan Liberation Front
foolish boy VLF
04.02.2006 16:38
FYI I actually turned down Oxford Uni for a better institution, and have several degrees. Booya to you, laddie.
Dont break a leg when throwing yourself off Magdalen bridge on May Day this year - wouldnt want to see all that fine examples of intelligence doing themselves harm.
FTP
get our priorities straight
05.02.2006 17:13
Priority Number 2: Sort out the suffering of millions of animals around the world
In that order, not the other way round. Put things in perspective
common sense
Inspector Morse is Not The Oxford Police
06.02.2006 03:17
and the police who abuse protesters when in captivity.
ARC
Homepage:
http://www.worldanimalnet.org
priorities
06.02.2006 13:52
As for prioritising humans over animals, an elementary study of the facts will show that the two are very much intertwined and to end abuse of either you have to campaign on both. It is an old but very untrue myth that animal rights activists care more about animals than humans. Most ARAs are involved in all forms of campaigning, animals and humans - comments otherwise are generally born out of ignorance and crude ad homimen attacks on activists.
'Common Sense' I suggest you look into matters a bit more as opposed to regurgitating propaganda.
Ed Rolls
e-mail:
Edmund.Rolls@psy.ox.ac.uk