Dan Wadham is a veganarchist and animal rights activist from the UK. On 23rd December 2008 he was convicted with others of 'Conspiracy to Blackmail', in relation to the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) campaign. Dan was remanded on 19th January 2009 during his sentencing. On 21st January 2009 he recieved a sentence of 5 years imprisonment.
A message from Dan from within the prison walls:
On March 1st, The Sunday Times printed an article about the actions of Andrian Radford AKA Ian Farmer - Ex soldier, gay rights activist, animal rights infiltrator and police informant.
Disgusting as the news was, it comes as no big surprise that the state would accompany their surveillance operations with an undercover agent.
For 3 years Radford pretended to be human in order to inform on the caring individuals and their attempts to rid this earth of the violence of vivisection. Whilst we showed him friendship and kindness, he showed us deceit and malice. Radford would claim his actions were in the interest of public protection, but it is him and his violent, murderous masters that ordinary folk need protecting from. Violence from the animal liberation movement has been virtually non-existent, indeed non-violent direct action and an unwillingness to harm our enemies in the pursuit of freedom has been a defining characteristic of this struggle. While we are motivated by compassion for all the living things, Radford is motivated by money, fame and glory - As evidenced by the fact he is publishing a book of his experiences, a tacky but predictable course of action for someone of his integrity.
Radford tries to come across as reasonable and fair by praising our friend Natasha Avery as “compassionate”, “beautiful” and “warm” adding that “she is also a nutcase who attacks people”. Well it is true that Natasha certainly is compassionate, beautiful and warm - words that could never describe scum like Radford - However she is neither a “nutcase” nor does she “attack people”. And the evidence in our court case proves that. In reality it would seem that it is in fact Radford who is the “nutcase who attacks people”. He is the one who was paid to deceive and manipulate good people, trap them and hand them over to the state. I mean really, what kind of person does it take to hand their supposed friends over to the state?! What kind of low down criminal could use a person’s physical disabilities against them in order to hide their own dirty secrets?.. As Radford did to Gavin Medd-Hall, a gentle soul who is registered blind and who was blamed by Radford for his own secret disruptions.
Radford claims he is proud of his work - he has to though doesn’t he? People like him can only function by smokescreening the reality of their actions with some sort of false moral superiority. Just like the vivisector tells himself he is ‘saving lives’, the snitch hides behind the charade of ‘public protection’. The only thing he is protecting is his bank balance and the monopoly of power wielded by the international drugs mafia that test their goods on beagle puppies at HLS.
One wanders, if we are such dangerous lunatics, why was the document printed in The Sunday Times - that was passed to police by Radford from within SHAC - about finding someone to work undercover in HLS? No-one can argue that organising an undercover investigation into a lab that has been exposed scores of times for cruelty, negligence, falsification of data and bad practice is not the work of extreme terrorists. Such investigations were at the heart of everything we did. As someone who worked alongside Gregg, Natasha, Heather and Gavin, I can say there was never anything more important to us than exposing the daily abuse and torture inside Huntingdon Life Sciences. These friends of mine are amongst some of the most inspiring people I have ever known and their spirit still glows in my heart despite these prison walls and razor wire between us.
Intelligence gathering aside, another function of the infiltrator is to break and divide relationships amongst our communities. The age old divide and rule tactic is an effective one for our enemies - and was indeed used by Radford when he blamed his disruptions on our dear friend Gavin Medd-Hall. This is why we must remember the importance of unity and solidarity.
An infiltrator can spread fear and suspicion like a disease, but we must not let this insidious plot take hold. Many of our number are behind bars - But that will not last forever. The psychological prison formed by our fear is a far greater foe than any police force or court case. I am sat here in the comfort of my prison cell feeling like one of the luckiest people alive. Lucky to have such strong and loving characters for friends. Lucky to have such unshakable support from the animal rights community. And most of all, lucky to not be facing the horrific situation facing millions of innocent individuals across the world. From the down trodden inhabitants of countries under repressive regimes to the residents of depleting natural habitats and the imprisoned creatures of global industry and commerce. The individuals in places like Huntingdon Life sciences are serving life sentences, no possibility of parole, no rights, no access to sunlight, flesh air. Those creatures have no-one but us, no chance of freedom but the freedom we fight for and win for them, and right now is the time to make sure the efforts of Radford and co. do not lessen their chances.
For the animals always
Dan
x
Prisoner Address:
Dan Wadham (A5705AA)
HMP Camp Hill
Newport
Isle Of Wight
PO30 5PB
Links:
http://myspace.com/shacukprisonersupport
http://shac.net/features/prisoners.html
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/actions/2008/shac
Background:
50 Years For The UK SHAC 7 - http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/419733.html
Anti-vivisection campaigners convicted of blackmail - http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/416251.html
On March 1st, The Sunday Times printed an article about the actions of Andrian Radford AKA Ian Farmer - Ex soldier, gay rights activist, animal rights infiltrator and police informant.
Disgusting as the news was, it comes as no big surprise that the state would accompany their surveillance operations with an undercover agent.
For 3 years Radford pretended to be human in order to inform on the caring individuals and their attempts to rid this earth of the violence of vivisection. Whilst we showed him friendship and kindness, he showed us deceit and malice. Radford would claim his actions were in the interest of public protection, but it is him and his violent, murderous masters that ordinary folk need protecting from. Violence from the animal liberation movement has been virtually non-existent, indeed non-violent direct action and an unwillingness to harm our enemies in the pursuit of freedom has been a defining characteristic of this struggle. While we are motivated by compassion for all the living things, Radford is motivated by money, fame and glory - As evidenced by the fact he is publishing a book of his experiences, a tacky but predictable course of action for someone of his integrity.
Radford tries to come across as reasonable and fair by praising our friend Natasha Avery as “compassionate”, “beautiful” and “warm” adding that “she is also a nutcase who attacks people”. Well it is true that Natasha certainly is compassionate, beautiful and warm - words that could never describe scum like Radford - However she is neither a “nutcase” nor does she “attack people”. And the evidence in our court case proves that. In reality it would seem that it is in fact Radford who is the “nutcase who attacks people”. He is the one who was paid to deceive and manipulate good people, trap them and hand them over to the state. I mean really, what kind of person does it take to hand their supposed friends over to the state?! What kind of low down criminal could use a person’s physical disabilities against them in order to hide their own dirty secrets?.. As Radford did to Gavin Medd-Hall, a gentle soul who is registered blind and who was blamed by Radford for his own secret disruptions.
Radford claims he is proud of his work - he has to though doesn’t he? People like him can only function by smokescreening the reality of their actions with some sort of false moral superiority. Just like the vivisector tells himself he is ‘saving lives’, the snitch hides behind the charade of ‘public protection’. The only thing he is protecting is his bank balance and the monopoly of power wielded by the international drugs mafia that test their goods on beagle puppies at HLS.
One wanders, if we are such dangerous lunatics, why was the document printed in The Sunday Times - that was passed to police by Radford from within SHAC - about finding someone to work undercover in HLS? No-one can argue that organising an undercover investigation into a lab that has been exposed scores of times for cruelty, negligence, falsification of data and bad practice is not the work of extreme terrorists. Such investigations were at the heart of everything we did. As someone who worked alongside Gregg, Natasha, Heather and Gavin, I can say there was never anything more important to us than exposing the daily abuse and torture inside Huntingdon Life Sciences. These friends of mine are amongst some of the most inspiring people I have ever known and their spirit still glows in my heart despite these prison walls and razor wire between us.
Intelligence gathering aside, another function of the infiltrator is to break and divide relationships amongst our communities. The age old divide and rule tactic is an effective one for our enemies - and was indeed used by Radford when he blamed his disruptions on our dear friend Gavin Medd-Hall. This is why we must remember the importance of unity and solidarity.
An infiltrator can spread fear and suspicion like a disease, but we must not let this insidious plot take hold. Many of our number are behind bars - But that will not last forever. The psychological prison formed by our fear is a far greater foe than any police force or court case. I am sat here in the comfort of my prison cell feeling like one of the luckiest people alive. Lucky to have such strong and loving characters for friends. Lucky to have such unshakable support from the animal rights community. And most of all, lucky to not be facing the horrific situation facing millions of innocent individuals across the world. From the down trodden inhabitants of countries under repressive regimes to the residents of depleting natural habitats and the imprisoned creatures of global industry and commerce. The individuals in places like Huntingdon Life sciences are serving life sentences, no possibility of parole, no rights, no access to sunlight, flesh air. Those creatures have no-one but us, no chance of freedom but the freedom we fight for and win for them, and right now is the time to make sure the efforts of Radford and co. do not lessen their chances.
For the animals always
Dan
x
Prisoner Address:
Dan Wadham (A5705AA)
HMP Camp Hill
Newport
Isle Of Wight
PO30 5PB
Links:
http://myspace.com/shacukprisonersupport http://shac.net/features/prisoners.html http://indymedia.org.uk/en/actions/2008/shac Background:
50 Years For The UK SHAC 7 -
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/01/419733.html Anti-vivisection campaigners convicted of blackmail -
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/12/416251.html
Homepage:
Comments
Hide the following 8 comments
Assault claim.
26.03.2009 22:10
If you think that the act of criminal damage on a persons car, say late at night, isn't violence then what is it? These aggressive direct actions are designed to intimidate, it affects a person and families this is why it's done. It's an act of violence and to say it's not is a cop-out.
These SHAC activists claim to be none violent yet they have convictions for violent offences, some more than one and we should question these claims because they clearly aren't true.
One of the reasons our freedoms are begin eroded is because of these people and their campaign tactics.
Richard Ronson
Keeping to the article - extremely well written!
27.03.2009 01:53
I'm certainly not glad a veganarchist is behind bars, but at least there is somebody who is speaking out in the way so many of us our thinking; anti-speciesists, veganarchists, shactivists past and present and fellow animal/earth liberationists.
The point Dan is making in the last paragraph is one that few liberationists are making, or even recognising. It's that the psychological prison (or self-policing) created by the police state, its repression and guardians; is as bad, if not usually worse, than the physcial constructs of prisons and brutality that individuals find themselves on the receiving end of.
It's not to say that it's a good thing to suffer from police brutality, but that it is better within the conditions of fighting back than to not act at all; as to not fight back because of a fear is a greater restriction on freedom than physcial constructs - because it is self-determined.
This is far from a new ideology or thought pattern, but ingrained within social change, struggles, revolution and particularly anarchist movements. It was recently heavily promoted by earth liberation prisoner Jeff Luers, a fellow eco-veganarchist. It's just a shame this is common knowledge within the anarchist movement, but rarely understood or advocated within the animal liberation movement - despite the quantity and quality of militant direct action (MDA).
If it were understood, MDA would increase at a greater pace than at present. The activists that believe this are usually those on bail or in prison who find out from experience, instead of because of the believe in the concept. If more people realised and more prisoners and repressed activists advocated this ideology (such as Dan is) - there would be a lot more fearless activists and anarchists on the streets, day and night.
Solidarity for Dan Wadham!
veganarchist
Dear Richard Ronson
27.03.2009 12:02
I am not attempting to justify every single action carried out by animal rights activists, we should be professional and disciplined, but why should the police and animal abusers have a monopoly on force? If I am at a demonstration and a companion is attacked and the LAST resort is to be violent then I will use violence I am not a pacifist as indeed many activists are not, nor are we obliged to be. Non violence in animal rights activism is the norm generally speaking unless you count handing out leaflets, holding banners and speaking on a megaphone as "violent" as police and animal abusers have done.
The oppression of activists has nothing to do with violence and everything to do with the suppression of any real challenge to the power of the corporations. Compared to a company such as HLS AR activists are indeed not a fraction as violent.
Lynn Sawyer
Re : Infiltrators spread fear and suspicion.
30.03.2009 14:48
Unfortunately, I will have to disagree that unity and solidarity is always a good thing, where there ARE infiltrators such as Adrian Radford for example. Had anyone voiced suspicions about Radford at the time of his activism [infiltration] then the people voicing them would have been accused of "spreading lies, fear, suspicion and paranoia". Sad fact but true.
The pharmaceutical industry has the direct backing of the government / financial institutions and as other activists have pointed out the govt and the industry are pulling out all the stops to do whatever it takes to stop the Animal Rights activists and Earth Defence movement.
As the case with Radford proves, there are infiltrators who are out for financial gain and very often it is the very LAST person that you would expect it from, some of these people pull it off for years while the real activists, the genuine people, are the ones who will notice & point out that there is something wrong with people like Radford and others like him but few will listen until it is proven by which time of course it is far too late & people are behind bars because of them. It is these infiltrators who will wage wars on the real activists, attempt to drive them away or destroy their credibility & reputations using underhand means. This is all down to the age old evil, money.
It would very naive to believe that Radford was / is the only infiltrator....there will be and of course there are more.
The Animal Rights movement is not only being infiltrated by agents of the state...it is now being destroyed by people who have financial & personal gain as motivation and who set up Animal Rights groups as a way of making money, a LOT of money, money that is given by real activists, supporters and donators & is misused by selfish people who then do very little, if anything for the animals. They do nothing other than live off of the [often very substantial] donations given by well meaning people who usually have little to give. Poor people, people living in social housing, pensioners, the unemployed will all help to raise this money or will donate personally to these underhand individuals or groups while genuine young people like Dan take the risks for the animals.
The underhand fakes will collect money from well meaning people and do bugger all in reality to help the animals, have never worked but have somehow managed to buy large and expensive properties for themselves. This is all achieved with slick campaigns and glossy leaflets...money begets money. Sad fact but true.
These evil people are as bad as and worse than the likes of one off snitch Radford. Sad, awful, pitiful and true.
The animals continue to die in agony and do so alone.
gloom and doom
Sex as an infiltration tool.
30.03.2009 15:01
more gloom and doom
Hmmm
31.03.2009 18:38
Lynn Sawyer
Why is HLS still open? Where, where, WHERE has all the money gone?
01.04.2009 14:55
Krav Maga lessons for the select few, while the people raising and donating this money that was meant for the ANIMALS can hardly even afford to go to the council gym and swimming baths.
Nice cars that were "needed" for "acitivism".
Holidays, these were called "demos abroad", some of which were cancelled "due to rain".
Yes, posh houses have indeed been bought and rented with donations given for the ANIMALS.
No spies Lynn? ADRIAN RADFORD. Yes there are more, of course there are.
A good novel? No, what it actually happens to be is the sad truth that some selfish manipulators are making a lot of money out of animal cruelty for themselves. These people are very bit as bad therefore as the scum that work at HLS and is anything at all is suspect it has to be that.
A few years ago I too would have scoffed and / or become angry until I saw it all for myself.
Some of us are in the AR movement because we care about the animals. Others are in it for money, make no mistake about that.
Mugged Off
WTF!
02.04.2009 08:15
Lynn Sawyer