Animal Rights

Ringling Brothers Circus shutting down, animal activists get partial credit

Ringlings Brother's Circus will shut down forever at the end of their Spring 2017 tour.A Ringling's spokesman blamed a substantial decline in ticket sales and high touring costs. He also said the removal of the elephant acts caused a major plunge in ticket sales. The Washington Post gave partial credit to animal rights activists for shutting down Ringlings.

Animal activists drive deer slaughter out of Rock Creek Park two nights in row

On the evening of 28th of November, the Park Service set up the usual barricades and flashing lights indicating preparatons to shoot deer. By a little after 9PM they disappeared, protesters having threatened to deploy. The Park Service had warned people to be off the trails by 8PM on both Monday and Tuesday nights. They were expected to try again Tuesday, Nov 29 but once again did not show up. Protesters were there instead, and had announced they were coming.

This shot was taken with an ordinary daytime fisheye camera that is not even supposed to be any good at night. Too much light for the night vision stuff...

Animal rights protesters march through Neiman-Marcus, march on Maggiano's

On Black Friday, Nov 25, animal rights protesters marched into Neiman-Marcus, demanding the upscale chain store stop selling fur and related products. Afterwards they marched around the block, stopping at Maggiano's, the scene of the previous week's confrontation with the neo-Nazi National Policy Institute.

Video-fur protest marches through Neiman-Carcass

Marching into Nieman-Marcus demanding an end to fur sales

Fur protesters march through Neiman-Marcus

Security violently removes animal rights protesters from Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

On the 21st of August, plainclothes security guards forcibly removed a number of animal rights activists from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception after they began a "vegan outreach" protest/speakout. As soon as they got outside the door they became violent enough to inflict bruises, knocking down the activist using the camera. The camera stopped when it hit the ground. Not knowing the camera had stopped, the woman using it turned it on one of the guards while he was boasting "yeah I assaulted you" to another activist. The camera still some of what that same guard was boasting about, meaning his "testimony" isn't needed anyway.

Video of the incident including bruises left by the assault

Protesters assaulted at National Basilica

Skanska executives get more home demos over U-WA vivisection lab contract

Over the weekend of July 9-10, DC Stampede and Tidewater Earth First! combined forces to protest at the homes of three executives of Skanska USA ijn Virginia. There is a report that police used a pretext traffic stop against one of the activist cars to bully and intimidate the passengers in the car demanding personal information. Skanska is building a new vivisevction laboratory for the University of Washington, and the national No New Anijal Lab campaign has sworn to prevent it from ever opening.

Activists threatened with arrest for protest calling zoo a prison for animals

On the 3ed of July, activists from Direct Action Everywhere showed up at the National Zoo with fliers, signs, and a bullhorn denouncing the zoo as a prison for animals. Zoos have been compared to life in prison with no parole before. The comparison made the zoo sufficiently uncomfortable that as soon as the bullhorn started up, zoo cops responded, trying to claim ownership of the sidewalk in front of the zoo. Protesters rejected that lie, and both Park Police and MPD showed up, in the end reminding the zoo police that the zoo does not in fact own the sidewalk. Many times security guards have made that claim at a protest, and time after time even the police have had to admit this claim is a lie.

Video of the zoo protest and zoo cops trying to claim ownership of the sidewalk

Cops at zoo threaten arrest after protesters compare zoo to prison over bullhorn

Anti-vivisection activists begin campaign against Skanska's business partners

On the 4th of April, anti-vivisection activists showed up in front of the offices of BlackRock, which holds over 7 million shares of stock in Skanska USA construction. Skanska is building what is essentially a buried fortress vivisection laboratory for University of Washington. There were protests against BlackRock and other Skanska investors all over the continent on April 4. Here in DC activists began by fliering people going into BlackRock's building, following up on polite letters which have been ignored. This is the opening round of the DC portion of the "fracture their finances" campaign

Downloadable copy of No New Animal Lab campaign flier distributed outside BlackRock

Preparing to flier BlackRock's staffers and those in other offices in the same building

Ringling Brothers Circus draws protest for their animal abuse

On the evening of April 1 and afternoon of April 2, animal rights activists showed up outside Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus, notorious for beating and chaining elephants, tigers, and other animals. At prior protests circus attendees have reported seeing animals beaten on-stage. This time around, protesters were emphasizing that Ringling's promise to "retire" the elephants after this year is a hoax, as the elephants are to be returned to the "Conservation for Elephant Conservation." That is Ringling's elephant training facility where most of the beatings and torture occur.

Video highlights of the April 1 and April 2 Ringings protests

Outside the Verizon Center on the second day of the circus

Calling out Ringling Bros circus for animal abuse

Skanska execs, neighbors get anti-viviseection valentines

on Feb 15, Valentine's Day, animal rights activists distributed hundreds of valentines to Skanska executives and their neighbors, asking that construction company Skanska USA drop their contract with University of Washington to build an underground "primate reseach center" or vivisection lab.

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