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Free the Animals: The Amazing True Story of the Animal Liberation Front
FREE THE ANIMALS
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
28 people are currently reading
411 people want to read
About the author
Ingrid Newkirk
43 books57 followersIngrid E. Newkirk is a British animal rights activist and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's largest animal rights organization. She is the author of several books, including Making Kind Choices (2005) and The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble (2009). Newkirk has worked for the animal-protection movement since 1972. Under her leadership in the 1970s as the District of Columbia's first female poundmaster, legislation was passed to create the first spay/neuter clinic in Washington, D.C., as well as an adoption program and the public funding of veterinary services, leading her to be among those chosen in 1980 as Washingtonians of the Year.
Newkirk founded PETA in March 1980 with fellow animal rights activist Alex Pacheco. They came to public attention in 1981, during what became known as the Silver Spring monkeys case, when Pacheco photographed 17 macaque monkeys being experimented on inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. The case led to the first police raid in the United States on an animal research laboratory and to an amendment in 1985 to the Animal Welfare Act. Since then, Newkirk has led campaigns to stop the use of animals in crash tests, convinced companies to stop testing cosmetics on animals, pressed for higher welfare standards from the meat industry, and organized undercover investigations that have led to government sanctions against companies, universities, and entertainers who use animals. She is known, in particular, for the media stunts that she organizes to draw attention to animal-protection issues. In her will, for example, she has asked that her skin be turned into wallets, her feet into umbrella stands, and her flesh into "Newkirk Nuggets", then grilled on a barbecue. "We are complete press sluts", she told The New Yorker in 2003: "It is our obligation. We would be worthless if we were just polite and didn't make any waves."
Although PETA takes a gradualist approach to improving animal welfare, Newkirk remains committed to ending animal use and the idea that, as PETA's slogan says, "animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment". Some animal rights abolitionists, most notably Gary Francione, have criticized PETA, calling it and other groups "the new welfarists". Some members of the animal advocacy movement have responded that Francione's position is unnecessarily divisive. Newkirk has also been criticized for her support of actions carried out in the name of the Animal Liberation Front. Newkirk's position is that the animal rights movement is a revolutionary one and that "[t]hinkers may prepare revolutions, but bandits must carry them out". PETA itself, however, "maintains a creed of nonviolence and does not advocate actions in which anyone, human or nonhuman, is injured". Newkirk and PETA have also been criticized for euthanizing many of the animals taken into PETA's shelters, including healthy pets, and opposition to the whole notion of pets, and her position that "There's no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy," as well as seemingly seeing eradication as a goal. PETA has responded to this line of criticism.
Newkirk founded PETA in March 1980 with fellow animal rights activist Alex Pacheco. They came to public attention in 1981, during what became known as the Silver Spring monkeys case, when Pacheco photographed 17 macaque monkeys being experimented on inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. The case led to the first police raid in the United States on an animal research laboratory and to an amendment in 1985 to the Animal Welfare Act. Since then, Newkirk has led campaigns to stop the use of animals in crash tests, convinced companies to stop testing cosmetics on animals, pressed for higher welfare standards from the meat industry, and organized undercover investigations that have led to government sanctions against companies, universities, and entertainers who use animals. She is known, in particular, for the media stunts that she organizes to draw attention to animal-protection issues. In her will, for example, she has asked that her skin be turned into wallets, her feet into umbrella stands, and her flesh into "Newkirk Nuggets", then grilled on a barbecue. "We are complete press sluts", she told The New Yorker in 2003: "It is our obligation. We would be worthless if we were just polite and didn't make any waves."
Although PETA takes a gradualist approach to improving animal welfare, Newkirk remains committed to ending animal use and the idea that, as PETA's slogan says, "animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment". Some animal rights abolitionists, most notably Gary Francione, have criticized PETA, calling it and other groups "the new welfarists". Some members of the animal advocacy movement have responded that Francione's position is unnecessarily divisive. Newkirk has also been criticized for her support of actions carried out in the name of the Animal Liberation Front. Newkirk's position is that the animal rights movement is a revolutionary one and that "[t]hinkers may prepare revolutions, but bandits must carry them out". PETA itself, however, "maintains a creed of nonviolence and does not advocate actions in which anyone, human or nonhuman, is injured". Newkirk and PETA have also been criticized for euthanizing many of the animals taken into PETA's shelters, including healthy pets, and opposition to the whole notion of pets, and her position that "There's no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy," as well as seemingly seeing eradication as a goal. PETA has responded to this line of criticism.
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April 9, 2011
Free the Animals is a highly unique book in the animal rights canon, and it is one of my favorites. I’ve read it any number of times, but I have never failed to find it gripping.
This is the true story of “Valerie,” the woman who founded the original American Animal Liberation Front, and the architect behind the group’s most daring liberations and exposes in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was the era when the ALF was known for rescuing animals, rather than starting fires and building homemade bombs—a turn that has caused most in the general public and the animal advocacy movement to disavow any support of the clandestine movement. We learn that the British version of the ALF took this destructive turn quite a while before the Americans did.
The main focus of the book, as it should be, is the animals themselves, and their often shocking experiences within some of the nation’s most outwardly prestigious labs. We learn the story of Vanguard, for instance, a small shy, poodle mix who was so mangled by dog fights in his overcrowded kennel that it looked as if he would die before he was even sent to the decompression chamber in US Navy diving experiments. After Vanguard was removed by the ALF, animal activists managed to trace back the dog’s labyrinth of a story:
[Class B dealer] Environmental Distributors had bought him from a small-town sheriff who ran a dog pound. The sheriff had picked him up from a family that owned eight other dogs. PETA sent somebody to see Vanguard’s original owners and tell them what had become of their dog. The woman who came to the door was unconcerned. “We just had too many,” she said.
Possibly the most shocking story was that of the burglary of videotapes made by experimenters at Thomas Gennerelli’s head injury lab at Penn State. No one really knew much about the experiments in this basement lab, and Generelli liked it that way. In a 1983 interview with the Toronto Globe, the researcher had said,
“I’m not willing to go on record to discuss the studies…it has the potential to stir up all sorts of unnecessary fuss….We’re trying to keep ourselves out of the newspapers.”
The box of videotapes quickly revealed to the world the reason for the secrecy. The experiments were frequently performed by students, and they acted the way that college kids tend to do without supervision—only in this case they were in control of extreme suffering.
In the next scene, Valerie could make out only the legs of a restrained baboon as a vivisector bent over him. The man was saying, “He was banged once at 680 g force and quickly recovered. Cheerleading over in the corner, we have B-10,” the camera panned to a disabled monkey strapped into a chair in the corner, brain damaged and drooling. The experimenters laughed.
...
Then, referring to the massive stitched wound extending the entire length of the monkey’s cranium, “There, look at that part on his head [laughter]. Hmm, that’s some part you’ve got there. He has the, uh, the punk look.” “The punk look, is that what you said? [laughter]”
And on and on; hours upon hours of videotape of students behaving in a cruel, scientifically unsound, and irresponsible way—even smoking cigarettes while performing surgery upon animals. Predictably, the talking heads rushed to the defense of the experimenters when the videos were made public, offering up some unintentional humor, such as when the Dean of Penn’s veterinary school announced:
It is absolutely false that we are inhumane or cruel in our research. We treat these animals better than most people treat their pets.
The chief investigator at Gennarelli’s lab, took things a step even further, proclaiming:
We treat the baboons the way we treat human beings.
(Jesus, I better stay away from Penn State.) The director of the always pro-vivisection National Institutes of Health also got into the act:
That laboratory is among the best in the world.
Wow. Nevertheless, the public outcry was such that federal funding for the lab was suspended at the order of a then-government official. However, as with most victories of the fight for animal welfare, it was a short-lived one.
Years later, when Secretary [of Health and Human Services] Margaret Heckler had been replaced by a new administrator, Dr. Louis Sullivan, a staunch supporter of all animal experiments, NIH quietly returned funding to Generelli to revive his laboratory.
Animals gives us a look into a variety of laboratories that most people would ever see, all involving a wide variety of species. A break-in at SEMA, for instance, offers a view into experimentation upon mankind’s closest living relatives:
Exactly as Miki as related, [the cages] were the size of stand-up refrigerators, and inside each one—barely visible trough the foggy, scratched plastic—was a full-grown chimpanzee, able only to stand and sit. That, and nothing more.
Almost as interesting as the animals’ stories is the look inside the cloistered world of animal researchers. There is quite a bit of arrogance on display in these early years, before activist pressure caused researchers to become much more tight-lipped about their careers. For example, the text states that Peter Hand, one experimenter working at Penn State, displayed a vanity license plate reading “PAIN.”
Vivisectors of a feather stick together, it seems. Newkirk writes of one experimenter:
Morrison had not only been active locally, stopping a humane education course at his own university, he had also kept a list of “trouble spots”—places and people being criticized for poor animal care or cruel research. Morrison had provided support to anyone who found himself or herself “persecuted” for animal abuse.
[W]hat Morrison had been doing to cats for the past twenty-five years: studying how they react to extreme temperatures before electrically burning out sections of their brains, exposing sleep-deprived cats to loud noises, and crushing cats’ spinal columns with jeweler’s forceps.
When Morrison left the university, he was given a new job with the National Institutes of Health:
Morrison was given a newly created position at NIH headquarters in Bethesda. He was to be director of laboratory animal care, a permanent, full-time spokesperson for an industry under constant attack.
First published in 1992, Free the Animals contains some information that is no longer applicable. For instance, Newkirk writes:
In 1992, The Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Humane Society of the US won their lawsuit against the USDA to compel the inclusion of rats and mice under the Animal Welfare Act.
Well, we all know how that turned out.
The day after the [Washington] Post story broke, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger suspended all military shooting of animals [in wound labs].
That, too.
The book concludes with a long passage from a leaked interagency memo which outlined US government plans to fight the animal rights movement, strategies that are still used to this day.
Animals does have a few weak spots. Because the subject is a wanted criminal, she didn’t actually relate her personal life and history to the author. Thus, the “everyday life” information that surrounds the laboratory raids is fictional. I found myself rather bored with Valerie’s relationship with her one-dimensional boyfriend. The man seemed perfectly happy and supportive of Valerie’s choice to constantly jet back and forth across the country, committing federal crimes that would not only jeopardize her freedom but his own as well. That doesn’t happen. In another section, Valerie is laid up in the hospital, and her nurse, with very little prompting, announces she had protested animal experiments in nursing school, and Valerie convinces her to become a vegetarian. We later find the woman going on ALF raids with Valerie. Once again, that just doesn’t happen. Finally, there is a typo either in the text or in a photo caption. A former laboratory dog named “Old Man” is described as being a boxer mix, but the photo is of a German Shepherd.
Today, a new breed of activists are rewriting the story of clandestine advocacy. Today, the bearers of this torch are those who conduct open rescues and film undercover video at factory farms and other places of abuse. They seem to adhere most closely to the ideals of the original ALF, rather than the builders of bombs.
This is the true story of “Valerie,” the woman who founded the original American Animal Liberation Front, and the architect behind the group’s most daring liberations and exposes in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was the era when the ALF was known for rescuing animals, rather than starting fires and building homemade bombs—a turn that has caused most in the general public and the animal advocacy movement to disavow any support of the clandestine movement. We learn that the British version of the ALF took this destructive turn quite a while before the Americans did.
The main focus of the book, as it should be, is the animals themselves, and their often shocking experiences within some of the nation’s most outwardly prestigious labs. We learn the story of Vanguard, for instance, a small shy, poodle mix who was so mangled by dog fights in his overcrowded kennel that it looked as if he would die before he was even sent to the decompression chamber in US Navy diving experiments. After Vanguard was removed by the ALF, animal activists managed to trace back the dog’s labyrinth of a story:
[Class B dealer] Environmental Distributors had bought him from a small-town sheriff who ran a dog pound. The sheriff had picked him up from a family that owned eight other dogs. PETA sent somebody to see Vanguard’s original owners and tell them what had become of their dog. The woman who came to the door was unconcerned. “We just had too many,” she said.
Possibly the most shocking story was that of the burglary of videotapes made by experimenters at Thomas Gennerelli’s head injury lab at Penn State. No one really knew much about the experiments in this basement lab, and Generelli liked it that way. In a 1983 interview with the Toronto Globe, the researcher had said,
“I’m not willing to go on record to discuss the studies…it has the potential to stir up all sorts of unnecessary fuss….We’re trying to keep ourselves out of the newspapers.”
The box of videotapes quickly revealed to the world the reason for the secrecy. The experiments were frequently performed by students, and they acted the way that college kids tend to do without supervision—only in this case they were in control of extreme suffering.
In the next scene, Valerie could make out only the legs of a restrained baboon as a vivisector bent over him. The man was saying, “He was banged once at 680 g force and quickly recovered. Cheerleading over in the corner, we have B-10,” the camera panned to a disabled monkey strapped into a chair in the corner, brain damaged and drooling. The experimenters laughed.
...
Then, referring to the massive stitched wound extending the entire length of the monkey’s cranium, “There, look at that part on his head [laughter]. Hmm, that’s some part you’ve got there. He has the, uh, the punk look.” “The punk look, is that what you said? [laughter]”
And on and on; hours upon hours of videotape of students behaving in a cruel, scientifically unsound, and irresponsible way—even smoking cigarettes while performing surgery upon animals. Predictably, the talking heads rushed to the defense of the experimenters when the videos were made public, offering up some unintentional humor, such as when the Dean of Penn’s veterinary school announced:
It is absolutely false that we are inhumane or cruel in our research. We treat these animals better than most people treat their pets.
The chief investigator at Gennarelli’s lab, took things a step even further, proclaiming:
We treat the baboons the way we treat human beings.
(Jesus, I better stay away from Penn State.) The director of the always pro-vivisection National Institutes of Health also got into the act:
That laboratory is among the best in the world.
Wow. Nevertheless, the public outcry was such that federal funding for the lab was suspended at the order of a then-government official. However, as with most victories of the fight for animal welfare, it was a short-lived one.
Years later, when Secretary [of Health and Human Services] Margaret Heckler had been replaced by a new administrator, Dr. Louis Sullivan, a staunch supporter of all animal experiments, NIH quietly returned funding to Generelli to revive his laboratory.
Animals gives us a look into a variety of laboratories that most people would ever see, all involving a wide variety of species. A break-in at SEMA, for instance, offers a view into experimentation upon mankind’s closest living relatives:
Exactly as Miki as related, [the cages] were the size of stand-up refrigerators, and inside each one—barely visible trough the foggy, scratched plastic—was a full-grown chimpanzee, able only to stand and sit. That, and nothing more.
Almost as interesting as the animals’ stories is the look inside the cloistered world of animal researchers. There is quite a bit of arrogance on display in these early years, before activist pressure caused researchers to become much more tight-lipped about their careers. For example, the text states that Peter Hand, one experimenter working at Penn State, displayed a vanity license plate reading “PAIN.”
Vivisectors of a feather stick together, it seems. Newkirk writes of one experimenter:
Morrison had not only been active locally, stopping a humane education course at his own university, he had also kept a list of “trouble spots”—places and people being criticized for poor animal care or cruel research. Morrison had provided support to anyone who found himself or herself “persecuted” for animal abuse.
[W]hat Morrison had been doing to cats for the past twenty-five years: studying how they react to extreme temperatures before electrically burning out sections of their brains, exposing sleep-deprived cats to loud noises, and crushing cats’ spinal columns with jeweler’s forceps.
When Morrison left the university, he was given a new job with the National Institutes of Health:
Morrison was given a newly created position at NIH headquarters in Bethesda. He was to be director of laboratory animal care, a permanent, full-time spokesperson for an industry under constant attack.
First published in 1992, Free the Animals contains some information that is no longer applicable. For instance, Newkirk writes:
In 1992, The Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Humane Society of the US won their lawsuit against the USDA to compel the inclusion of rats and mice under the Animal Welfare Act.
Well, we all know how that turned out.
The day after the [Washington] Post story broke, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger suspended all military shooting of animals [in wound labs].
That, too.
The book concludes with a long passage from a leaked interagency memo which outlined US government plans to fight the animal rights movement, strategies that are still used to this day.
Animals does have a few weak spots. Because the subject is a wanted criminal, she didn’t actually relate her personal life and history to the author. Thus, the “everyday life” information that surrounds the laboratory raids is fictional. I found myself rather bored with Valerie’s relationship with her one-dimensional boyfriend. The man seemed perfectly happy and supportive of Valerie’s choice to constantly jet back and forth across the country, committing federal crimes that would not only jeopardize her freedom but his own as well. That doesn’t happen. In another section, Valerie is laid up in the hospital, and her nurse, with very little prompting, announces she had protested animal experiments in nursing school, and Valerie convinces her to become a vegetarian. We later find the woman going on ALF raids with Valerie. Once again, that just doesn’t happen. Finally, there is a typo either in the text or in a photo caption. A former laboratory dog named “Old Man” is described as being a boxer mix, but the photo is of a German Shepherd.
Today, a new breed of activists are rewriting the story of clandestine advocacy. Today, the bearers of this torch are those who conduct open rescues and film undercover video at factory farms and other places of abuse. They seem to adhere most closely to the ideals of the original ALF, rather than the builders of bombs.
September 8, 2008
Ninjas vs. Nazi scientists. Ninjas win.
December 4, 2008
First of all, if you hate PETA, or dislike the idea of Animal Rights and/or Animal Liberation, of course you won't like this book. This book is written by Ingrid Newkirk of PETA fame, which is going to turn a lot of people away or bias them. Personally I really enjoyed this book. It tells the story behind the formation of the U.S. ALF, and it's alternately heartbreaking and thrilling. The raids are described very well, it's almost like a scene from 'Mission Impossible', but instead of a computer disc being snatched it's a baby chimp with his eyes sewn shut. The drama between the raids can get a little stale, but Newkirk does a good job of letting us in on 'Valerie's' life.
January 30, 2008
Poses a really great ethical dilema for anyone who supports animal testing or the eating of meat.
If you can write off those "crazy vegetarians" without a second thought then this book might be what you've been looking for.
definitly worth a trip down to your local library for this one.
If you can write off those "crazy vegetarians" without a second thought then this book might be what you've been looking for.
definitly worth a trip down to your local library for this one.
August 1, 2008
I loved this book! The history of people fighting to free animals from horrible conditions.
January 31, 2021
Let's get this out of the way up front. I have a number of issues with PETA, and Ingrid Newkirk individually. If you are reading this, likely you know the reason for the link, but Ingrid Newkirk is the founder and longstanding head of PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) A group that is as problematic for the animal movement, in terms of public perception at least, as the ALF, about whom this book primarily, and thankfully focuses on. This story is somewhat more intimate than the more lengthy 'From Dusk til Dawn'. Though both books tackle similar issues. Free the Animals is more singular in scope and structure. Feeling a lot more like the narrative of a limited television series than 'Dawn', with it's random timeframes and encyclopedic detail. It is little wonder that many for whom gravitate towards these sorts of books might prefer this more focused, more concise story. it certainly steers closer to the hallmarks of traditional storytelling, having a more defined three act type structure and a more concrete ending. Not that From Dusk till Dawn isn't personal, it is often starkly so, but there is something a little more human, a little more relatable at work here. Again, I think this is another reason why many might prefer this book. Valerie certainly comes across as an enticing and courageous protagonist, inspiring all who read of a similar mindset to greatly admire her determination and no doubt imagine or wish themselves in her shoes. One thing older books of these styles never fail to get me thinking about, is just how different the law responds to such measures these days. Whilst the harshness of British police in the 70s and 80s when dealing with ALF actions is legendary, the punishments meted out in terms of jail time seem positively pedestrian by comparison. No lover of the police or the legal system am I, but I would take a little police brutality over the criminal sentences handed out to non violent activists in this day and age, but don't get me started on the rapidly encroaching police state, or we'll be here all day.
Free the Animals does what it does extremely well. A stark, and at times rather bleak examination of the animal abuse industries of the late 20th century. The rise and rise of the American ALF, and their underground attempts to disrupt it. This is a powerful signpost in the sands of time that should never be forgotten, paying homage to those who came before us. This is an absolute must read for anyone whom can draw inspiration from the depths of despair and channel it into something positive. It might not be the easiest of reads at times, but its a story that damn well needs telling. Highly recommended. 4.5/5
OmniBen.
Free the Animals does what it does extremely well. A stark, and at times rather bleak examination of the animal abuse industries of the late 20th century. The rise and rise of the American ALF, and their underground attempts to disrupt it. This is a powerful signpost in the sands of time that should never be forgotten, paying homage to those who came before us. This is an absolute must read for anyone whom can draw inspiration from the depths of despair and channel it into something positive. It might not be the easiest of reads at times, but its a story that damn well needs telling. Highly recommended. 4.5/5
OmniBen.
May 20, 2021
DNFing this at a little more than halfway through. I appreciate the intention of this book. However, the detailed and sometimes graphic accounts of how the animals were being treated just really made me depressed to the point where I could not finish the book.
March 26, 2012
I wish everyone read this. They might think twice before buying some of the products that represent a torturous existence and painful and prolonged death for animals.
May 11, 2024
A SEMI-FICTIONALIZED ACCOUNT OF THE ANIMAL LIBERATION FRONT
Ingrid Newkirk (born 1949) is an English-born animal rights activist and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), as well as the author of 'You Can Save the Animals'; ‘Animalkind,’ etc. [NOTE: Page numbers below refer to the 378-page 1992 paperback edition]
The Introduction by Cleveland Amory explains, “One reason no one has written such a book about these people is that the Animal Liberation Front [ALF] operates in total secrecy. No insider would even admit to being a member of the group… and no outsider knows enough either to talk or write accurately about it. With, that is, one exception… Early on, Ingrid Newkirk… agreed through [PETA’s] ‘Whistleblower’ program to accept information from anyone possessing knowledge of laboratory abuse, no questions asked… Thus PETA could be contacted by the ALF and told where such laboratory abuse existed. Not until after an actual break-in, however, would PETA receive … further information---which PETA would then, via press conferences, radio, and television, give out to everyone from members of Congress on down… the relationship between Ingrid… and the ALF… is strictly a one-way street. The ALF can contact Ingrid, but Ingrid cannot contact the ALF… Obviously this makes the writing of the inside story of such a group difficult. She had one thing going for her, though. She knew personally the founder of the American ALF… Valerie, as Ingrid calls this woman… is not… a fire-eating dangerous radical. She is, in fact, a former officer of the law.” (Pg. xi-xii)
Newkirk wrote in the ‘Author’s Note,’ “Valerie required certain assurances from me before she would allow this project to proceed. Among them, I had to promise to honor her commitment to disguising the identity of ALF members. What this means to the reader is that… every ALF member’s name used in this book is made up, and details of member’s lives… have been fictionalized.” (Pg. xv) She continues, “The ALF has… trusted [PETA] to receive copies of the evidence of wrongdoing they have removed from laboratories… I have learned not to ask questions, the answers to which would make us all vulnerable to law enforcement actions. I have also become somewhat used to jumping on planes with copies of freshly purloined documents and hurriedly calling news conferences… As a result, the FBI has opened files on both PETA and me… Whether or not you agree with the ALF or even the animal rights philosophy, it is my hope that there is enough information in this book to make it clear that what human beings still do to animals … is unacceptable even by the most conservative standards of decency.”
Newkirk recounts a conversation between ‘Valerie’ and her friend ‘Sean’: “[Sean] ‘You’re really willing to give everything up for this?’ [Valerie] ‘Sean, I know exactly what I’m getting into! And the bottom line is this sick feeling I get when I think of doing nothing of just writing an irate letter once in a while… I don’t know why, but NOTHING has ever moved me… as much as the abuse of these animals.’ Sean recognized there was no turning her back.” (Pg. 34)
‘M’ explains, “Animal rights means … recognizing that there is no moral basis, none, for deciding that you have basic rights and that all the other animals on the face of the earth… don’t… Once rights belonged only to white men. Every one else had to fight for theirs or someone else had to fight for them… When you ask people why we can eat and wear and experiment on animals, they usually say it’s because we human beings are superior. If I’m superior to you, does that mean I can kill you for sport or make you do a dance for me?... People say, ‘Yeah, but animals are dumb and animals can’t speak,’ as if that means any dumb individual or group or non-communicative being is fair game for exploitation. Should be start making leather furniture out of the hard-of-hearing or those who can’t pass a spelling bee?... Once you start realizing we have tunnel vision when it comes to other creatures… your perspectives really change. You start seeing animals as … social individuals whom we have deprived of everything precious to them… We’ve got to … open our hearts and minds, and try to undo some of the harm we’ve caused.” (Pg. 47-49)
On another occasion, M recounts, “our ever-growing group … started as the Band of Mercy … back in the early seventies… The Band started out doing pretty small things, but small things that really buggered up the opposition… After a while, the Band started to get more ambitious… they branched out to stop the bloody seal hunt by burning the sealers’ boats while they were moored… the Band tore up vehicles used to move dogs and rats and guinea pigs from suppliers to toxicology test sites. Later they set the lorries and cars on fire… Ronnie was determined to make animal torture… something insurance companies would hesitate to cover… The Band kept a running tally of roughly how much they were costing the animal-abusing industries. By the time Ronnie was caught for the first time, four years ago now, he reckons the Band had done well over three million pounds of damage.” (Pg. 62-63)
‘Kit’ explains, “[Animal testing] has nothing to do with science… It has to do with funding for the command. Ask anyone: the treatment for divers suffering from the bends hasn’t changed one iota in the forty years these tests have been going on. But no one would ever suggest cutting their own command’s funds just because they’re not finding anything new. That would mean eliminating staff. The fewer positions, the less power and prestige for the command. That’s all, that’s everything.” (Pg. 113)
She says of finances, “Each member of the team would carry bail money, and Hacker and Josh would each have $1,000 cash, to pay off someone bothersome but bribable. The money kept ‘recycling’ because it was never needed. If anyone took it, Valerie’s resources would be drained. It would be time to push ALF member for more money. As it was, some already ‘tithed,’ giving ten percent of their income.” (Pg. 183-184)
‘Sonia’ says during a discussion, “‘ALF actions have to be more than symbolic. They have to be sabotage. We should offer a reward for the skin of a vivisector and see if there are any takers!’ ‘You’re buying into THEIR violence that way, Sonia,’ Hacker told her… [Josh said] ‘I agree with Sonia… Nonviolence is a middle class obsession. Bullies are cowards, and we need to get these bastards’ attention. You SUPPORT violence if you don’t STOP violence; by not taking strong enough action, you support violence… A really good scare might do more to stop these folks than all our raids.’” (Pg. 193-194)
Newkirk recounts a press conference of PETA, in which she said, “The ALF rescues animals to save their lives from certain death, not to kill them. The ALF has consistently shown its ability to provide emergency medical care for the animals it rescues. After many raids, photos have been made available showing the same animals, months after their rescues, glossy-coated, revived, and healthy… PETA has no interest in knowing who the ALF members are or in assisting others in identifying them. We are here to discuss what the ALF found and what needs to be done…” (Pg. 253-254)
She records, “The video Bear had made was left in a drop box for PETA… It was made into a touching tape called ‘Breaking Barriers,’ which was sent to every primatologist and concerned scientist PETA could find… Most influential of all was Dr. Jane Goodall, Bear’s hero. The tape disturbed her so much she decided she would visit SEMA for herself… A tour was arranged for Dr. Goodall and Senator John Melcher…When they emerged into the sunshine outside SEMA, they were both visibly shaken…” (Pg. 325)
Newkirk concludes, “Valerie is retired from ‘active duty’ now, for personal reasons she will not discuss, but she remains involved in financing, planning, and scouting for ALF actions. I will use her own words to close this story: ‘…If people want to stop the ALF it is simple: stop doing unspeakable acts to other-than-human beings!... all it takes to get the animals out and stop the suffering is the will to do so. If you can find it in your heart to be part of this force for radical change, PLEASE get involved… When enough of us stop being patient and polite and sitting quietly, the hand of human tyranny will be lifted. So, let’s do it… Free the Animals!” (Pg. 371-372)
This lively and provocative book will be “must reading” for anyone studying the Animal Rights movement.
Ingrid Newkirk (born 1949) is an English-born animal rights activist and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), as well as the author of 'You Can Save the Animals'; ‘Animalkind,’ etc. [NOTE: Page numbers below refer to the 378-page 1992 paperback edition]
The Introduction by Cleveland Amory explains, “One reason no one has written such a book about these people is that the Animal Liberation Front [ALF] operates in total secrecy. No insider would even admit to being a member of the group… and no outsider knows enough either to talk or write accurately about it. With, that is, one exception… Early on, Ingrid Newkirk… agreed through [PETA’s] ‘Whistleblower’ program to accept information from anyone possessing knowledge of laboratory abuse, no questions asked… Thus PETA could be contacted by the ALF and told where such laboratory abuse existed. Not until after an actual break-in, however, would PETA receive … further information---which PETA would then, via press conferences, radio, and television, give out to everyone from members of Congress on down… the relationship between Ingrid… and the ALF… is strictly a one-way street. The ALF can contact Ingrid, but Ingrid cannot contact the ALF… Obviously this makes the writing of the inside story of such a group difficult. She had one thing going for her, though. She knew personally the founder of the American ALF… Valerie, as Ingrid calls this woman… is not… a fire-eating dangerous radical. She is, in fact, a former officer of the law.” (Pg. xi-xii)
Newkirk wrote in the ‘Author’s Note,’ “Valerie required certain assurances from me before she would allow this project to proceed. Among them, I had to promise to honor her commitment to disguising the identity of ALF members. What this means to the reader is that… every ALF member’s name used in this book is made up, and details of member’s lives… have been fictionalized.” (Pg. xv) She continues, “The ALF has… trusted [PETA] to receive copies of the evidence of wrongdoing they have removed from laboratories… I have learned not to ask questions, the answers to which would make us all vulnerable to law enforcement actions. I have also become somewhat used to jumping on planes with copies of freshly purloined documents and hurriedly calling news conferences… As a result, the FBI has opened files on both PETA and me… Whether or not you agree with the ALF or even the animal rights philosophy, it is my hope that there is enough information in this book to make it clear that what human beings still do to animals … is unacceptable even by the most conservative standards of decency.”
Newkirk recounts a conversation between ‘Valerie’ and her friend ‘Sean’: “[Sean] ‘You’re really willing to give everything up for this?’ [Valerie] ‘Sean, I know exactly what I’m getting into! And the bottom line is this sick feeling I get when I think of doing nothing of just writing an irate letter once in a while… I don’t know why, but NOTHING has ever moved me… as much as the abuse of these animals.’ Sean recognized there was no turning her back.” (Pg. 34)
‘M’ explains, “Animal rights means … recognizing that there is no moral basis, none, for deciding that you have basic rights and that all the other animals on the face of the earth… don’t… Once rights belonged only to white men. Every one else had to fight for theirs or someone else had to fight for them… When you ask people why we can eat and wear and experiment on animals, they usually say it’s because we human beings are superior. If I’m superior to you, does that mean I can kill you for sport or make you do a dance for me?... People say, ‘Yeah, but animals are dumb and animals can’t speak,’ as if that means any dumb individual or group or non-communicative being is fair game for exploitation. Should be start making leather furniture out of the hard-of-hearing or those who can’t pass a spelling bee?... Once you start realizing we have tunnel vision when it comes to other creatures… your perspectives really change. You start seeing animals as … social individuals whom we have deprived of everything precious to them… We’ve got to … open our hearts and minds, and try to undo some of the harm we’ve caused.” (Pg. 47-49)
On another occasion, M recounts, “our ever-growing group … started as the Band of Mercy … back in the early seventies… The Band started out doing pretty small things, but small things that really buggered up the opposition… After a while, the Band started to get more ambitious… they branched out to stop the bloody seal hunt by burning the sealers’ boats while they were moored… the Band tore up vehicles used to move dogs and rats and guinea pigs from suppliers to toxicology test sites. Later they set the lorries and cars on fire… Ronnie was determined to make animal torture… something insurance companies would hesitate to cover… The Band kept a running tally of roughly how much they were costing the animal-abusing industries. By the time Ronnie was caught for the first time, four years ago now, he reckons the Band had done well over three million pounds of damage.” (Pg. 62-63)
‘Kit’ explains, “[Animal testing] has nothing to do with science… It has to do with funding for the command. Ask anyone: the treatment for divers suffering from the bends hasn’t changed one iota in the forty years these tests have been going on. But no one would ever suggest cutting their own command’s funds just because they’re not finding anything new. That would mean eliminating staff. The fewer positions, the less power and prestige for the command. That’s all, that’s everything.” (Pg. 113)
She says of finances, “Each member of the team would carry bail money, and Hacker and Josh would each have $1,000 cash, to pay off someone bothersome but bribable. The money kept ‘recycling’ because it was never needed. If anyone took it, Valerie’s resources would be drained. It would be time to push ALF member for more money. As it was, some already ‘tithed,’ giving ten percent of their income.” (Pg. 183-184)
‘Sonia’ says during a discussion, “‘ALF actions have to be more than symbolic. They have to be sabotage. We should offer a reward for the skin of a vivisector and see if there are any takers!’ ‘You’re buying into THEIR violence that way, Sonia,’ Hacker told her… [Josh said] ‘I agree with Sonia… Nonviolence is a middle class obsession. Bullies are cowards, and we need to get these bastards’ attention. You SUPPORT violence if you don’t STOP violence; by not taking strong enough action, you support violence… A really good scare might do more to stop these folks than all our raids.’” (Pg. 193-194)
Newkirk recounts a press conference of PETA, in which she said, “The ALF rescues animals to save their lives from certain death, not to kill them. The ALF has consistently shown its ability to provide emergency medical care for the animals it rescues. After many raids, photos have been made available showing the same animals, months after their rescues, glossy-coated, revived, and healthy… PETA has no interest in knowing who the ALF members are or in assisting others in identifying them. We are here to discuss what the ALF found and what needs to be done…” (Pg. 253-254)
She records, “The video Bear had made was left in a drop box for PETA… It was made into a touching tape called ‘Breaking Barriers,’ which was sent to every primatologist and concerned scientist PETA could find… Most influential of all was Dr. Jane Goodall, Bear’s hero. The tape disturbed her so much she decided she would visit SEMA for herself… A tour was arranged for Dr. Goodall and Senator John Melcher…When they emerged into the sunshine outside SEMA, they were both visibly shaken…” (Pg. 325)
Newkirk concludes, “Valerie is retired from ‘active duty’ now, for personal reasons she will not discuss, but she remains involved in financing, planning, and scouting for ALF actions. I will use her own words to close this story: ‘…If people want to stop the ALF it is simple: stop doing unspeakable acts to other-than-human beings!... all it takes to get the animals out and stop the suffering is the will to do so. If you can find it in your heart to be part of this force for radical change, PLEASE get involved… When enough of us stop being patient and polite and sitting quietly, the hand of human tyranny will be lifted. So, let’s do it… Free the Animals!” (Pg. 371-372)
This lively and provocative book will be “must reading” for anyone studying the Animal Rights movement.
September 21, 2017
I really enjoyed this grouping of stories about the US ALF-founders. It was one of those books you just don't want to put down. It followed a woman who was a police officer on her journey through the realization that the world can be a horrible place for animals, focusing on laboratory animals, and her actions taken to do the most she could to alleviate that. It's got elements of romance, drama, mystery, action, and horror (real horror for the animals in labs).
If you're squeamish about animal cruelty, you can still read this book. The descriptions are scary but they aren't like watching footage or looking at photos. You might be intrigued and want to read up more on the stories in this book. I sure did.
I actually watched footage based on a few of the raids that were described in this book- one called 'Unnecessary Fuss' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU-LK...) which was just.... so disturbing. Also watched 'Breaking Barriers' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dop7P...) which shows super disturbing footage of the chimpanzees and monkeys in the SEMA labs.
Let me say that I knew that animal testing was a horrific thing.... but I never fully knew what kind of incompetence was involved, especially at universities, letting unaccompanied students do brain surgery on apes. And I realized how many of the animals used in labs were former pets, picked up at pounds. Animal testing labs make puppy mills look like heaven, folks. I'll just say that.
These raids were very important turning points in the animal rights and animal cruelty movements. Some of the raids even attracted attention of Jane Goodall who spoke out against the primate testing facilities in one of the chapters.
Quick read, can be done in several days (even working full time with a busy schedule).
If you're squeamish about animal cruelty, you can still read this book. The descriptions are scary but they aren't like watching footage or looking at photos. You might be intrigued and want to read up more on the stories in this book. I sure did.
I actually watched footage based on a few of the raids that were described in this book- one called 'Unnecessary Fuss' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU-LK...) which was just.... so disturbing. Also watched 'Breaking Barriers' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dop7P...) which shows super disturbing footage of the chimpanzees and monkeys in the SEMA labs.
Let me say that I knew that animal testing was a horrific thing.... but I never fully knew what kind of incompetence was involved, especially at universities, letting unaccompanied students do brain surgery on apes. And I realized how many of the animals used in labs were former pets, picked up at pounds. Animal testing labs make puppy mills look like heaven, folks. I'll just say that.
These raids were very important turning points in the animal rights and animal cruelty movements. Some of the raids even attracted attention of Jane Goodall who spoke out against the primate testing facilities in one of the chapters.
Quick read, can be done in several days (even working full time with a busy schedule).
August 3, 2022
This was one of the last books I worked on before I left the company that published it, and it's one I have a great affection for. This edition updates some references, and, most compellingly, provides an afterword by Dr. Emily Trunnell, who examines whether similar experiments to those in the 1980s and early 1990s are still being conducted (they are), and why (money, inertia/convenience, and job-seeking). The book itself is a rollicking, surprisingly funny, true-crime thriller, as "Valerie" is inducted into the nascent Animal Liberation Front. The book charts Valerie's growing radicalization, as it does her worries about the direction the ALF may be taking toward violence. In the light of almost 40 years of animal activism and ongoing animal experimentation, it's an open question how effective the ALF's direct action campaigns were. What is certain, however, is that, for the animals rescued, the torture, loneliness, and absolute confinement are finally over.
March 7, 2011
This is absolutely one of the best books I've read about animal rights activism. While I may not always agree with the actions of ALF, I don't think anyone can argue that their presence is unnecessary. I only wish I could be more helpful when it comes to animal activism. I do believe that some animal research is needed in order to find cures for major diseases, I also believe that there should be more regulations enacted. Animals deserve a degree of comfort and love. Every sentient being has feelings and understands pain so there is no reason why anesthesia shouldn't be available for all surgeries. At least keep them comfortable.
September 13, 2017
Wzruszająca historia opowiadająca o początkach zorganizowanego radykalnego aktywizmu prozwierzęcego. Można się z niej dowiedzieć o tym jak popularyzowano dietę wegetariańska i wegańska oraz jak wyglądały akcje bezpośrednie ALF. Polecam szczególnie osobom związanym z ruchami prozwierzęcymi.
August 16, 2007
This book is so great! It gives a detailed history of the origins of the ALF in the United States. It's hard to put down.
October 20, 2007
This book inspires. It is a tale of courage, commitment, and compassion. A must read for all who care about the rights of animals.
April 19, 2008
This is thee book to read for an honest look at the hoffic abuse of animals in labs. It is written in novel form as non-fiction, so it is an easy read.
July 31, 2011
Also one of my favourite books!
March 6, 2012
Loved this book!
May 7, 2012
this book is good if you are into animals rights. it tells you stories of how people who work for peta broke in labs to save animals from being killed. its a good book to read.
July 2, 2022
Includes graphic descriptions of man’s inhumanity to other living creatures and is all the more effective for it.
November 3, 2024
I hesitated to write a review of this book, because it was written by my boss, Ingrid Newkirk.
I chose to go forward with this because I truly found this to be a great read and a valuable contribution to the animal rights movement.
Ingrid, besides being the visionary founder and leader of the world’s largest and most effective animal rights organization, is one helluva writer.
This nonfiction book has the pacing and suspense of a spy novel, as she describes the cloak-and-dagger operations of the Animal Liberation Front, which was particularly active in the 1980s, breaking into laboratories, damaging equipment and rescuing animals.
A strong dose of animal-rights philosophy is sprinkled between the blow-by-blow descriptions of various ALF operations.
This is one of my favorite passages from Ingrid:
“The world is basically cruel, a place where good has to struggle for a hearing, where evil is accepted as long as it keeps its work quiet and where many people wear ‘civilization’ as a thin coat over their cold hearts.”
Yeah. Well-said.
I chose to go forward with this because I truly found this to be a great read and a valuable contribution to the animal rights movement.
Ingrid, besides being the visionary founder and leader of the world’s largest and most effective animal rights organization, is one helluva writer.
This nonfiction book has the pacing and suspense of a spy novel, as she describes the cloak-and-dagger operations of the Animal Liberation Front, which was particularly active in the 1980s, breaking into laboratories, damaging equipment and rescuing animals.
A strong dose of animal-rights philosophy is sprinkled between the blow-by-blow descriptions of various ALF operations.
This is one of my favorite passages from Ingrid:
“The world is basically cruel, a place where good has to struggle for a hearing, where evil is accepted as long as it keeps its work quiet and where many people wear ‘civilization’ as a thin coat over their cold hearts.”
Yeah. Well-said.
October 6, 2024
Amazing to have the stories of the A.L.F., real life heroes, written in a narrative. There are certain times where the prose (specifically surrounding the very minor romance plot) feels a bit like something you'd find in a Walmart published book, but this is made up for by the gritty depictions of the horrible experiments and the nail-biting raids done by otherwise ordinary people to liberate these helpless and innocent animal victims. The few instances of Ingrid narrating in first-person when she enters the story also has a very cool immersive effect of reminding you that although you are reading a third-person story written in the narrative style of a fictional story, this is in fact a historical retelling written by someone who was fairly central to the events. Very happy to hear that Joaquin Phoenix has secured the movie rights to this story, and am excited to see what will come of that.
SUPPORT THE A.L.F. ✊ UNTIL EVERY CAGE IS EMPTY.
SUPPORT THE A.L.F. ✊ UNTIL EVERY CAGE IS EMPTY.
March 28, 2025
Written by PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk. Like the title says. The book covers the story of “Valerie”. A former police officer that is compelled to fight for what’s right for the animals and how she founds the first ALF (American Liberation Front) cell in America. ALF mission is to liberate animals against possibly being imprisoned like founder Robbie Lee that spent 6 years in prison. The book has some good feel stories , especially on the successful rescues but it’s kind of a hard read but necessary, because it describes the horrific experiments done to animals. You’d be surprised that some are loved animals by the regular people like dogs and cats. And even other wild animals also loved and respected by normal people like primates. A must read for the animal activist / lover.
November 27, 2024
I really love the story of Free the Animals, it documents how PETA came to be after the Silver Springs Monkey case. I love the thrill and the success of the rescue mission and the passion to fight for these animals.
I have 4 mice I call my babies after I rescued them, this book honestly makes me wish I could do work like what the ALF does to save more animals like mice.
If I rescued mice from labs, I'd make sure they were treated right, and put them in a comfortable home where they'll never have to be subjected to horrible experiments ever again.
This book is a major inspiration to many.
I have 4 mice I call my babies after I rescued them, this book honestly makes me wish I could do work like what the ALF does to save more animals like mice.
If I rescued mice from labs, I'd make sure they were treated right, and put them in a comfortable home where they'll never have to be subjected to horrible experiments ever again.
This book is a major inspiration to many.
October 6, 2018
Not the best writing ever and sometimes the descriptions of what the animals might be thinking/saying got on my nerves, but overall a quick read about the start of an important movement.
July 20, 2020
Inspiring, informative, and fun, while also reminding us of the horrible things people can do to others.
July 20, 2022
Heartbreaking , courageous, this is how great things happen with great sacrifices. Definelty a must read!
March 18, 2024
A true masterpiece. The book is as relevant now as it has always been.
March 6, 2017
I loved this book so much, I bought the audio book as well so I can listen to it whilst I work. It tells the story of the controversial Animal Liberation Front. I think it should be made into a movie, because it combines action, emotions and hard hitting reality.
One woman enters into an underground camp to train to be a part of the animal liberation front and she transforms from an everyday woman into a freedom fighter for animals. We also read about the first action packed raids, where innocent animals are freed by these modern day heroes.
This book is a true story and it hooked me in so much I couldn’t put it down. Whilst you will learn more about animal rights, this book is not a list of facts. It is a riveting read.
One woman enters into an underground camp to train to be a part of the animal liberation front and she transforms from an everyday woman into a freedom fighter for animals. We also read about the first action packed raids, where innocent animals are freed by these modern day heroes.
This book is a true story and it hooked me in so much I couldn’t put it down. Whilst you will learn more about animal rights, this book is not a list of facts. It is a riveting read.
September 12, 2014
Great history of the Animal Liberation Front's (ALF) beginnings in North America. For well-researched pro-animal readers like myself, there is less space devoted to the philosophy of ALF and (what I find difficult to read) descriptions of the sickening conditions under which "lab animals" are kept and, instead, much more information about the planning and execution of direct actions themselves. While it is told in the style of a story, rather than a recitation of facts, it is quite clearly intended to reveal early strategies and precautions. I would go as far as describing it as a "how-to" guide for those interested in how both small and large scale actions were successfully pulled off.
While some parts are of course sad, it is also the story of the good guys/gals early triumphs. I felt more inspired reading Free the Animals than hopeless.
It is crucial to remember that this is the 20th anniversary edition. Meaning the events and direct actions described occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. It would be fantastic to learn more about how ALF strategies have accommodated to 21st century technology that is surely being used to shield and protect the cruelty of 21st century vivisectors.
As I mentioned above, the book itself does not spend a significant amount of time "justifying" the actions of the ALF. However, as ALF has worked to do for animals caught in this rotten system, the book "humanizes" ALF members themselves. Perhaps for non-animal sympathizers, this is the books greatest strength.
Like so many others I can only hope that we will look back at our treatment of animals with the same disgust as most of us now look back on slavery, or the Nazi's treatment of Jewish citizens. But, always remember, before the abolition of slavery, there were abolitionists. They broke the law, stole "property," and freed those who neither had a voice, nor whom could free themselves. They risked everything to follow their conscience. They simply could not wait for the rest of the world to catch up. ALF members have been branded terrorists for saving the lives of innocent, sentient beings- non-human animals with the same capacity for fear, pain, suffering, and love as human animals. As Darwin said "we may differ in degree, but not in kind."
I wish the ALF continued success in taking direct action to free those enduring the most miserable experience imaginable. They are living their truth and Free the Animals provides a glimpse into why and how they achieve this goal.
While some parts are of course sad, it is also the story of the good guys/gals early triumphs. I felt more inspired reading Free the Animals than hopeless.
It is crucial to remember that this is the 20th anniversary edition. Meaning the events and direct actions described occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. It would be fantastic to learn more about how ALF strategies have accommodated to 21st century technology that is surely being used to shield and protect the cruelty of 21st century vivisectors.
As I mentioned above, the book itself does not spend a significant amount of time "justifying" the actions of the ALF. However, as ALF has worked to do for animals caught in this rotten system, the book "humanizes" ALF members themselves. Perhaps for non-animal sympathizers, this is the books greatest strength.
Like so many others I can only hope that we will look back at our treatment of animals with the same disgust as most of us now look back on slavery, or the Nazi's treatment of Jewish citizens. But, always remember, before the abolition of slavery, there were abolitionists. They broke the law, stole "property," and freed those who neither had a voice, nor whom could free themselves. They risked everything to follow their conscience. They simply could not wait for the rest of the world to catch up. ALF members have been branded terrorists for saving the lives of innocent, sentient beings- non-human animals with the same capacity for fear, pain, suffering, and love as human animals. As Darwin said "we may differ in degree, but not in kind."
I wish the ALF continued success in taking direct action to free those enduring the most miserable experience imaginable. They are living their truth and Free the Animals provides a glimpse into why and how they achieve this goal.
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