by Jerry Burke
The Witches' Brew coffee house, which for years has been a bastion of alternative thought in the otherwise conservative suburb, hosted a benefit Sunday night featuring one of the animal rights movement's most controversial figures, Animal Liberation Front press officer Robin Webb.
Webb, a British citizen who has been trapped in the United States since his arrest during a protest at the headquarters of the Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) research facility in New Jersey last November, spoke to a packed coffee house Sunday night. The event, which also featured live music and a DJ, was sponsored by the Philadelphia-based radical animal rights group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, or SHAC.
According to event organizer Andy Stepanian, the purpose of SHAC is simple: to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences, a contract research facility in East Millstone, N.J. Once based in the United Kingdom, the controversial firm relocated across the Atlantic after facing increasing pressure from animal rights activists who objected to Huntingdon's use of animals in its testing and research.
"We don't want to see the animals suffer any longer," said Stepanian as he collected donations from patrons, giving tips on civil disobedience to disrupt the organization's practices. "We're a loose organization with a common goal." According to SHAC literature, more than 500 animals, including mice, rabbits and animal researchers' test subject of choice, beagles, die each day at the lab.
Stepanian believes that criticism leveled at SHAC and other animal-rights organizations focuses too much on what he calls "fringe" factions and the extreme lengths they often go to for the cause. "It's the same with every group: The media always focuses on the few who go far instead of the many who fight peacefully day and night."
Behind Stepanian, a television played video footage allegedly taken at the New Jersey lab. Scenes of monkeys being dissected alive and of a beagle being punched directly in the face shocked many patrons as they signed up for the group's newsletter.
"It's appalling," said an 18-year-old patron who identified herself only as Marcy. "Why do so many animals need to be destroyed just to make sure that products already approved for humans are still OK?"
According to Huntingdon's website, the company performs safety and efficacy tests for products developed by drug, biopharmaceutical, agricultural, veterinary, and industrial chemical companies. It provides clients worldwide with toxicology and metabolism studies for drugs and chemicals.
Stepanian says SHAC has recently found success by going after those affiliated with HLS. Those targets have included investors and shareholders as well as smaller targets like janitorial suppliers, body-disposal services and insurance brokers such as Marsh and McLennan. Without insurance, says Stepanian, "They can't legally perform most of their experiments."
According to Stepanian, the organizer hoped to raise $1,000 during the event, with funds being divided between SHAC and Food Not Bombs, a local organization that helps feed the homeless vegetarian meals.
Later in the evening, Robin Webb stepped up to the microphone. The 58-year-old said he was making the most of his time while awaiting trial on his contempt of court arrest last November in New Jersey for disobeying a court order establishing a no-demonstrating perimeter around the lab facility. "They haven't even given me a trial date yet, so I guess I'll have to do all I can to make them regret keeping me here," he said. Since the authorities took his passport, he cannot return to his native England until after the trial. His cross-country tour will take him to San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia and Texas.
In Webb's impassioned 20-minute presentation, he explained the core beliefs of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and its efforts to carry out direct action against animal abuse by rescuing animals and causing financial loss to animal exploiters, usually through the damage and destruction of property.
"History will show that breaking laws for a right cause is justifiable," Webb told the crowd, accusing world leaders of being the "true terrorists, not the individuals saving the innocent."
"They are the guilty ones. They do not have the right to shape the planet as they see fit," Webb continued, to the applause of his eclectic audience.
Afterward, Webb spoke to the Herald about his crusade. "We do not have the right to use other species any more than we have the right to use other races for experiments," he said. "A byproduct of animal liberation is more than just respect for other species. In the process, we will learn to respect each other."
Talking about the large gathering that came to hear him speak, Webb said, "It is so encouraging to know people of all ages and politics are interested in fighting for what is right."
Webb is hoping that his arrest will be thrown out on procedural irregularities. Meanwhile, he says he'll continue to inform the public about the truth behind the experiments. "Albert Schweitzer once said, 'Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace.' I firmly believe in this."
