Keith Mann ~ Abolitionist-Online

[Carolyn Bailey]

The Keith Mann Interview

By Claudette Vaughan

Keith Mann is known in the movement, is loved in the movement and has made many sacrifices for total animal liberation. Here he speaks with Claudette Vaughan

Abolitionist: When I think of your activism I think of a soldier of war. You have maintained your position through out regardless of consequences, circumstances or differences of opinion. You have never
compromised your stance and you have been in and out of prison for
large periods of time for animal liberation. How do you, yourself,
describe your activism Keith?

Keith Mann:

Risky, pleasurable, essential, and all encompassing. It's a way of life; long since convinced it's what I'm here to do. Knowing what I know I couldn't do anything else.

Abolitionist: For people who aren't aware of who you are can you provide some background information about yourself please? How you got started and what fuels you to continue etc?

Keith Mann:

I focussed my attention on the really important things in life soon after breaking free from the shackles of our education system which forgets to mention certain things. A
slaughterhouse was an experience I wasn't primed for and a very rude
awakening. It was that which took away any desire for meat and animal
abuse in general that led me to dedicate my life to fighting all
aspects of it. It's animal abuse that fuels my drive aided in no small
part by every new activist I hear of doing likewise. I believe that the
human being will only be truly evolved once it shows unreserved
compassion for the weakest and most vulnerable in its care, this is a
trait an increasing number of humans are showing and that encourages me
greatly. I do believe we have the power to change the world if we work
together and believe in our strength as individuals and a movement.

Abolitionist: Three years ago you broke into a lab and freed six hundred mice that were going to be used to test the drug Botox. In a recent TV interview you said that animal experimenters are leading us
up the wrong path. They are putting billions of pounds into
experimenting on animals and ignoring humans. Can you expand your
thoughts out for us here Keith?

Keith Mann:

I've spent more time than I care to recall in prison cells with people whose core belief is that any amount of violence is acceptable as long as there's something in it for them, quite vile
people more often than not. The same kind of people defend the use of
extreme violence against animals in vivisection laboratories and
clearly care little for the damage done to people as a consequence of
that violence. I would still oppose such savagery whether there was
something in it for me but the grim reality is that there is neither
anything in it for me nor any benefit to wider society, indeed the
opposite is true and our lives and well being are put at risk because
of some insane belief in animal experiments. All this information came
as something of a relief as an instinctive moral objector to
vivisection but how grim is it that all that suffering animals go
through is not just in vane but in fact dangerous for us! They spend
billions on the cause of animal testing while hospitals are closed!

Animal experiments teach us nothing about human health and can never be relied on. Were there a good model for the human they wouldn't have needed to carry out a billion tests on as many animals, there would be
cures for all or ills and drugs such as Seroxat and Vioxx would not
keep on killing people.

Abolitionist: What are your true thoughts on people like Colin Blakemore and Brian Cass?

Keith Mann:

Heartless monsters who hold back human evolution. They are cowards who lie for a living.

Abolitionist: Brian Cass said recently that the SHAC campaign footage of beagle dogs being beaten up by staff is 10 years old now and we all "should move on because the culture has moved on�" What do you
say to that?

Keith Mann:

Vivisection is built on a lie and those who commit such crimes are well known for lying about it. It was George Bernard Shaw who observed: "Those who don't hesitate to vivisect won't hesitate
to lie about it" And how right he was. We have exposed the lie about
stolen pets being used, about the duplication of experiments, about
there being no cruelty. When I broke into Wickham's contract testing
labs the lie about a ban on cosmetic testing and the eradication of the
LD50 test was blown out of the water and as for there being no
unnecessary testing going on, instead all of it �essential to medical
research�, there is very little could be further from the truth!

Every single time outsiders have made an incursion into a vivisection laboratory either 'invited' as undercover workers or through the roof in the dark of night the same story of
institutionalised cruelty, neglect and futile quest emerges and it's no
good them blaming a few bad apples and isolated incidents while hiding
behind a wall of secrets and lies and against such a barrage of
examples. Huntingdon Life Sciences is a willing employment prospect for
morons. I speak with some authority having met many of them at the
gates and on the streets. They care not a jot for the animals they are
torturing to death, obviously! Nice people don't do nasty things to
animals so no matter what the soul-less Mr Cass says, and as with all
of his ilk that can usually be the reverse of the truth, there is
nothing nice or necessary going on inside his top security compound
where 500 animals every single day are tortured and dissected.

Abolitionist: Animal activists such as yourself that many would say have made the ultimate sacrifice for animals by going to prison for years on end are now under intense scrutiny and have been severely
criticised for your views. Why is the establishment so threatened by a
man who has never killed anybody? Is it because of your ability to
influence and impact other animal activists do you think?

Keith Mann:

It's nothing personal. They're attacking a large movement of people. It's what we do to the status quo that they fear so much and not whether anyone gets hurt. In prison I met people who'd
done nasty things to innocent people for their own gain yet were
serving half as long! Those who abuse animals serve even lesser a
sentence for their preferred violence. We have awakened powerful people
with a lot of money to lose if the vivisection gravy train comes off
the rails and it does provide employment for otherwise unemployable
workers, nearly a thousand at HLS, so its little surprise we aren't
courted!

Abolitionist: In all your break-ins for animals what have you seen that can't be forgotten?

Keith Mann:

Usually just opening the door! And an undercover police team waiting to ambush me once! That had a lasting impact on me. I find the abject boredom every single animal has to deal with one of
the saddest things of all and no matter how clean the place is or how
healthy the animals are, of course an essential ingredient of the
vivisection pie, the animals are always bored out of their minds.

Abolitionist: What matters to you?

Keith Mann:

I hate cruelty and bullying. I love food. I am therefore vegan. Addressing all that matters greatly to me and takes up the majority of my time. I have a deep-rooted desire to see the
Palestinian people liberated. I do as much as I possibly can to lessen
my impact on Earth.

Abolitionist: Where are you at now with your activism?

Keith Mann:

I recently came out of tagging after my sentence for the Wickham raid and finding my feet. Always busy. I have to be busy with something, usually more than I can cope with! Went on a SHAC march
in the City of London yesterday to be pushed off the pavement by one
copper and threatened with arrest by two others for handing out
leaflets. They spent ages changing their minds about whether to allow
it or not.

I am finalising a long overdue book on the movement - A Historical Look at the Animal Liberation Movement from Pythagoras & Plutarch to the Animal Liberation Front & Justice Department - and working
on a number of other projects. I am taking pre orders for the book now
to get an idea of interest so anyone wanting to reserve a copy please
contact me c/o [e-mail] It should be published within a few weeks.

Abolitionist: The government in the UK are now out-lawing peaceful open protests. There's a wide spread crackdown on dissent of any nature. Keith Whitburn, John Ablewhite and John Smith were told by
Judge Pert to expect terms of up to 12 years in prison for a campaign
against the Hall Family, farm breeders of guinea pigs which they
consequentially received. What are your views on that?

Keith Mann:

I think we live in exciting times and should not fear the backlash. The people you mention are dear friends as are others who are spending years in prison for their compassion so it is
hard to be so dismissive of their plight but the reality is that we are
victims of our own success. Were they not attacking us so viciously we
would have no real idea of the effect of our actions.

Abolitionist: You have been quoted as saying "Huntingdon is the big one. When Huntingdon falls, there are all these pharmaceutical companies saying they will pull out and operate abroad�.the industry
will start to crumble". Should the movements' priority continue with
Huntington alone or spread itself further a field do you think?

Keith Mann:

An essential ingredient in what we are creating is the ability to focus our attention. There is an instinctive desire to visit modern ideas on all the evildoers but of course they are many. A small
number of people have proven highly efficient at having a big impact on
some big issues. We are all capable of this if only we allow ourselves
to believe it and, rather than make excuses, try.

Abolitionist: I think you once said "Don't be afraid of jail." How hard is jail to endure? Did you talk to other in-mates about being a vegan/animal rights activist or did you keep to yourself? What was it
like being around people that didn't give a toss about animal rights?

Keith Mann:

I have preferred to keep myself to myself and being selective about who I have as friends. It's how I behave out here. There were ample opportunities to discuss the issues and converts were
made but prison isn't really the ideal place to canvas sympathy for
others. An ALF prisoner is something of a novelty in the average nick
and everyone wants to be able to say they met one! I remember being
asked endlessly when I was first locked up years ago how much I got
paid for my �bit of work' and the looks of derision when I told them
I did it because it was the right thing to do. Over the weeks this
attitude dried up as my mail bag continued to bulge while their contact
with the outside world faded to memories.

Prison is nothing to fear. If we fear the consequences of our
actions then we do a disservice to the animals. Like with most things
in life the fear is worse than the reality and if we were all able to
overcome that fear of prison, of sacrificing our liberty for the
greater cause they would be unable to stop us achieving animal
liberation. Sadly we have to put ourselves through some discomfort in
order to make a difference, its how it is. Having to live so close to
so many people who care little for animals is made easier by the
enormous support animal liberators get from the wider movement.
This is something else we can be proud of.