All Things Vegan ~ Radio

Josh Harper

…one of the things I ask for people to do is to really embrace and respond to and think about the feelings you get when you see oppression. When you see the image of an animal tied into a stereotaxic device for an experiment, that anger you feel: embrace it. Let it grow a little bit. Keep that as a part of yourself, because without that we will never see any kind of change. So that’s what I meant by having that revolutionary spark. It’s something I want to always keep with me, because I think it keeps the coldness away.

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Josh Harper is one of the SHAC 7 activists convicted under “animal enterprise terrorism” charges for campaigning to shut down Huntingdon Life Sciences, a notoriously cruel animal testing lab located in the United States and the United Kingdom. In this episode, we bring you a powerful interview with Josh, which we conducted at the Resistance Ecology Conference at Portland State University.

In this landmark First Amendment case, activists were convicted as “terrorists” for various activities such as running a controversial website on which they posted news about the campaign, including legal and illegal actions like stealing animals from labs; supporting such actions as “black faxing”; giving public talks about their personal beliefs; and associating with other members of the SHAC 7. The defendants lost at the trial level, and were sentenced to between one and six years in prison.

Josh spent 3 years in federal prison. He was convicted of violations of the Animal Enterprise Protection Act (later called the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act), and a telecommunications conspiracy charge for giving public speeches and merely speaking about (not utilizing) tactics like black faxing.

Resource: The Talon Conspiracy

This is the first of two interviews with members of the SHAC 7. Our next interview is with Jake Conroy.

We also return to the topic of the illegal ivory trade, and highlight a unique approach to getting rid of ivory stockpiles, which are only fueling more wildlife crime that is driving African Elephants to extinction. And, we discuss several new and important films and documentaries that are keeping animal issues in the forefront of the public’s mind, including Blackfish, a new documentary film released to theaters that details the dark side of keeping killer whales in captivity.

And, of course, we highlight other News from the Vegan Frontier, let you know about vegan related happenings in and around Central Oregon, and more!

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News from the Vegan Frontier:

• More Than an Apple a Day: Combating Common Diseases
• Pesticide banned following 50,000 bee deaths
• Virtual reality experiment shows meat-eaters what it’s like to be a cow
• Hillary Clinton Fights Against Elephant Poaching
• Burn the Ivory
• Agriculture’s Misnamed Agency
• Feature Film: Miss Liberty
• The Superior Human?
• Blackfish
• Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

VegNet Bend will hold their yearly Veggie Luau at 6p, July 24, at The Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas in Bend. Bring a vegan dish to share and your recipe or list of ingredients. For more information about this event, see VegNet Bend Group on Facebook or email info@vegnetbend.org.

Iyengar Yoga of Bend is holding a “Plant-based Happy Eating Hour” on Friday, August 9th, 5-7 p.m. For more information, see yogaofbend.com or call 541-318-1186.

Help protest the Ringling Brothers show in September: Boycott Circus Cruelty in Central Oregon

Music:

Paul Seymour

Theme song and musical clips are courtesy of Paul Seymour. To learn more about New Zealand / Australia based Paul or his music, please visit paulseymour.com.au.

Paul has new music he’d love you to listen at YouTube, Amazon.com, or iTunes.

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All Things Vegan airs on KPOV, Bend Community Radio.