SPEAK National demo
23 July 2005
An inspiring and positive day was had by all those who travelled from
Manchester down to Oxford for the 'Freedom March & Rally'. It is
estimated that over 1000 people attended the demo, which begins to
show the total commitment of people who are determined not to let this
atrocity be built.
The day started off with a rally, with several speakers: Matt Rosell,
who has worked undercover at various labs in the US; Matt Fraser, who
has first hand experience of the dangers to humans of animal testing;
and Dr Jarrod Bailey, scientific director for Europeans for Medical
Progress . The speakers were well chosen and delivered a perfect mix
of scientific facts, individual stories of individual animals kept
prisoners in these hell holes, and a scathing attack on the money-driven
pharmaceutical companies.
The speakers kick-started the march towards the site of the proposed
lab, where NO WORK HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT IN OVER A YEAR!! This is an
amazing achievement so far for the animal rights movement and we must
keep upon the crest of this victorious wave. The march towards the
lab site was vociferous and highly visual, attracting the attention
of shoppers and tourists alike. There were a few more speeches at the
site before the march headed back to the start point.
The return march was a silent and sombre one, protesters marching to
the sound of a single drum beat. This proved to be highly effective,
moreso than the noisy march, as passers-by actually stopped in their
tracks and held the silence with the march. TO witness so many hundreds
of people silently marching by created an atmosphere of total electricity
and the public seemed to be rather overwhelmed at this.
All in all, the day was an undisputed success... keep a lookout for
ways in which you can support the SPEAK campaign locally and make sure
Oxford Uni never add another brick to this vile place!!
For more info about the campaign, visit: www.speakcampaigns.org.uk
