Rebellion: The Need to be Heard

Non-human animals are almost always left out of the equation, be it political, economic, legal, environmental, or scientific. Animal advocates decided they would not be relegated to fringe considerations too.

I recently (October 2019) photographed Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) mass demonstrations against the British government’s inertia with regards to the pressing problems of climate change. As someone invested in documenting the animal advocacy movement, I was particularly interested in the actions of Extinction Rebellion’s sister organization and ally, Animal Rebellion (AR).

AR is an anti-speciesist organization that doesn’t want animals left out of the climate change conversation. We know that industrial farming directly impacts climate change, and we know that billions of sentient beings suffer because of farming. Animal Rebellion argues that to end the climate crisis and achieve justice for animals, we must transition to a plant-based food system. Additionally from AR’s website: Animal agriculture accounts for around 14.5% of all human induced emissions. It uses 83% of global farmland, while only contributing 18% of calories. Almost half of all plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch consists of nets from the fishing industry. 

Distilled: AR’s values, goals and demands are here.

Animal Rebellion argues that to end the climate crisis and achieve justice for animals, we must transition to a plant-based food system.

As we’ve seen over centuries, mass demonstration and arrest are a historical form of democratic protest. The tactic is controversial and disruptive. In most cases, that is the point: to jar people out of complacency and initiate discussion and debate. People come together to disrupt when their needs are not being met or their ideas are not being heard. When established pathways to system-wide change have proven unsuccessful, and when governments plainly favour near-term complacency and profit over the harder process of dialogue, negotiation and evolution, the situation becomes untenable for those demanding change. Public protest is often the next step for these engaged and concerned citizens.

Tens of thousands of people took part in XR and AR protests in London, which has now sparked a continuing global movement. I went in with a tremendous amount of curiosity about the people taking part. What I witnessed was an extremely organized and democratic program for disruption, made up of people trained in how to conduct themselves in peaceful protest.

The camaraderie was visible on every tent- and protest-packed block, and the community ethos was emblematic of the full two weeks. Though XR and AR were born of a profound urgency to be heard on extremely serious matters, a sense of levity buoyed people through the rain, arrests and tear-downs.  One protester on lock down – a common term for a protester who has locked, tied, or glued themselves to a place or other person at an agreed-upon location for a pre-meditated action – joked “When are they going to come and arrest me, already? I have an appointment at 3!”

Particular to Animal Rebellion, however, was a solemnity around the actions at places of animal exploitation, like at Smithfield, London’s oldest meat market, and at Billingsgate fish market.

As the procession continued around the market, however, I let the earnest lyrics of their songs permeate, and I felt drawn into this mourning community. A crowded candlelight vigil at a meat market is a thing to behold, photographically, but I found myself moving from outsider to insider; from worried sympathy to entangled empathy. No one would bat an eye to a candlelight vigil for humans or call it an overly sentimental gesture. And it is a really strong gesture. A vulnerable, open-hearted honouring of the suffering and deaths of other species. I came around to deeply appreciating the symbolic and uniting value of the action.

Long live the “uncooperative crusties”! (Descriptively coined by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and gleefully integrated into the protest culture at every opportunity.)

These images offer a glimpse into life and spectacle on the streets during Extinction Rebellion and Animal Rebellion. I’m fascinated and impressed by the people who care enough to show up, organize, take time off work, speak out, and put themselves at the mercy of arrest and derision. Action is the nemesis of inertia, with myriad beautiful branches: momentum, solidarity, catharsis, change.

Alex Lockwood, “Beware! Rebellion Really Can Transform Your Life.” AR co-founder and organizer

George Monbiot, The Guardian. “Today, I Aim to Get Arrested”.

Alex Lockwood, trailer to the upcoming film “Monbiot.”

Kristian Buus, The Guardian Photo Essay, “Extinction Rebellion – The Arrestables”