First ALW of the Austrian series from 13.-14. October in the Haus der Frau

In autumn 2005, the concept of the Animal Liberation Workshops was born and put into practice in 5 cities across Austria. In the wake of those events, many new activists and motivated people were prepared to get active for animal rights. The ALW is meant for people, who are disturbed by the way society treats nonhuman animals, but who are too overwhelmed to do something about it. The workshops should empower people and convince them that they can make a difference. That could simply be turning vegan, but it could also mean getting active, from writing letters to actually running political campaigns.

This year in Linz, the workshops started at 10 am in the Haus der Frau in the Volksgartenstrasse. Local activists had organized the event well in advance and had put the giant kitchen to good effect. 4 different meals had been prepared for the price of € 1,5 each, together with vegan cheese-ham toast and kebabs with salad. Also, cakes and muffins were offered, which made the meal so opulent that people were seriously impressed.

Altogether 50 people turned up to participate. The ALW had been advertised only in Linz and surroundings, so the organizers were very happy with such a good turnout. 50 participants means 50 people prepared to spend a whole weekend doing nothing but learning how to help nonhuman animals. The lively debates showed how much the issue was of concern to those people present at the workshops.

The ALW started Saturday morning with a historical introduction into grass roots activism in Austria and summarized the ideas of animal rights philosophy and of the exploitation nonhuman animals face in society. After this introduction, different fotos and anecdotes were presented of actions and ideas of activism – from putting up placards and doing animal rights talks in schools to doing demos, occupations and hunt sabbing – together with their effects and consequences. These reports were supported by a number of little film clips of actions, mostly produced by VeganTV.

At 2 pm, theory was put into practice. All participants formed a demo march, which moved right across the inner city for 3 hours, stopping in front of different shops and companies, which earn money from animal abuse. Twice the demo confronted Kleider Bauer. Rythmic drumming and much screaming made the demo a very noticeable event. After 3 hours, the demo march returned to the ALW lecture room.

In the evening, the talks on different experiences with activism continued, followed by presentations on investigations and open liberations. Later, the movie “Fast Food Nations” was shown, which is a Hollywood blockbuster that shows the horrid situation in slaughterhouses, regarding the treatment of animals as much as hygiene and the conditions for worker.

On Saunday, the workshops started at 10 am, albeit with a breakfast of jam sandwiches and coffee. Then the local animal rights groups presented themselves and spoke about their activities. Nationwide campaigns, especially on fur at Kleider Bauer, on pig factories and for a ban on rabbit cages, were introduced. In the afternoon, the main topics were “armchair activism”, “why vegan” and “the rights to protest and police repression”. Those especially interested could stay afterwards for a talk on the trial about a legal guardian, i.e. personhood, for chimp Hiasl.

All participants were very excited about the ALW and considered it worthwhile attending. 10 different people were running workshops, which meant that activism and its ideas and consequences were presented from different angles, leading to an unbiased overview to form your own opinion. The ALW is organized and run by the whole animal rights movement together. It is the ideal starting point for getting to know the movement and finding your own place within it.