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| Day of Action in Birmingham |
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Anti-Vivisection & Fur Protests Result in Major
Success as Snow & Rock Drop Fur!!! |
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posted 25-3-05 |
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| Activists from around the Midlands, from the Stop Sequani Animal Testing campaign and from the Covance Campaign in Yorkshire held a very noisy anti-vivisection demo at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on Wednesday afternoon, twelve activists in all took part. The Institute of Clinical Research was holding its 26th annual conference. Present, were laboratory animal molestors Covance, Quintiles, Inveresk and very probably Sequani limited (who were at the conference last year). |
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These disgusting animal testing firms poison and mutilate animals before their newly created 'wonder drugs' are sent to undergo their final stages in clinical research studies on humans before being released onto the market. On arrival, protesters entered the ICC building & leafletted inside for quarter of an hour. A giant Covance Campaign banner was unfurled inside the ICC which caused management much embarassment! |
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| Activists then went outside of the ICC with whistles, airhorn and megaphone all blasting amidst the relentless shouting for a good two hour stretch. Hundreds of leaflets were given out to people entering and leaving the ICC and many suited businessmen walked by with red miserable faces! Just how we like 'em to be! Exposed and shamed! Many people were shocked to hear that this conference of animal killers was taking place here in Birmingham. It is hoped that after receiving all this unwelcome attention, the ICC will refuse to host the event in future years!! |
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Demonstrators then moved on to fur sellers Snow & Rock, just 4 days after their last demo which formed part of the National Weekend of Action against them!
3 activists immediately 'occupied' the shop and questioned the manager about their fur policy. Other protesters outside lined the shop front with banners. Inside the store, one of Snow & Rock's security guards violently snatched & screwed up an anti-fur poster & then threatened to assault a protester!! He then locked activists inside the shop! He had second thoughts, and the doors were soon re-opened again and protesters left the store voluntarily, but within 5 minutes a total of 10 police officers were on the scene!! |
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| Police then issued a Section 14 Order under the Public Order Act which is normally used at big events or when serious disruption or violence is feared!! The fact was that the only disruption or violence on this occasion came from Snow & Rock`s own security guards! Section 14`s impose restrictions on a protest and in this case protesters were ordered to stand directly infront of the shop window which actually did a great job of covering up all the display!! If we had moved from this position we may well have been arrested! |
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Despite restrictions, the protest continued for a further 2 hours, under the watchful eye of 2 officers who had been left to protect us from the security!! Chants of `Fur Trade, Death Trade, Fur Trade Out` echoed down the street and hundreds of leaflets were handed out. 2 seperate members of the public were so horrified at the fur trade that they joined in with the demo, holding a placard and handing out leaflets! Being on a very busy bus route, Snow & Rock is an excellent place to protest. Many hundreds of people heard and saw us, and we recieved many waves and horn honks in support. At 4.45pm, the demo came to an end with protesters pledging to keep up the pressure with regular protests until Snow & Rock do the decent thing and adopt a no-fur policy. |
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Just 1 day after this protest, Snow & Rock issued a statement(see below) announcing that they would be removing all fur from their stores and would not be stocking fur in the future!! This is a fantastic victory for the anti-fur campaign here in the West Midlands and across the country. Thanks to everyone who supported this campaign by either attending demos or contacting the store to complain. Please remember that the West Midlands is not yet a fur-free zone, other shops are still selling fur. For details of the campaign against Selfridges, please click here
Statement sent to the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT)
Dear Mr. Harris
With immediate effect
Snow+Rock are now under new ownership and management. Linked with this change the directors have reviewed its policy and will no longer be stocking or purchasing any products made from real animal fur. This applies to all companies under our control. We feel there are enough man made equivalents to satisfy the needs of our customers. This initiative is tied in with working closer with other organisations to protect our fragile environment.
For the coming winter we are considering the following initiatives
1. Respect the mountain campaign organised by the Ski Club of Great Britain
2. Working with Barts to encourage smokers to use the eco-box
3. Purchasing fleece products made from recycled materials
Yours truly,
Dion Taylor
Managing Director,
Snow+Rock |
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