The Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group (ALFSG) is still around but nowadays it keeps a lower profile than in the past. The group was founded 33 years ago to provide support for ALF activists at a time when AR – and especially the direct action wing – was undergoing huge expansion.
This meant the forces of state repression tried to disrupt the group’s activities by raiding its office and arresting those involved. As the SG had close links with the ALF Press Office and shared the same premises for several years in the eighties, inevitably it was dragged into trials for conspiracy and incitement, especially as the newsletter carried lengthy and passionate reports on direct action.
These days the objective of the organisation is prisoner support. Its mission statement says its role is to “support financially, practically and morally those brave men and women who end up in prison as a result of their actions on behalf of animals. This is a vital part of the movement and we in turn depend on our members and supporters to enable us to help the prisoners when they are most in need.”
Both the ALFSG website and newsletters carry a disclaimer which says the group is separate from the ALF and any other organisation involved in illegal actions, has no prior knowledge of such actions and does not seek to incite others to take part in such actions or encourage anyone to break the law.
The ALFG Newsletter is published three or four times per year. The latest issue, which has just appeared, is 28 pages long and contains letters from prisoners and articles on subjects such as prisoner support, the SOCPA 7 and the badger cull. It also has a list of global actions from November 2013 to October 2014 taken from the website www.directaction.info
Currently there is only one prisoner in the UK, Debbie Vincent, who was sentenced to six years for “conspiracy to blackmail” in relation to the campaign to close down the notorious animal testing lab Huntingdon Life Sciences. There are 11 overseas prisoners at present. Details of all the prisoners can be found on the above website.
The ALFSG website can be found at: www.alfsg.org.uk It needs updating and this will be done in the near future but there are also pages providing advice on getting arrested, a guide to facing prison and even an interesting look at keeping fit in prison. There are also pdfs of some past newsletters.
To join the ALF SG costs £2 per month, or £24 per year. Members receive the newsletter. You can either send a cheque for £24 payable to “ALF Supporters Group” to ALF SG, PO Box 1107, Northampton, NN7 9BT, UK, or send your full name and address and ask for a standing order form to donate £2 per month. Alternatively you can subscribe automatically at: https://lists.rbgi.net/mailman/listinfo/alfsg
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