Ronnie Lee | Viva! Vegan Podcast

The Viva! Vegan Podcast, August

Episode #70: Ronnie Lee – Founder of the Animal Liberation Front, hunt saboteur and vegan activist

Born in 1951, Ronnie stopped eating meat aged 19 when his sister’s vegetarian boyfriend convinced him that it is wrong to eat animals. Two years later, he became vegan and got active with the Hunt Saboteurs Association to disrupt hunting activities and save lives.

In his pursuit to carry out direct action against all forms of animal oppression, the Animal Liberation Front was born.

In this interview, Viva!’s head of investigations, Lex Rigby, gets to ask Ronnie what it was like being vegan in the 70s, what happened to the rescued guinea pigs he stuffed up his jumper and whether he really thought a gallon of petrol was going to burn down an animal research laboratory.

Following the interview, Lex is joined by Viva!’s head of comms, Faye Lewis, to discuss Ronnie’s uncompromising commitment to the animal rights cause.

Regards Mark

640,000kg of pet food distributed in Ukraine by UPAW

1 August 2022

Four Paws

UPAW (Ukrainian Pet Association Worldwide) was created on the first day of the war in Ukraine, in partnership with Animals ID, Dogs Trust Worldwide and Four Paws. It is a logistical platform that unites and coordinates the efforts of 18 Ukrainian animal welfare organisations.

In the past four months the organisation has distributed 640,000kg of pet food, taking care of the challenging logistics in Ukraine.

This platform serves the purpose of redistribution of the pet’s food all over the country, addressing the needs of animals. To this end, the volunteers taking care of unowned animals, breeding kennels, individual pet owners and shelters can apply and receive help thanks to UPAW, whose recognise that “In this tragic situation all pets are equal and hungry in the same way”.

In the future, UPAW is hoping that its purpose will be threefold:

1. Drive systemic changes in Ukraine, which will benefit animals, in cooperation with NGOs and veterinarians.
2. Implement international best practices for the development of local animal welfare organisations.
3. Help national authorities create a policy on animal welfare and good veterinary practice in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the war is imposing different priorities and the whole team of UPAW is focused on reaching red zones of humanitarian catastrophe and front lines in order to feed as many animals as possible. The estimated amount of necessary pet food is 1,300 tons per month.

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Organizations that need help

Animals in Ukraine need help | UPAW

Regards Mark