Transcript from activist gathering in Rome, Italy 1/22/13, Brenda Shoss. I will never forget how I felt the first time I saw images from inside HLS. Like many animal advocates, it pushed me to the next level. I direct my own nonprofit, Kinship Circle, but was so moved by the sheer savagery of HLS, I became a SHAC spokesperson. I traveled the country for national demos against HLS investors, customers, suppliers, and HLS itself. I came to know Kevin, Lauren, Jake, Josh and others who led the SHAC USA campaign. They are intelligent, creative, passionate, funny (Jake could make me laugh harder than anyone) and devoted. Just really good people. SHAC USA's first national event took place in 2001 in Little Rock, AR to protest Huntingdon's biggest investor at that time. Stephens Inc. had given HLS a $33 million survival loan and maintained some 45.6 million shares in HLS stock. As Huntingdon's primary financial backer, Stephens let the unstable lab kill 500 animals a day… In Little Rock, I scribbled into a notebook, recording everything I saw and did. From these notes , I wrote Inside/Out: Diary of Madness. I want to read you a small excerpt that captures the spirit of that protest.

Saturday 10/27 » Activist Workshops. I think, “What provokes direct action?” I know, in my heart, I want to do more. As I enter the next stage as an activist, I stumble over this new energy. What fuels me? Why am I here in Little Rock? At night, before sleep, I see each pig, monkey or dog bleed, vomit and seize inside HLS. How will they find comfort on cold, hard floors? How do animals bear each day of poisons poured down tubes lodged in their stomachs? How do they face more smashed bones, severed limbs and darkness? Will some finally die today? I am obligated to see them, know them and honor their wretched lives. I am bound: Do Something.

By 8:00 p.m., Michele Rokke and Matt Rossell address the group. Michele was an undercover investigator for PETA, reporting to her job at HLS NJ for nearly one year. There, she secretly videotaped animal cruelty and scientific fraud as her fellow workers tortured animals, falsified research data and regularly broke protocol. A court gag order (when HLS findings go public) forces Michele to choose her words carefully. After her talk, I ask her: In moments alone, did you stroke the bellies of pups so sick they could barely move? Did you hold the beagles sequestered in the radioactive unit, their small bodies burning with ghastly substances? I know, from her diaries, that even the sickest dogs stagger to the edge of their cages to press against her for a moment's warmth. I am struck by the extraordinary fact that we not only inhabit this planet with people who torture animals, but who laugh as they do it.

Anger and sorrow, deep in my gut, drive me to join the SHAC campaign. We protest in: Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, DC and New Jersey, of course, home to HLS U.S. headquarters. Even in St. Louis, MO, where then HLS customer Forrest Pharmaceuticals is located. Kevin and Jake drove a video truck here, with its large screen prominently rigged to broadcast HLS animal torture. A landmark gathering in New Jersey un-celebrated Huntingdon's 50-year birthday. I spoke on a panel with:

• Chris DeRose › Last Chance for Animals
• Rod Coronado › Animal Liberation Front volunteer and political prisoner
• Robin Webb › UK Animal Liberation Front spokesperson
• Brenda Shoss › Kinship Circle director and founder
• Bobby Seale › Founding Chairman of civil rights group Black Panthers
  SHAC America, ahead of its time, found intersectionality between diverse social justice movements and pooled tactics in the common struggle against oppression.

1 National Protests. Animal rights activists board planes to attend national conferences, where they sit in chairs and listen to Big Names talk about being Big Names in the AR movement. But since the unjust imprisonment of SHAC U.S. leaders, national demonstrations are few and far between. Where are the AR travelers, willing to march, chant, hold signs and protest? I don't see SHAC-style gatherings where people converge from everywhere with positive energy “to win this thing.” That connection among fellow activists not only charged the anti-HLS cause, but also animated the overall fight for animal liberation.

2 Grandiose Events. The SHAC America crew were great organizers. If not so determined to shut down animal cruelty, they could have found careers as event planners. Each demo seemed larger than life, with ardent attention to detail. The Drumbeats: Talented percussionists who beat sticks on buckets gave rhythm and meaning to marches. The Bullhorn Chants: All protests use ‘em, but SHAC authored creative chants I'd never heard before. The Branding: From SHAC UK to US, protests were easily identifiable in consistent signs, banners, literature. “500 Animals Killed Every Day; Huntingdon Life Sciences Exposed; Close HLS; Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty…” And the haunting eyes of animals photographed in multiple investigations. Pics of Beagles in agony are synonymous with the campaign. Creative Stunts: At times a little corny, but focus-grabs nonetheless. At one New Jersey rally, we wore white tee shirts and laid in the grass outside HLS headquarters to spell the words “STOP HLS” underneath a Beagle face silhouette. Kevin Kjonaas and Jake Conroy arranged for a pilot to fly his private plane overhead to snap pics for the press. Worth The Trip: On-ground demos were just part of full-form weekends that often included tabling, activist workshops, and guest speakers — direct-action stars, HLS undercover investigators, figures from other social justice movements.

3 Leadership, The Heartbeat Of SHAC USA. SHAC's charismatic leadership kept the campaign in play mode at all times. Symmetry in events and messaging makes any marketing appeal work. SHAC applied this basic tenet across protests, workshops, action alerts, materials and more. Local and national protests ⮕ Always an action event somewhere in the U.S., documented in photos, video and reports. Alerts target HLS customers, suppliers, financiers ⮕ SHAC's website was a repository for ongoing HLS targets, with contact information and action strategies. Behind live protests, there was constant pressure on HLS associates to dump the lab. Kinship Circle itself played a role in these campaigns, with hundreds of HLS alerts. I wrote quite a few sample letters back then, and brought huge stacks of printed letters to SHAC's national gatherings, for activists to use. This was before web petitions and social media, when people actually mailed and faxed protest letters. Resources ⮕ Somehow SHAC USA managed to acquire literature, posters and banners in mass quantities to distribute to activists nationwide. This placed everyone on message with the same words, photos and identity. 500 animals died today and other phrases became campaign touchstones. Everyone had compelling hand-outs and signs. I recall one woman's reaction to SHAC's signature leaflet with the mutilated beagle. She stared at the leaflet I'd just given her and began to cry. All she wanted to know was how she could help.

4 Real-Life Activism Vs. Internet Activism. SHAC USA gathered crowds for real-events before web petitions, apps and social media commandeered our movement. While virtual pathways connect us like never before, they can also divide us. Internet activists measure “action for animals” in submit buttons, likes, shares and follows. But faces are few and far between at live events such as fundraisers or protests. Even emails — What? I have to copy/paste and send my comments? — are met with groans. Since I began Kinship Circle, activists complain more. They want automated everything, with as little input as possible. Many online petitions are poorly written and lack fact-checks or credibility. This hurts, not helps, our cause. The missing piece in internet activism is an emotional bond between activists: Camaraderie and sense of belonging. A shared spot in the trenches for animals. As civil rights and other social justice movements move back toward large live demos, I do think animal rights will return to its roots as well.

What Defines Violence? In Inside/Out: Diary of Madness, INSIDE refers to the daily violence to animals at Huntingdon Life Sciences. OUTSIDE reflects how forcefully animal-abuse industries defend their blood-money. It also depicts law enforcers and government agencies that use extreme measures to suppress activists. I'd like to share one more excerpt from Inside/Out that describes violent police over-reaction. In fact, when I see footage from the Little Rock protest against HLS investor Stephens, Inc, it looks like a war zone.

Monday 10/29 » Demo In Downtown Little Rock, Stephens Inc Headquarters. The first police brutality occurs outside Stephens glass high-rise, where protesters press against barricades until they topple over. When protesters step over the now invisible blockade, police erupt. They instantly draw pepper-spray canisters and tear gas. They spray two people in the face. An ear-shattering explosion goes off. I'm sure it is a gun, but am later told it is a “sound bomb.” An unfortunate newscaster is knocked down and pepper-sprayed. As I survey the scene, I observe these snapshots: A young girl on the ground, sobbing and gasping from inhaled pepper spray. A young man's face is a watery red mix of fear and anger as he struggles to flush the chemicals out of his eyes. I see Josh Harper on the ground; a brutal red welt runs down his cheek. When Josh crosses the police line, an officer says: “Hit Harper.” Another shoots a rubber bullet into his face at close range. One activist is shot in the eye and rushed to a local hospital.

The second wave of hostility occurs on Louisiana Street in front of Stephens garage. It is almost 5:00. Activists pound drum rhythms and chant: “Your Money. Your Fault!” We spill over the narrow sidewalk onto the alley, nearly colliding with gas-masked cops atop horses. Some rear their horses up in a vertical threat and others speed toward us. “Horses are not weapons,” we yell in unison. A few activists cross over the police line to sit on the pavement. They link arms. More join them. That is when the officers pretty much lose it. I watch as they drag off activists, hoisting them off the ground like weightless dolls. All are limp, in an act of passive resistance.

Then the cops really charge us. But this time I have no open space before me, only a brick wall. Suddenly I'm enveloped in a tangle of arms and legs. I must run to the edge. I cannot think. I cannot see. I am separated from my friend Janet. I'm almost at the outer rim when a brown-haired policeman knocks me to the ground. “What are you doing,” I holler. “I'm a mother from St. Louis with a 1-year-old son. I have no weapons. I'm here to help animals. Are you insane?” Perhaps, in that moment, he is. But somewhere in the pause between my words and his response: a glimmer. He seems baffled to be here. He can't comprehend why he pushed me down, and stammers, “Ah, we thought someone was pulling something out.” Yes, most likely a flyer with a bloody beagle, compliments of Huntingdon Life Sciences. For we are armed with literature, nothing more. And I see, with spectacular clarity, the mindless cycle of violence.