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Keith Mann

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For the New Zealand fencer and sports administrator, see Keith Mann (fencer).

Keith Mann
Born
Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England
Occupation(s)Activist, writer
Years active1982–present
OrganisationAnimal Liberation Front
Websiteiamkeithmann.com/km/html

Keith Mann is a British animal rights campaigner and direct action activist who acted as a spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), and was alleged by police in 2005 to be a ringleader for the ALF.[1] He was imprisoned twice, and is the author of From Dusk 'til Dawn: An Insider's View of the Growth of the Animal Liberation Movement (2007).[2][3][4]

Background

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Mann was raised in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, by his father, who worked as a caretaker, and his mother whom he describes as having done "everything else".[5]: 13  His lasting memory of his first job, on a dairy farm, is the cows crying out all day searching for the calves that had been removed from them.[5]: 186  He first came into contact with animal rights activists in 1982, when local hunt saboteurs were handing out leaflets in the street.[6] His first removal of an animal from captivity was when he took a rabbit from a hutch that he used to walk past every day, after having asked the owner for weeks to do something about the rabbit's situation. He writes that this incident changed his view of theft forever, and that he thereafter viewed himself as a "proud ALF activist." His next removal was of a tub of goldfish from a fairground, resulting in him having 53 goldfish in his bath for weeks until he found good ponds for them.[5]: 13 

Direct action

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Mann espoused direct action and was considered by police to be the ringleader of the Animal Liberation Front.[7][8] He was imprisoned twice for illegal acts related to his activism.[9]

Mann was arrested in 1991 after carrying out a series of fire attacks on slaughterhouse lorries in Oldham. He escaped custody and went on the run for 10 months, working at an animal sanctuary run by the Celia Hammond Animal Trust under an assumed name. In 1994, Mann was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment, eventually serving seven years, for 21 offences including arson, possessing explosives and escaping from custody.[10][11][12]

On 13 December 2003 Mann and Melvyn Glintenkamp entered Wickham Laboratories and removed 695 mice being used to test botulinum toxin.[13] He was arrested at his home and the mice were returned to the laboratory. He argued that the tests were illegal because the product was being tested for cosmetic purposes, which is banned in Britain. A court rejected Mann's defence, ruling that the tests were in compliance with UK regulations, because Botox is also used for therapeutic purposes to prevent muscle spasm.[14] In April 2005 he was found guilty of burglary and given 230 hours community service. On leaving the court, he threatened a director of the company, telling him: "Your trouble has only just started, you will need to look under your bed", which led to a charge of contempt of court and six months in custody, which he served in Winchester Prison.[7][8]

In 2007 Mann was involved in Gateway to Hell, a campaign aimed at airports, ports and freight firms importing animals for experimentation. The National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit believed the group was linked to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), an international campaign to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences, a contract animal-testing facility.[15] The homes of five air transport executives were attacked within days of the Gateway campaign beginning.[15][16] Mann said, "Once we have stopped the airports, which we will do before too long, it is going to be difficult for them to find other ways of bringing animals in."[17]

The Animal Protection Party

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In January 2008, SPEAK Political — since renamed The Animal Protection Party — announced that Mann would stand as an electoral candidate.[12] Mann stood in Oxford West and Abingdon against Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris in the 2010 general election. The area was the focus of protests due to the establishment of Oxford University's Biomedical Sciences Building.[12] Mann received 143 votes (0.3 percent) and Harris lost the seat to Nicola Blackwood of the Conservative Party.[18]

Bibliography

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  • From Dusk 'til Dawn: An Insider's View of the Growth of the Animal Liberation Movement (2007), ISBN 0955585007[19][5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BBC News Channel - HARDtalk, Keith Mann, former Animal Liberation Front activist". BBC. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Veteran animal rights activist jailed after threat in court". the Guardian. 30 April 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Animal rights activist jailed after threatening scientist". The Independent. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  4. ^ Mann, Keith (2007). From Dusk 'Til Dawn: An Insider's View of the Growth of the Animal Liberation Movement. Warcry Communications. ISBN 9780955585005.
  5. ^ a b c d Mann, Keith (2007). From Dusk 'til Dawn: An Insider's View of the Growth of the Animal Liberation Movement. Warcry Communications. ISBN 978-0955585005.
  6. ^ "Keith Mann - From Dusk 'til Dawn". www.fromdusktildawn.org.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b Bowcott, Owen (30 April 2005). "Veteran animal rights activist jailed after threat in court". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b Laville, Sandra (24 June 2005). "ALF extremist stands by call to flames". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020 – via theguardian.com.
  9. ^ "Animal Protester Jailed After Court Threat". portsmouth.co.uk. 30 April 2005. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  10. ^ Bennetto, Jason (30 April 2005). "Animal rights activist jailed after threatening scientist". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  11. ^ Hammond, Celia (21 December 1994). "Dear Michael Howard". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  12. ^ a b c Ellery, Ben. Animal rights election candidate served time for arson Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Oxford Times, 24 April 2010.
  13. ^ Vaughn, Claudette. "The Keith Mann Interview". animalliberationfront.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  14. ^ The Telegraph. "Animal rights man faces return to jail". Archived from the original on 6 July 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ a b "Animal rights group target Heathrow". 3 March 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  16. ^ "How animal rights groups destroyed my family's life". the Guardian. 28 August 2005. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  17. ^ Fielding, Nick and Walsh, Gareth. "Vegan bodybuilder funds animal extremists" Archived 2 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The Sunday Times, 15 March 2007.
  18. ^ Election 2010: Oxford West & Abingdon Archived 10 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, BBC, accessed May 7, 2010.
  19. ^ "From Dusk 'til Dawn - About the book". Archived from the original on 19 February 2008.
  20. ^ Banville, Alison (25 November 2018). "Book Review: I Am Keith Mann. I Cured Cancer at Home". BSNEWS. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
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