Earth First! has had a longstanding policy of not holding the gathering on sites with any animal agriculture. This is a key political stance we have taken and continue to hold.
This year we’re hosted by the Brithdir Mawr Community, who keep animals for milk, eggs and meat. Specifically there 4 battery rescue hens whos’ eggs get eaten, a rescue cockerel, 2 horses being trained to work and 7 goats who are milked. There have been male goats slaughtered for meat and in the past they have kept pigs, sheep and ducks.
We did not appreciate that this was situation at Brithdir Mawr when we decided on the site and had understood something different from our conversations with them. We’re sorry that this miscommunication happened between us and our hosts. We were excited (and still are) for the chance to bring the summer gathering to Wales and to support a community facing eviction from a landowner who wishes to turn the land into a “healing retreat centre”. We should have been more careful.
The gathering is going ahead as planned. However, we feel that we needed to let people know beforehand so you can make an informed decision. We care deeply about Earth First!’s and EF!er’s animal liberation principles and can appreciate that attending this year will be a difficult choice for some. We hope that you will come, but can understand if you choose not to.
After some consideration, the animal liberation stream has decided they will still attend, in order to keep the animal liberation line at EF! strong. In their words, the gathering will be what we make of it.
Hope to see you all there! Love and rage,
EF! gatherings collective