Bad politics or bad blood?

What is going on between the radical animal rights group SPEAK, and the newer organisation known as SPEAK Political? We assumed that SPEAK political was the political wing of animal rights group. But we now understand they have little or nothing to do with each other. Have they fallen out?

There are no links on the SPEAK website to SPEAK Political, and vice versa. Neither organisation mentions each other in the ‘about us’ section.

All of this gives room for speculation: was SPEAK too radical for SPEAK Political? Did they fear they would reduce the already narrow chances to win any votes in the political centre ground? Or did an internal leadership struggle occur? Was it about funding? We may never know. The animal rights movement is renowned for its infighting and constant fracturing.

What seems to be clear is that there are serious doubts in the animal rights movement about the future of extremism. Some activists now recognise that supporting violent and illegal actions undermined their credibility. They seem to have finally realised that the vast majority of the British people do not approve of such tactics. I don’t know if the whole animal rights movement understands these changes, but the leading figures in the movement certainly have to answer some inconvenient questions now.