2020 is probably a year many of us would rather forget, but it wasn’t all bad. Andrew Gough, media and education coordinator at Surge, takes a look back at the last 12 months of Surge campaigns and projects starting with January to June. We’ll be releasing Part 2 of our round-up on New Years Day.

When it comes summing up the year that was 2020, where on Earth do we start? This is a year of unprecedented lows, and even now on the last day of the year, the nation holds its breath as we await further news about greater covid restrictions. But through all of it, from the wildfires to the pandemics, Surge has continued to report on events from the context of animal rights and build campaigns that not only aim to tackle exploitation of non-human animals but relate that to the wider struggles faced by humans and the environment.

Australia on fire

In January, the world was rocked by scenes of utter devastation as wildfires burned their way across Australia. We witnessed the carnage inflicted not just on people’s homes, but on wildlife too. How can we forget the pictures and videos of kangaroos fleeing from the fires, with some not able to cross fences and becoming victims of the flames?

As well as covering the fires and discussing the role that farming had to play in contributing to the conditions that led to the wildfires, on January 19 Unity Diner held a charity fundraising event where all the proceeds went to Dimmock’s Retreat Wildlife.

International Down with Dairy Weekend

Another ‘Februdairy’ that the dairy industry tries to pull off, another chance for the animal rights community to get together and throw a spanner in the works. In February we took to streets across the world, thanks to local grassroots groups who used our dairy outreach materials and masks and set out to inform the public about the horror that is dairy farming.

From London to Delaware, and Helsinki to Aveiro (Portugal), activists could be seen bearing cow masks, signs and screens. However, it didn’t go completely according to plan as Storm Ciara, Dennis and Jorge caused large rainfall, high winds and flooding across Europe.

Unfortunately, many events that were going to go ahead over that weekend were cancelled or postponed as a result, but many groups persevered nonetheless.

COVID-19 and the spotlight on zoonotic diseases

At the end of February, news was emerging of a new virus thought to have originated in a wet market in China. SARS-CoV-2, just one of many types of coronavirus, has in the months since come to be known simply as ‘coronavirus’ or COVID-19 (actually the name of the respiratory disease caused by the virus).

Surge was quick to release the first of what would become a series of videos on zoonotic diseases, pandemics and public health, with the first video covering a threat far worse than the one posed by COVID-19 - antibiotic resistance. In the first week of release, the video garnered more than 4 million views across all our platforms.

A tough decision regarding the Official Animal Rights March and street advocacy

The Official Animal Rights March has been a highlight of our calendars for a number of years now, and we know many activists and campaigners look forward to it, not just as a time to shout loud with a combined voice, but as an opportunity for the community to come together.

However, with so much uncertainty surrounding the impact of COVID-19 on public events, we made the tough decision to postpone and then cancel the march entirely. At the time it could have gone either way, but in hindsight it was by far the best decision.

Our Down with Dairy and Campus Rep programmes were also put on hold as urban centres, colleges and universities were placed on lockdown.

Surge releases comprehensive zoonotic white paper

In May we set about creating a resource for activists and campaigners to use when discussing the connection between animal exploitation and pandemics. 

Our first white paper, reviewed and checked by Dr Michael Greger, looked at every major outbreak and pandemic of modern times - from 1918 influenza to HIV/AIDS - and their links to animal use.

The white paper, released in June, has been downloaded thousands of times, with requests to have it translated into a number of languages.

Milk this is your moment

We get that industries have suffered as a result of the pandemic, but in June we received news of a £500,000 hand-out for the dairy industry in the form of a Defra grant. This was used to finance an ill-conceived advertising campaign that has had very little impact and was plainly a gigantic waste of taxpayer money.

The team put our heads together and came up with a counter-campaign called ‘Milk this is Your Moment’, featuring a website with information for farmers looking to transition away from an unsustainable industry; and letter signed by scientists, academics and respected writers; and a petition calling on the UK government to use its money in more productive ways.

The dangers of zoonotic diseases are not spoken about nearly enough. The reason this pandemic started in the first place is because of our use of, and relationship with, and animals. It simply isn’t common knowledge that many species of animals, reindeer used in festive events included, are at high risk of becoming an intermediate host species for the virus that causes Covid-19.

From an animal rights perspective, this is disturbing regardless of possible diseases, but the issue of how the exploitation of non-human animals affects public health should be a much higher priority, especially in the midst of a pandemic.

Part 2: July to December will be released tomorrow on News Years Day 2021.

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