We set up North East Animal Rights (NEAR) at the beginning of last year, starting with of several longer term and experienced animal rights activists, as well as newer activists who were just starting their vegan journey and linking it to animal rights. NEAR was created because we felt there was a need for a different type of activism, although we had no idea what was about to happen with the pandemic! We wanted to have a wide cross section of experiences and skills and certainly have that. I am proud to stand with each and every one in our fantastic group — I learn so much from them and it is great to see the newer members grow in confidence and develop their own style of activism.
Our main values are to educate the public in a friendly, cheerful way in all aspects of veganism, whether it be food, dairy, leather and skin etc. During activism events, we deliberately used light and bright colours for our dress code and our logo — the colours of the earth and sea as well as the vegan flag. We thought, ‘What would make us approach a stall if we were not a vegan but wanted to ask a question?’ — so, we agreed smiling, approachable people in bright colours, with positive factual messages, would make us stand out.