Anna set up North East Animal Rights (N.E.A.R) to campaign and educate about veganism and animal rights. They have around 30 members with branches in Newcastle and Teesside.
On 16th May N.E.A.R are hosting a Tyneside Vegan and Music Festival from 11am-3.30pm at Northumbria University Student Union, Newcastle.
‘We’re expecting the event to be busy. It seems the more we do the bigger and busier we get. We create a family vibe so we get all ages coming along’ explained Anna.
‘This is the seventh Tyneside Vegan festival which first started in Gateshead where the music was so popular that we decided to have live music playing as a regular feature. A lot of the music is original and it will be on through the day, all of the performers are vegan. They will be up on the stage and the main traders will be arranged around the hall.’
‘We try to offer an equal balance between food, ethical traders, music and social justice. It’s all aspects of animal rights as well as the environment – for example we have Climate Action Newcastle coming along as well as lots of charities and animal rights groups.’
‘We hope to attract new vegans who can come and meet others. It’s also a place where long term vegans like myself can safely come to and know there is going to be plant based food stalls with no animal products. Some festivals don’t offer that.’
‘People can bring their dogs have a browse of the stalls, eat some food and listen to music. A great day out. We also have a few stalls encouraging people to get involved in activism which can be scary for people if they look on-line, but we offer face to face contact which is important so they can meet the people they may end up doing activism with.’
‘I’ve been vegetarian since I was 14 and went vegan about 20 year ago. If people are interested in being vegan, I’d say research it first. Some say veganism is extreme – but there’s nothing extreme about not wanting to use or eat animals. Over the years I’ve seen a big difference in attitudes to veganism and the availability of plant based food.’
‘Veganism is a lifestyle, it’s what you wear and where you shop. A vegan wouldn’t have a leather settee or leather shoes. It’s as far as practical you can go with it – it can be hard living in a (currently) non-vegan world seeing constant adverts everywhere for animal body parts but being vegan itself is actually very easy. It’s not about eating free range this or grass fed that or buying locally. Whether you’ve bought locally or not I’m sure it doesn’t make any difference to the animal when they are on the kill floor.’
‘We actively promote veganism others might call it preaching – and they do. But when you think something is wrong you are morally obliged to do something about it. You act against it or for it. There is a lot of research which shows that if you are going to be violent towards animals you will be violent towards humans.’
‘We are an educational campaigning and pressure group so do not get involved in direct actions although we do support and attend protests and actions by other groups. We are non-violent and non-violence and peace is at the core of veganism – it’s the ultimate peace movement.’
Link to Anna’s interview (2021) with Ronnie Lee co founder of the Animal Liberation Front. Ronnie is a lifelong animal rights campaigner.
NEAR Interview with Ronnie Lee
Anna explained ‘Before social media, groups were forced to take more direct action to raise awareness of cruelty to animals and sometimes this led to them being put in prison. But activists are still being criminalised for animal right actions (and social justice actions) and while we would never condone violence towards an individual, we do support challenging the laws where they need to be. And there are many current cases of where the laws should be and are being challenged.’
‘A classic example of this is the fox hunting laws which are now being reviewed again as they have not worked in the way they were intended and sabs are still being assaulted on a weekly basis. And another is the reclassification of animal testing facilities as life sciences infrastructure in an attempt to stop protests – this is currently being challenged in the courts.’
‘What is our aim? We want to end all animal use. It’s not just about not eating animals it’s about not testing on them, not wearing them, not using them for entertainment, it’s about not seeing them for our benefit.’
To join N.E.A.R contact @northeastanimalrights on social media or contact @tynesideveganandmusicfestival
Links to previous interviews >>>
Alikivi March 2026
ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST MUSIC & CULTURE 