Humanity Trigger: On the Origins of Anti-Speciesism by Means of Direct Action in Ireland 1822-2022

This book tells the rich story of the struggle against violence against animals in Ireland since records began, but with an emphasis on the 200-year period between 1822 and 2022. It was in 1822 that the world’s first Law protecting some animal species from ‘unnecessary’ suffering was enacted. This began a process of actions, from the State and Civil society, designed to protect non-human animals from gratuitous violence from people. What exactly constitutes unnecessary and gratuitous violence has broadened over time.
Evolving alongside the anti-Slavery and Women’s Rights movements and with many overlapping adherents, the struggle for animal rights has always included the tactic of Direct Action, both non-violent and otherwise, legal and not. Ireland, and the Irish diaspora, have played pivotal roles in the development and history of the animal rights movement from its very inception in the 19th century onwards. This is the story of those individuals who braved frequent mockery and sometimes violence by taking decisive action for animals using the resources to hand. They discovered that the antidote to despair is action. Direct Action.

Humanity Trigger brings to light an exciting radical resistance to animal oppression in Ireland from the anarcho-punk perspective of the late 20th century. As Ireland today grapples with multispecies histories of colonial and capitalist oppression compounded by the current crisis of climate change, this \”lost\” history holds a particular potency. Written in a personable and engaging style by an activist who was himself on the front lines of \”hunt\” sabotage campaigns, the untold story of anti-speciesist direct action in Ireland is brought to life through stories of frustration, conflict, danger, and triumph that are amply illustrated with news stories, photographs, and action reports. The postcolonial world may continue to stereotype Ireland as a conservative, meek, and submissive nation-state, but the rich history of Irish direct action suggests that many Irish citizens are ready and willing to push back.

Dr Corey Lee Wrenn, author of Animals in Irish Society: Interspecies Oppression and Vegan Liberation in Britain’s First Colony, SUNY Press 2021.


I found this book particularly fascinating, interesting, and informative.

Ronnie Lee, Co-founder of the Animal Liberation Front and lifelong advocate for animals.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 198
Imprint: UK Small Publisher
Publication date: 04/12/2023