Britches Story - Exhibit Gallery - AFAS Home
WHY BRITCHES?
Britches was born into a breeding colony of monkeys at the University of California, Irvine. He was immediately removed from his mother at birth and placed in a maternal and sensory-deprivation study. With his eyes crudely sewn shut, and a device attached to his head which every few seconds emitted a loud sound, his only form of comfort was a cloth-covered wire surrogate “mother”. Before the study could run its cruel course, he was rescued along with 700 animals by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). He lived to be 20.
After video of the liberation and images of Britches began to circulate, the experiment was widely condemned and many others halted as a result.
April 20th, 1985
Hundreds of Animals Were Freed from a UC Riverside laboratory by the Animal Liberation front. The images and video shocked the world. Courtesy Last Chance for Animals.
The Significance of Britches
Becoming an icon of the animal liberation and anti-vivisection movements, the photographs of Britches worked to inform the public about his reality and that of many others held captive in labs and cages around the world. Because of the brutality depicted in the pictures that were taken of him, Britches became synonymous with the efforts to free all animals from live- animal experimentation.
Images shape how we understand and perceive the world outside our own experiences. Although animal experimentation was widely known before 1985, it was the widely shared images of Britches that prompted several organizations and the public to voice mass condemnation against these experiments.
We invite you to be inspired by the story of Britches and create an artwork that while honoring the legacy of Britches adds to the conversation about animals, their intense rich emotional lives and the way our society relates to non-human beings.
LINKS
ART SALE
See available art work for purchase from the exhibit
Buy your limited edition print of this beautiful portrait of Britches by artist and animal advocate Melanie Sears.This image is limited to 10 prints, 11x14", for $20 including shipping.
Britches and the Great Imagining
by by Roxanne Galvan for ProgressForScience | Mar 17, 2017
As we approach World Week for Animals in Laboratories, I want us to take a few moments to remember the tragic story of Britches. In 1985, a baby macaque monkey was born...read the full blog post here
Exhibit was produced jointly by
Art for Animals' Sake & Progress for Science as an ongoing campaign to end vivisection.
