Neil Lea
Neil Lea passed away on Tuesday 10th July.
It’s not yet clear whether cards, messages etc. to his partner Mary would be appreciated, or where they should be sent to.
Neil worked constantly throughout a series of really severe illnesses. He started ARC News, a newsletter in the UK to co-ordinate animal rights activity, and was instrumental in ensuring co-operation in the animal rights movements.
Neil spent a lot of time with the Consort kennels campaign, which soon closed the breeder of beagles for labs. 170 beagles were released, one of whom still lives with me. He was also involved in the campaign against Hillgrove, breeders of cats for experiments. On one occasion he was the victim of police harassment when he was arrested on the way to a demo for carrying ‘suspicious’ equipment clearly marked ‘dialysis equipment’.
Despite carrying ID showing he had failed kidneys and needed dialysis, he was arrested and his equipment confiscated. Despite this extremely stupid police action, Neil was soon back and played his part in closing Hillgrove.
When Newchurch was raided and 600 guinea pigs were taken away from the lab breeders, Neil started the campaign which would eventually close them.
As the internet involved he stopped doing ARC News as a paper publication and expanded the website. He also developed several websites devoted to animal rights and veganism. He was passionate about veganism and the sites reflected his practical, no nonsense approach to education and information, and the sites are still first-stop sites for new vegans or those wanting to find about about veganism and vegan products.
Neil was a man of extremely strong character who everyone could learn from. He fought his terrible illnesses at every stage, and never forgot those who he considered to be in a worse position than himself.