Barry Horne | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 March 1952 Northampton, England |
| Died | 5 November 2001 (aged 49) Worcester, England |
| Cause of death | Organ failure, hunger strikes |
| Resting place | Northampton, England |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, Refuse collector |
| Years active | 1987-2001 |
| Known for | Animal rights activism |
| Children | 2 |
Barry Horne (17 March 1952 – 5 November 2001) was an English animal rights activist. He became known around the world in December 1998 when he engaged in a 68-day hunger strike in an effort to persuade the government to hold a public inquiry into animal testing, something the Labour Party had said it would do before it came to power in 1997.[1][2][3][4] The hunger strike took place while Horne was serving an 18-year sentence for planting incendiary devices in stores that sold fur coats and leather products, the longest sentence handed down to any animal rights activist by a British court.[5]
The hunger strike left Horne with kidney damage and failing eyesight, but it was neither the first nor the last he embarked upon, and when he died of liver failure three years later, he had not eaten for 15 days. Media reaction to his death in the UK was hostile, where he was widely described as a terrorist by journalists and politicians.[6] He is viewed as a martyr within the more radical wing of the animal rights movement.[7]
In 1996, Tony Blair put his name to a document called "New Labour, New Life for Animals" which said: "We will support a Royal Commission to review the effectiveness and justification of animal experiments and to examine alternatives"
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