You Can Just Rescue Animals

Open rescue isn't an alternative to pragmatic campaigning. It's the missing piece.I came out of open rescue retirement to join hundreds of activists in storming a dog factory farm in Wisconsin. In this essay, I tell the story of the Ridglan Farms rescue, what it felt like to be back, and why the experience resolved a tension I've been wrestling with for years. Open rescue and focused, winnable campaigns aren't alternatives — they're different types of artifact that belong together. But the deeper argument is about something I'm calling proportionate action: a movement that claims to be fighting a moral atrocity of historic proportions will lose its soul if no part of it ever takes action commensurate with that claim.This audio version of Sandcastles is produced using an AI clone of Aidan's voice. Please forgive mispronunciations. Read the original on Substack. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sandcastlesblog.substack.com