Page 27 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 107

BV107 pg22-27 Alissa White-Gluz Interview.qxp_BV107 pg27 30/11/2022 20:33 Page 6

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species. Things that might react badly on a know what I mean? In that sense, countries know that’s how it goes. You start to gain a
dog or a rat, might react just fine on a don’t mean anything, so I do hope that the little bit of traction, people start to push
human, so, a lot of the time, the testing medical literature could be a global thing, back; we’re in that stage right now. None of
that’s done isn’t even applicable to hu- just to reduce the amount of harm we’re that surprises me. I think it’ll be difficult.
mans. It’s just a matter of procedures, they doing until we’re able to move to a point Human beings are, unfortunately, extremely
need to say they did that to get clearance, where no animals are needed in testing. stubborn and hateful creatures. I think it’ll
and then they get it and it’s done. And so be extremely difficult to have a world where
I’m happy to see that more and more coun- Black Velvet: In ‘The Race’ (from ‘Will To people do respect animals, nature, one an-
tries are banning animal testing for cosmet- Power’) you sing, ‘I saw there was a time other, no matter where we’re from, what
ics. The big one that remains is China, but when we valued all life, nobody oppressed, colour our skin is, what gender we are,
they’re even making improvements in that everyone had rights.’ Do you think there what language we are, what species we are,
sense, and I hope that one day we can even will ever be a time when all life is valued? but I do hope that more people can at least
move past testing on animals for anything Do you think there’ll be a vegan world? try to be more like that and more accepting
and get a more reliable form of testing, not Alissa: I really hope so. I hope so. I meet of any differences that there might be. So,
only to prevent the torture for animals, but people every day on tour that tell me, “I I’m going to remain hopeful, I don’t know if
also so we have better results, you know. went vegan five years ago because of you,” it’ll happen, but I’m going to remain hopeful
Testing on human cells on a petri dish is a or “I went vegan two years ago because of on that.
little bit closer, testing on controlled stud- you, and it changed my life, it saved my life,
ies with volunteers, of course, that’s a very and it was the best thing I ever did”. It’s We are hopeful too. Pick up Arch Enemy’s
good way of testing. I think it’s just a matter such a great thing to live your life without ‘Deceivers’ album, out now – and maybe
of time before we move past that altogether. the guilt of knowing that every time you the vegan option the next time you eat or
I also hope that, again, maybe this is a little swallow a piece of food, you have killed shop!
utopian, it would be great if there could be someone. I mean, that is extreme guilt… I Visit www.archenemy.net for more info and
just an open source database so if some- don’t know how meat eaters handle that. some of our favourite vegan organisations:
body just has to do the animal testing on But I don’t want to deal with that. I can eat www.viva.org.uk
any new chemical or new product or new food without thinking, ‘Oh my God, I killed www.animalaid.org.uk
medication, OK, one country does it and someone for this,’ Like, how crazy is that, www.vegansociety.com
then the rest of the countries can have ac- just for a meal? Just for a meal when you www.peta.org
cess and they can see it and they don’t have other options available? So, I really www.crueltyfreeinternational.org
need to go through that testing over and hope we’ll have a vegan world soon. It is
over again and have so many mortalities, growing. It’s a growing movement. It’s in Words By Shari Black Velvet
because, if it works on a dog in Portugal, the stage now where there’s a lot of resist-
it’s going to work on a dog in the U.S., you ance, which is expected, and we always Photos By Katja Kuhl

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