Vicki Moore
24th Dec 1945 - 6th Feb 2000
Vicki trained as an actress, continuing the long theatrical traditional of her mother's family,. She worked in repertory, musicals and films. In 1973 she married Tony and they formed a cabaret act that took them all over Europe.
In 1987 Vicki rescued the donkey 'Blackie' from death in a fiesta in Spain. She discovered that there were many thousand Blood Fiestas.
"When I became aware of the immensity of the problem of the Blood Fiesta and the atrocities committed on the animals [of Spain], I was confronted with an almost metaphysical awareness of being given a cross to carry, like penitents of Semana Sancta. A cross called conscience was put before me, and I hesitated before picking it up.
"In August 1987 I shouldered the burden and within days witnessed a bound and screaming 'fire' bull dragged to it's death, down a street called Calle de Calvary in Canet de Berenguer, after hours of torture and pain. My true initiation into the Calvary of the animals had begun."
Time and again Vicki risked the wrath of those responsible, as she gathered the evidence and exposed the cruelties.
In June 1995, whilst videoing 'undercover', in the village of Coria, Spain, Vicki was gored by a bull. She was tossed into the air 10 times, gored 11 times in the chest, back, groin and legs. She also suffered a punctured lung, 8 badly smashed ribs and the loss of a kidney.
Vicki's life was saved in a seven hour operation, which was followed by five and a half weeks in intensive care. She struggled for years with the legacy of her injuries, but preferred not to talk about her daily plight, for fear it would detract from that of the animals she championed.
Vicki underwent further operations and, despite being in constant pain, continued to campaign for the animal until her death.
Vicki's Biography
Life on the Line - The Heroic Story of Vicki Moore
Author: Matilda Mench Published by The Bluecoat Press
ISBN: 1 904438 57 1 RRP: £7.99
It can be ordered online > click here or from any bookshop
Synopsis:
The concept of heroism is not always valued in today's cynical world, but it exists nonetheless and never more so than in the animal rights campaigner, Vicki Moore. In her tragically short life, Vicki, in partnership with her equally committed husband, Tony Moore, single-mindedly set about eliminating animal cruelty wherever she found it. Whether filming in the midst of an angry crowd in one of Spain's notorious blood fiestas, or protesting against hare-coursers in this country, she would always put her own safety last and the animals' welfare first. This courageous attitude frequently exposed her to grave danger, either from the perpetrators and spectators, angry at her interference, or from the animals themselves, who, enraged by the agonies to which they were being subjected, were unable to distinguish friend from foe ...
... on 25 June 1995, she was gored repeatedly by a full-grown bull called Argentino. The frenzied attack, in which she was tossed about like a rag doll, left her broken, bleeding and near to death …
Yes, Vicki Moore was a heroine, by any definition, and this book stands as a lasting testament to her life and her work