Campaigning for Change

“It’s dirty, it’s dark, there’s no lights, I feel anxious going in there”

“There were used needles on the floors, and rat droppings everywhere”

“The door wouldn’t lock properly”

“Massive cracks up to the ceiling, chunks of concrete were actually missing, claw marks everywhere – I even found someone’s teeth in the door frame”

“Exposed rebar was poking through the wall… I woke up the next day with cuts and scrapes from the metal”

“Snow had built up inside the building, it was freezing cold”

“The walls were so thin, the man next door was able to smash through when he changed… luckily I had control of my wolf, and was able to pacify him. If I had been a new werewolf, or a kid… it could’ve turned into a major fight”

“A cat somehow managed to make its way into the building. It got into my room. I felt so bad afterwards, I cried for days. I’m a major animal lover and I felt like a monster”

These are all direct quotes from members of the public that Howline spoke to about their current provided changing areas. Many existing places have been in use since the Second World War, and they show this age badly. Converted Anderson shelters, hastily built concrete cellars, and 60’s brutalist blocks- the current places werewolves are expected to change are usually old, and often lack basic amenities like lighting or heating. Multiple places Howline visited still had asbestos insulation, a major health risk. Gaps in buildings let in cold draughts and wild animals, who frequently utilise the changing areas as shelter, leaving behind droppings and other mess. Perhaps the worst of all is insecure buildings- doors that wouldn’t lock properly, walls that weren’t correctly reinforced, ceilings that were too low and too weak. All of these create huge risks, both of uncontrolled wolves escaping, which can lead to clashes with the public and police service, and of wolves breaking into other people’s changing areas, leading to wolf fights and injuries. There has already been several incidents across the country in recent years where uncontrolled wolves have escaped the changing area, though fortunately none have resulted in any injuries or worse so far.

Howline wants to change this. Our latest campaign, Campaigning for Change, aims to bring about new legislation for werewolf changing areas and ensure a safe standard is met and upheld. The original Provision of Lycanthropic Changing Areas Act came into existence almost a hundred years ago and has barely been updated since. Through our efforts, there’s been an independent review commissioned, and a new bill drafted. We’re urging MPs and peers to push these desperately needed regulations forward and ensure the new bill is truly beneficial to werewolves before it becomes an Act.

Add your voice to ours. Sign our petition to push the UK government to introduce updated laws about changing areas here, or use our 5-question template to speak to your local MP.