Fur Stores in Vancouver Canada Vandalized

Four fur stories in the Vancouver, Canada, area were vandalized by animal rights activists who sprayed red paint on the windows and doors.  The four stores were Capilano Furs, Speiser Furs, Snowflake Canada and Pappas Furs.  Credit is being taken by ALF.

Read the full story here at the Vancouver Sun.

ALF Activist Receives 21-Month Sentence

Alex Hall released 650 mink from McMullin Fur farm in South Jordan, Utah in 2008. He received a sentence of 21 months under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA.)

Hall is expected to serve the rest of his sentence in Davis County Jail, rather than be shipped to a federal prison. He is expected to be released in two or three months.

FBI Serves Search Warrant to ALF Supporter

From the Iowa City Press-Citizen...

The FBI served a search warrant Monday on a Salt Lake City home occupied by a supporter of the Animal Liberation Front.

Peter D. Young, 32, said at least eight FBI agents arrived about 11:30 a.m. The agents took computers, papers and other items it thought to be related to "animal enterprise terrorism," Young said, reciting language from the warrant.

"It's important to highlight the fact that I am being targeted just because I am a public figure on the subject" of animal rights, Young said in an interview Tuesday.

A federal judge in Iowa issued the warrant. Law enforcement there has a long-running investigation into animal releases at a University of Iowa laboratory.

Anti-Fur Activists Strike in Russia

This is something I've never heard of.

From BiteBack:

"December 5, in Izhevsk two locks on the entrances of the fur shop were filled with glue with the help of syringe, and the key holes were plastered over with the cold welding. Two big billboards were slashed, walls and sign - pelted with paint bombs.

November 27, in Sochi at the billboard of the fur shop 'The furs of Scandinavia' a slogan 'Fur = murder!' was painted. The same inscriptions appeares near the fur shops in the centre of the city.

November 26, in Petrozavodsk two fur shops were attacked with the paint bombs. On the walls of the shops spray painted inscriptions appeared: 'Killers!', 'Fur is murder!', 'Give up wearing fur!'. Similar slogans were painted on the walls of buildings on the center of the city."

Activists Hit Max Mara Managers in Italy

From Bite Back:

Redecorated with paint and oil the opulent houses of Luigi and Ignazio Maramotti in Albinea (Reggio Emilia). Locked the main entrances. Redecorated with paint also the house of the sister Maria Ludovica located in Reggio Emilia. All these people represent the top management of Max Mara Fashion Group, they torture and kill animals for profits of their company.

10000 Mink Released in Denmark

Animal activists released 10 thousand mink from two fur farms in Denmark.

Media in Denmark have reported that more than 10,000 mink were released from cages at Danish fur farms this week. During the night of October 6, 6000 mink escaped from a farm near Søndervig after cages were opened and fences surrounding the property were destroyed. Then, early on October 9, 5000 mink were freed from cages at a farm in Fousing.

Animal Activists Continue Attacks on Max Mara

A bomb threat was called into a Max Mara in Madrid. This comes weeks after an explosion in Mexico at a Max Mara shop there. Max Mara sells furs. From Biteback:

"On Wednesday Max Mara Madrid received an anonymous call that claimed that an explosive device had been placed in the shop.

The warning was false, but an action as simple and with so few risks can disrupt the normal operation of a business, causing them to lose money and creating a climate of suspicion.

We explore and experiment with techniques for fighting using what is within our reach.
For the animals."

Activists in Mexico Bomb Max Mara Store

ALF activists in Polanco Mexico bombed a Max Mara clothing shop. Max Mara is an Italian fashion house. You can read about them here.

According to a communique received by Bite Back, they did this in protest of Max Mara's use of furs.

With this sabotage we join the international week against MaxMara. The explosion that damaged the facade of the store was not a coincidence. It was not a whim or an attempt to get attention, as the sensationalist press will say; instead this is a response to the domination, objectification and commodification of millions of animals (mink, chinchilla, fox, raccoons, etc.) raised in the infernal fur farms, which are nothing more than concentration camps, where non-human animals are subjugated and forced to live a life of torture and imprisonment waiting for their murder, sick and crazed due to the denial of their wild natures.

Max Mara has long been the target of anti-fur activists in Europe and around the world. You can read more about that here.

ALF Activist Pleads Guilty in Utah to Damaging Mink Farm

A man in Utah has pled guilty to "interfering with an animal enterprise" in federal court.

The raid to which Viehl pleaded guilty took place at the McMullin mink farm in South Jordan in August 2008. Rydalch said the raid consisted of releasing minks and spray-painting parts of the farm, including a barn. She said the plea agreement "stated the damage and loss to real and personal property at the farm exceeded $10,000."

Spray painting a barn? Wow, good thing the feds were on this instead of the local cops.

Animal Activists Steal Ashes From Grave of Novartis CEO's Family

Yeesh. This happened at the end of July. Animal rights activists from a group called The Militant Forces Against Huntingdon Life Sciences went to a cemetery and dug up an urn belonging to the family of Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella. They also splattered paint on the headstones. From Bite Back:

On the 15th of August, this message was sent to Daniel Vasella's email:

'Daniel Vasella,
Because of you there are thousands of animals dying unnamed in mass graves, but yours was all too easy to find. If you wish the urn that was taken from the grave to be returned then you need to publically finish with Huntingon Life Sciences immediately.
You have 2 choices Mr Vasella: lose HLS or LOSE THE URN.'

We kidnapped the ashes of one of his immediate family members in order to teach him that in life and death all beings are equal and deserve to be treated so. Until he can show some respect for the animals Novartis sends to slaughter then we see no reason to respect his dead. It could be either of his sisters, one who died of Lymphdrüsenkrebs or one who died in a car accident, or could it be his father who died unexpectectly after an operation when he was 13?

This time you've got the chance to receive back your family's urn in exchange for dropping HLS for now and for ever, Daniel, and if you don't act fast enough we can just empty the urn in the closest TOILET...

The Militant Forces Against Huntingdon Life Sciences"

ALF Activists Burn Down Dog Racing Clubhouse in Sweden

ALF activists in Sweden burned down a greyhound racing clubhouse in Sweden. They took a picture of it burning too.

Novartis CEO Has Lodge Burned Down by Animal Rights Activists

ALF activists burned the hunting lodge of Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella. From Bite Back:

60 litres of petrol was concentrated in two places around the house - the roof sheltering the front entrance was packed full of petrol bombs with most of the petrol containers placed under it by the door to catch the wood inside, and around the side the wooden garage door and angled roof supports were targetted with the second group of devices.

It hasn't been your week has it, Daniel? Understand this: This will continue until you sever all ties with Huntingdon Life Sciences. We will attack your private life wherever possible. If you think it's fun killing animals in your own forest in Austria and bring them to your hunting estate, we will destroy it. Have you got any more hobbies Daniel? We will destroy them. We will destroy your life. Just remember one thing, dealing with HLS means dealing with US.

You can read about it from Reuters here. Indymedia has a picture of the place actually burning.

Slow News Day at ALF?

A canary liberated in Mexico!

With the desire to add ourselves to the call to action to carry out wild sabotage, we of the Frente de Liberación Animal-Comando Verde Negro (FLA-CVN) have not sabotaged any institution or company, however on the morning of June 15 we rescued a canary from a cage where he was kept captive in Mexico State; we have taken a prisoner from cells which had condemned him to live his entire life in captivity. When we had happened to be passing down the street and we saw a cage with this individual inside, we jumped the fence and we carried away the canary in his cage.

Get that? They "have not sabotaged any institution or company", but they did free a small yellow bird. Far be it from me to tell a group who's tactics I disagree with how to do things, but that isn't exactly "communique worthy".

ALF Spray Paints Bomb Threat in the Netherlands

ALF activists spray painted a bomb threat at Wageningen University in the Netherlands because they do animal research. Never heard of that approach.

From Bite Back:

"In the morning of June the 15th the ALF went back to the Wageningen university. For more than a year this university has been warned about their meaningless experiments on various animals and especially pigs (obesity research).

But the Wageningen university decided to do NOTHING and even sent the police after us! We are trying to help you!

So we painted the messages: Danger Bomb, Warning Bomb and Stay Away.

We also busted a window through which we supposedly gained
entrance to plant a bomb. But we didn't and took off."

ALF Activists Burn Company That Sells Animals for Research

Activists from ALF are claiming responsibility for a fire that caused an estimated $300,000 damage to Scientific Resources International. From the site:

In the early morning hours of May 18th, four incendiary devices were planted at Scientific Resources International, a supplier of non-humyn primates for use in vivisection labs all over northern Nevada. The concept of animals existing as "resources" is utterly despicable, and we vow to do all in our power to run businesses like these into the ground. "For only a fool would cling to this world as it is" --ALF

Scientific Resources International keeps a lower profile on the internet then ALF. Here is one little blurb I found out about them from the University of Wisconsin:

Scientific Resources International, Ltd.

Address: 432 Ridge Street, Reno, Nevada 89501 UNITED STATES
Phone: 775-786-3244
Fax: 775-786-2767
Email: primatesri@sbcglobal.net

Scientific Resources International (SRI) specializes in naive purpose bred non human primates for research. We offer top quality Chinese origin Rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Chinese and Indonesian Cynomolgus (Macaca fascicularis) primates. Our large inventory can match your specific age, weight, sex and disease status requirements. All animals are available post USA quarantine and ready for use. SRI can also offer direct international shipment, if your organization is an authorized and licensed quarantine and use facility. Please contact us for a written price quotation.....we look forward to supplying your primate needs.

Other then that, they seem to make a real point to fly under the radar.

Animal Rights Activists Attack Berkeley Vet

This via the ALF Press Office:

As he left his car parked in a garage on campus, he was whistling and had no idea he had been followed. We preceded to vandalize his shiny new Audi, paid for with blood money. We would have reduced the Audi to ashes; if not for the fact that tailing him prevented us from grabbing the instruments that would have set his sh*t aflame. But there's always tomorrow.

We acted against Timmel because he is a veterinarian in UC Berkeley's vivisection labs. Hey Gregory, time to become a real vet and help sick and wounded animals recover; not ensure the smooth functioning of the torture chambers by assisting vivisectors in callous and fraudulent experiments on fourty-thousand beautiful, innocent beings per year.

And to Nina Hahn, David Rieger, Walter Brown II, Stephen Friet, Helen Diggs, Delonzo Starks, Quig Driver, and the rest of the Office of Laboratory Animal Care sadists; don't think that you or your property will be spared.

This action was carried out with full dedication and solidarity to the SHAC-UK prisoners. Liberation's crusade has begun.

Activists Allegedly Use Computer Virus Against UC Berkeley Researchers

This according to a communique received at the ALF Press office.

UC Berkeley vivisector Ralph Freeman and all of the current lab members in Freeman's Visual Neuroscience Lab were sent a trojan horse virus embedded into email. This virus is designed to completely wreck their computers while leeching all vital personal information they've ever entered into their systems.

Interesting. I've never heard of them using this tactic before.

Southern Poverty Law Center on ALF

Interesting article on ALF from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC is better known for going after racist extremist groups.

Animal Rights Activists Burn Wrong Car

A group calling itself Students and Workers for the Liberation of UCLA Primates burned 3 cars, none of which belonged to the individual they were targeting.

ALF is disputing the notion that the wrong cars were hit.

ALF's Campaign Against Fast Food in Mexico

Every time I go to Bite Back Magazine, I'm struck by how many times ALF activists in Mexico have targeted fast food outlets. I suppose they are easy to get at. Here is just a brief summary:

Oct. 24 - They left some sort of awful smelling liquid at a KFC
Oct. 21 - Arson at a Burger King
Oct. 16 - Fake bomb left at McDonalds
Oct. 15 - Spilled paint at KFC

They have hit other types of targets, but it seems like the number of attacks on fast food restaurants has gone up in the month of October.