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.

Supporters Still Trying to Keep Bullfighting in Spain

I was disappointed that Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa was one of those that signed a petition to keep this cruel and unnecessary torture of animals around. I guess I won't be reading his books!

For the full story, go here to latino.foxnews.

Graphic Photo of Protest in Spain

It's a pretty powerful image.

Mexican Activists Staged Protest Early this Month

Late on this story. I copied the full article from the Latin American Herald Tribune.

MEXICO CITY – Animal rights activists staged a protest against the sale of pets in Mexico City, urging residents to adopt dogs and other animals instead of buying them.

Twelve activists took part in the demonstration organized by the AnimaNaturalis group Tuesday at the iconic Juarez monument on one of the capital’s main streets.

Two of the activists, one painted to look like a dog and the other like a cat, stood in gift boxes holding signs that urged people not to view animals as toys and to adopt pets instead of purchasing them.

The protest’s goal was to make “society aware” of the fact that animals “need time, love and lots of care,” AnimaNaturalis said.

“Trade in animals considered objects or toys grows alarmingly” during this time of the year, “and when they grow or are kept for a time, they are discarded,” AnimaNaturalis Mexico director Maria Teresa Menendez told Efe.

Parents and children should be “conscientious and take responsibility for raising pets and, in any case, it is better to adopt, neuter and care for domestic animals,” Menendez said.

Eight of every 10 dogs sold in Mexico end up in the streets, with most of them having been family pets at some point, official figures show.

Mexico City, one of the world’s largest cities, has an estimated 3 million street dogs that end up being killed in shelters or the victims of human cruelty. EFE

Beef Farm's Trucks Burned by Activists

I don't support the destruction of property or any physical threats against people who harm animals whether through medical testing or through conventional agriculture. It does nothing but make the targets more wedded to their positions and it garners sympathy from the general public. And, this happened in Fresno County which is in the San Joaquin Valley of California. I grew up there. Believe me, they are NOT helping their cause at all.

Full story here at the Fresno Bee.....

Animal rights activists are behind the burning of cattle trucks at Harris Farms in western Fresno County early Sunday, according to a statement released by a clearinghouse for activists.

The statement purports to describe how the fire, which heavily damaged 14 tractors and several cattle-hauling trailers, was set and says the attack was aimed at "the horrors of factory farming."

Harris Farms CEO and Chairman John Harris said in an email Tuesday that he and others with the ranch are "appalled by this senseless, but very alarming attack." He called it a terrorist action.

"I had suspected Animal Liberation Front may have been involved and now they are in fact claiming responsibility for it with multiple details," Harris wrote.

The clearinghouse that distributed the statement claiming credit for the arson is the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, which says it has no direct dealings with underground groups or illegal activity.

Lawsuit to Challenge Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act

Read the full article in the Washington Post....

A group of animal rights activists sued the U.S. government Thursday to challenge the constitutionality of a rarely used law they say treats them like terrorists if they cause a loss in profits for businesses that use or sell animal products.

Five activists represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston, asking that the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act be struck down as unconstitutional because it has a chilling effect on lawful protest activities

I wish them luck!

Activists Set Fire to Idaho Fur Store

I just don't support these tactics. I hate fur....it's disgusting. But burning a store just 1) makes us into terrorists, 2) does nothing to stop the trade, 3) probably won't even stop the store because they'll get insurance money and reopen and 4) only feeds into sympathy for the industry and the business owners.

JMHO.

Excerpted from Reuters....
Animal rights activists claimed responsibility on Monday for a fire that caused $100,000 in damage to a Boise-area store that sells fur coats and fireworks, authorities said.

No one was injured in the early morning blaze at Rocky Mountain Fur & Fireworks, a retailer in Caldwell, Idaho, about 30 miles northwest of the state capital.

The North American Animal Liberation Press Office, which says it conveys messages for unnamed animal advocates, distributed a statement from a group calling itself the "arson unit" that said it set fire to a store stocked with "chemically treated skins of thousands of tortured animals".

"By oppressing innocent life, you've lost your rights. We've come to take you down a notch. Stay in business and we'll be back," the unit said.

FBI Discussed Ways to Discredit Animal Rights Activists

This from the blog Green is the New Red. Read the full post here.

The FBI and a previously-unknown informant in the animal rights movement discussed, among other topics, how to disrupt political activism, according to FBI documents. The topics discussed echo COINTELPRO-era tactics of the 1960s, including the possibility of discrediting activists through planting rumors.

The FBI file is dated May 12, 2005, by the FBI’s Johnson City Resident Agency, which is part of the Knoxville field office. It is based on conversations between an FBI agent and “Source,” who is only identified as someone who was involved in “direct actions” and is willing to share information with the government in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

The result is an FBI agent’s notes that offer a rare glimpse of how the government is targeting its “number one domestic terrorism threat.”

Animal Rights Activists Jailed in Europe

They are members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC). I support their cause, but am uncomfortable with their tactics.

From Reuters...

The group had targeted about 40 firms as part of an international conspiracy to force the closure of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), an animal research laboratory based near Cambridge. The members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) posted hoax parcel bombs to staff and offices, carried out criminal damage, threatened violence and made abusive phone calls, Winchester Crown Court was told.

The campaign also used tactics such as false allegations of paedophilia against managers of the supply companies, and posting sanitary towels to their homes saying the blood was contaminated with the AIDS virus.

Some employees from firms in Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland had "puppy killer" and "scum" daubed on their houses.

The cost of the damage and increased security measures amounted to 12.6 million pounds, the court heard.

Weekend Protest Against the Oregon National Primate Research Center

From Oregonlive...

Animal rights activists stretched a 60-foot banner across the Hawthorne Bridge {Saturday} morning targeting the Oregon National Primate Research Center at OHSU.

In support of National Primate Liberation Week, the Portland Animal Defense League hung a banner that read "OHSU: Stop Killing Monkeys Now!" for morning commuters to see.

...The sign -- removed by authorities shortly after it went up -- is the latest in an ongoing clash between activists and the Primate Research Center, which houses about 4,200 primates and is one of eight national primate research centers. In June, demonstrators blocked the entrance to the lab, and police arrested five activists for obstructing traffic.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now, an Ohio-based animal rights group, recently ranked the lab at Oregon Health & Science University as the nation's sixth worst animal lab out of 44 others. The group and Animal Defense League say 259 primates at the research center have been abused or deprived of food and clean cages, citing an annual report that the primate center files with the USDA.

Tensions Mount over University of Florida Animal Research

Things are getting a little tense. Not sure I agree with posting the researcher's photo. Wonder if that could get activists into trouble under AETA (Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.)

This is a long article from the Gainesville Sun...

Animal rights activists are targeting a University of Florida researcher for his role in experiments on primates — even though he says he doesn't personally conduct animal research.

Wildwood-based activist Camille Marino runs the "Negotiation is Over!" website, where she posted the researcher's address and a picture of his home. She's accusing him of being a "monkey mutilator" and plans protests with other animal-rights activists at the UF football game today and at the researcher's neighborhood in the coming weeks.

British Activist Jailed for Petrol Bombs

A British animal rights activist is starting a prison sentence after being found guilty of (I think) conspiracy to commit arson. He planted petrol bombs at Oxford University to protest plans to build an animal research laboratory.

I agree that the animal research lab sucks, but anything that threatens harm does not help the cause.

AETA Charges Dismissed

This is very good news from July 13, reported in Action for Animals Austin.

A U.S. district court judge today dismissed federal charges against the AETA 4, four activists charges with acts of terrorism under the Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act. In his ruling the judge stated that federal prosecutors did not show how any of the supposed activities these activists were engaged in amounted to crimes. In fact, he said their activities were protected free speech.

Here is a good analysis that appeared in Huffington Post.

Elizabeth Kucinich and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Cool! She's the new Director of Public Affairs and she's already started lobbying for the Great Ape Protection Act, which would phase out invasive medical research on chimpanzees. (For you international readers, she's Dennis Kucinich's wife. He's a US Congressman who has run for President twice.)

Activist Indicted on Contempt Charges

I'm late on this one. The article is from October 5.

Fox 13 Now reported...

A federal grand jury has indicted an animal rights activist who refused to testify about the release of thousands of mink from Utah ranches. Jordan Halliday, 22, served several months in jail for contempt of court after he said he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. When he was released in June, he was handed a federal grand jury indictment for contempt.

Is There Danger of Elitism in the Animal Rights Movement?

This post is inspired by a thought-provoking piece on the Provoked blog (clearly a good name for a blog!)

I believe that we have to be inclusive in the animal rights movement and attack the system using all kinds of methods in all sorts of fields. Economics, science, literature, film, politics, law, etc. I'm no sociologist or historian, but it seems like there has always been a variety of inputs involved in any kind of social change, even violence. Remember the impact John Brown and his failed raid on Harpers Ferry had on the abolition movement?

And, even though I sometimes want to smack people in the head because I am baffled at how little they care about, well, about ANYTHING, I am still practical enough to understand that there must be a mass change in thinking that involves a large number of people. This may take time and maybe lifetimes to build up to that tipping point, but we have to use everyone and every resource we can.

I do think that there is a real elitism in the movement, however. This is probably an unpopular view, but I think it's legitimate. Is a vegan's efforts at advocacy worth more than a vegetarian's or even a meat eater's if they happen to agree on the same issue? If a meat eater eats meat, but hates the factory farm system or animal experimentation, do we discount anything we can get out of them because they are not "pure." Or the vegetarian who still uses dairy? So instead of three votes, we alienate two, but still maintain our purity?

At the same time, do we have the time to wait for everyone to become vegan to enact laws that will at least allow more humane care in the short term. You can exhort people to go vegan, but if only vegans have legitimacy in the movement, then it's condemned to a very, very small voice and limited short-term impact.

Profile of Peter Young, Animal Rights Activist

From the San Jose Mercury News. Fascinating spotlight on an activist known for freeing imprisoned animals. He was himself eventually imprisoned for two years as a result.

Is PETA Its Own Greatest Enemy?

I recently became a member of PETA because I admire their investigative arm and their ability to get media attention. And I think that, yes, there is a place for shock value in the animal rights movement. Sometimes you have to have a "bomb-thrower" (figuratively speaking!) in order to always push the boundaries of debate for other groups to then follow.

But sometimes, well, PETA does overdo it. A lot.

This editorial in the Advocate does an excellent job of articulating the problem with PETA. (In fact, I think it also articulates Mr. Barky's problems with PETA as well.)

40 Ways to Help Lab Animals

Thanks to Patty at Animal Rights-Do Whatever is Necessary for reposting this list of 40 ways to help lab animals.

I especially like these suggestions.....

9..Read

The better informed you are, the greater the impact you can make, so read everything you can. When you read stories in major newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Newsweek, be wary of simplification, bias, and a tendency to support traditional views indifferent to animals’ interests. A well-referenced book is probably your best source of reliable information. There are many excellent books on issues related to animal research.

10..Know Your Adversary

Part of being an effective activist on animal research issues is knowing the arguments in support of animal research. Do not limit your knowledge and your effectiveness by reading only those materials with which you agree; read articles and books reflecting a range of opinions. You will make yourself a much more effective advocate if you learn the arguments used by those who support the continuing use of animals in the laboratory— and how they might be countered.

11..Get On-Line

The world is a web and you are its spider. The World Wide Web is growing at a rate of thousands of new users per day. With it comes more information to access (see Action 12), more places to express your opinions, and more people to brainstorm with via e-mail or chat lines.

Always be aware that the Web is a free and easy cyberspace where any opinion or “fact” can be found. It is not only a good place to locate people and information; it is also a major source of misinformation. Be cautious in repeating claims you find on the Web, especially those made by members of chat groups.

12..Find the Databases

Databases are loaded wit information relating to animal use in laboratories! CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects), for instance, is a federally funded database available free of charge; it can be accessed on the Internet at www-commons.cit.nih.gov/crisp. Using CRISP, you can access basic information about any scientific study receiving federal money. This information includes research topics, funding amounts, types of animals used, and the number of years the project has been funded.

A valuable new resource has recently entered the information superhighway. Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, in collaboration with a number of government agencies, has established AltWeb, the Alternatives to Animal Testing Web site. This rapidly growing site is to be a global resource on alternative methods, the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement), animal ethics, and animal care, with hyperlinks to related Web sites and databases. Check it out at www.jhsph.edu/~altweb.

13..Search the Libraries

A good library is one of your best sources of information on the whos, whats, whens, wheres, and whys of animal research. For sleuthing on animal experimentation, you will want to visit a library with good science holdings. A university library will usually serve you well.

14..Collect the Numbers

As an advocate for animals, you never know when you’re going to find yourself engaged in a discussion with someone about animal research issues. It never hurts to have a few facts and figures up your sleeve.

15..Get FOIAed Up!

It is not a free country for animals in laboratories, but it is a comparatively free one for you. One such freedom is provided by the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), passed in 1966. The FOIA entitles you to information on how the government is spending your tax dollars. FOIA allows you access to information on federally funded animal research projects and to documents of various departments of the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration, and Public Health Service (PHS). FOIA can provide you with such information as the amount of money spent yearly on a specific project, the research methods used, and internal correspondence related to the project.

New Book on Animal Rights Activism

It's titled "The Animal Activists' Handbook: Maximizing Our Positive Impact in Today's World" by Matt Ball and Bruce Friedrich. One guy runs Vegan Outreach and the other is a VP at PETA (they have those?). Here's a review on Huffington Post.

Looks like it has some interesting ideas.

The most constructive part of the book (and possibly the most shocking to those who are only peripherally familiar with the vegetarian movement and who might therefore expect radicalism) is the authors' discussion of tolerance in all activities. For instance, they caution that if "we're at a restaurant and there's a veggie burger on the menu but we give the server the third degree about the ingredients or about how it was cooked, we're most likely doing more harm than good." They even go so far as to insist that it can be a good thing for vegetarians to date meat-eaters!