Crime in the Name of Animal Rights—Archive: 2001B
By: Kenneth Strand Date: 10/4/2007 Category: |
April 29, 2001 NY: More than 250 ducks were removed from the Cornell University Duck Laboratory and Farm in Eastport, Long Island. Workers Sunday morning found graffiti and dead animals and forcibly entered barns. Police believe ALF activists are behind the theft and damage. According to researchers, the ducks were being used in duck virus research and were on a special diet and probably would not survive in the wild or outside the laboratory.
April 28, 2001 CA: ALF activists entered the ICRC Company in Castroville and stole 28 rabbits. An ALF communiqué released after the theft revealed that the thieves did now know exactly what kind of research was being conducted at the facility.
April 27, 2001 WA: Governor Gary Locke signed into law this week a measure that would make it a misdemeanor to knowingly interfere with or recklessly injure a guide dog, or to allow one's dog to obstruct or intimidate a guide dog. Repeat offenses could net up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. The measure sailed through the legislature in record time after reports of blind people being harassed by animal rights fanatics, both verbally and by looking for opportunities to separate the guide dogs from their owners.
April 27, 2001 IL: Two SHAC activists attempted to occupy the Chicago Branch of Stephens Inc. Investment Company. Two activists caused a disruption in the NY Stephens Building.
April 26, 2001 MS: 30 activists from the Boston Coalition for Animal Liberation tried to take over the local offices of the Stephens Incorporated Investment Company. They were protesting the Stephens link with Huntingdon Life Sciences. No activists made it into the building, but three chained themselves outside, using pipe and bicycle chains. Twelve activists attempted to occupy the Stephens office in San Francisco. Three ADL activists attempted to storm the Stephens office in Atlanta.
April 26, 2001 OR: On the heels of cougar complaints rising from 151 in 1992 to 645 in 2000, an Oregon Senate panel approved a bill to allow shooting cougar and bear without hunting tags or licenses if the animals pose a threat to humans. Oregon voters passed a ban on cougar/bear hunting with dogs in 1994, causing a rural uproar over the inherent dangers in such protection. Despite animal rights proponents' assurances of relative safety, researchers say that there were more cougar attacks - and resulting deaths - in the 1990s than in any decade in the past century. Under the bill, animals that exhibit aggressive behavior or break into a home, attack pets, or are repeatedly spotted during the day near structures used by humans could be killed.
April 25, 2001 NJ: The State Commission of Investigation released a report on SPCA chapters throughout New Jersey, citing poor conditions, deplorable conditions, absence of financial controls, wanton spending and duplicitous activity. The investigation concluded in December, 2000, and recommended stripping the SPCAs of their power to enforce animal cruelty laws. It also recommended that municipalities should be mandated to place the enforcement function with their animal control officers. The report concluded that the welfare of animals in the state was not being served.
April 22, 2001 Germany: In one of the biggest arson attacks in Germany, a farm near Dresden that had been the target of animal rights activists on the internet was burned to the ground. Living quarters, feed houses and 8 large buildings that were used to house mink were destroyed. The farm was unoccupied and no animals were present, as it was being converted to crop farming for the upcoming year. The arsonists placed road spikes on the route to the farm, which prevented fire personnel from stopping the blaze.
April 20, 2001 WA: Over 300 mink were released from a farm in Snohomish County. All were female, with most due to give birth within the next few weeks. Over 200 of them were rounded up and returned to the farm through help from local farm families. Estimated losses due to the release are $35,000.
April 19, 2001 WA: Animal rights activists entered a Snohomish mink farm property from the back property line, walked through heavy woods, jumped two fences and barriers to get to the coop area, and released about 200 animals, causing an estimated loss of $35,000. The vandals released animals going from cage to cage and tore up ID cards on the cages that tracked breeding information. Some mink were recovered, many of the lost ones were pregnant. This is the fourth time Brainard's fur farm has been hit in the past five year.
April 19, 2001 UK: In the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, the US subsidiary of Huntingdon Life Sciences joined in the filing of an amended complaint against SHAC, Voices for Animals, Animal Defense League, In Defense of Animals, and certain individuals. The amended filing asserts claims under the Civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Statute (RICO) and cited physical attacks on individual employees, death threats, bomb threats, destruction of property, burglary, harassment and intimidation; and also asserts claims for interference with contractual relations and economic advantage. The original plaintiffs in the action were the Stephens Group and its wholly owned investment-banking subsidiary, Stephens, Inc.
April 18, 2001 WA: State officials determined that IBP Inc., the Northwest's biggest meat packing plant, would not face charges of inhumane slaughter after a prosecutor and state investigators concluded that a clandestine video of slaughterhouse scenes was heavily edited and misleading. A viewing of the full video footage, provided by the Humane Farming Association and other animal rights groups showed corrections of the edited excerpts by workers.
April 16, 2000 Finland: On April 16th, two men and two women were arrested for animal liberation incidents dating back to August, 2000. On April 19th, another man was arrested. Arrested were Brandon David Elder, Mia Liisa Muhonen, Vesa Hyttinen (spokesperson for an animal rights group "Oikeutta elaimille," or "Justice to Animals"), Hannele (Hanna) Kauppinen, and Kristo Muurimaa.
April 15, 2001 OR: ELF arsonists struck at Ross Island Sand & Gravel in Portland, burning 3 cement trucks and causing $210,000 in damage. A company spokesman said that the incident also put three truck drivers out of work until the trucks could be repaired.
April 12, 2001 UK: Reports on the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty web site indicated that a director of a bank holding HLS shares and a drugs company director were the targets of residential protests and vandalism, with the targets' car windows broken, "calling cards" left, and "garden furniture" rearranged. The report was later edited to remove references to the vandalism after a spokesperson for SHAC disclaimed responsibility for entries on the web site and stated support only for peaceful demonstrations.
April 12, 2001 Washington DC: According to "Animal People" (April 2001), IRS authorities are investigating claims of undocumented and unaccounted excess benefit transactions, lodged by a former legal executive secretary/office manager in the office of the General Counsel for the Humane Society of the United States.
April 10, 2001 UK: In what has become standard "house call" harassment, a director of the British arm of the Bank of New York was greeted at his home in Southern England after work by about 50 animal rights protesters with air horns and whistles, some chanting at the tops of their lungs, and accompanied by a PA system recording of a dog howling. The noise lasted about an hour, attracted police and neighbors. The director's bank provides American depository receipts, which permit investors in the US to own shares in Huntingdon Life Sciences.
April 10, 2001 UK: The chief executive of Charles Schwab Europe described employees as being personally threatened, harassed and intimidated by animal rights protesters as the brokerage announced pulling out of trading in Huntingdon Life Sciences shares. Claiming that it was impossible to trade the stock through normal channels, the brokerage response was in reaction to pressure from a concentrated animal rights campaign against customers, investors, creditors and staff of Europe's largest research company.
April 8, 2001 UK: Roche, a pharmaceutical manufacturer with product testing links to Huntingdon Life Sciences, filed an injunction against the internet listing of names, telephone numbers and addresses of the company's scientists and directors. Roche claimed that after publication, employees had been harassed at home by demonstrations and at least one assault, and over the telephone with abusive calls, including death threats. Roche also filed a 50,000-pound suit for breach of copyright for the unauthorized publication of the company's building plans. Animal rights activists Heather James, John Smith and Gamal Gamal were named in the lawsuits.
April 8, 2001 Canada: The Calgary Herald carried an article by Grady Semmens which reported on reactions to the hoof and mouth disaster in Britain. The article cited Ingrid Newkirk of PETA, as saying in reaction to the disease outbreak, "If that hideousness came here, it wouldn't be any more hideous for the animals - they are all bound for a ghastly death anyway.I openly hope that it comes here. It will bring economic harm only for those who profit from giving people heart attacks and giving animals a concentration camp-like existence." The Edmonton Sun carried an article the day before citing an interview in which Newkirk reportedly said that introduction of foot and mouth to North America "would be a wake-up call."
April 5, 2001 OR: In early morning hours the FBI, BATF and Oregon State Police served warrants and conducted a search of the business site, personal residence and vehicles of ELF spokesman Craig Rosebraugh. Two others living at his residence were also named in the search. The FBI indicated that it was looking for information relating to the March 30, 2001 auto dealership fire in Eugene, Oregon. Rosebraugh was served with a subpoena to testify before a federal grand jury in Eugene on April 18, 2001.
April 5, 2001 CA: Activists trespassing on Humboldt County land owned by Pacific Lumber Co. were arrested for blocking the company's access road to the area. Two Earth First! Protesters were arrested after an elaborate blockade had been set up for 128 days. The company claimed that the protesters had threatened their wildlife biologists in their efforts to prevent logging on 3,000 acres in the Mattole River watershed.
April 3, 2001 MN: An outlet mall in Albertville closed temporarily when several milk jugs filled with gasoline were discovered on the roof. In one report, ALF claimed credit for the attempted arson, indicating that Nike had been the intended target. Nike shoes and clothing were sold at the outlet mall. Later reports indicated that ELF claimed credit for the attempt as a protest against Nike's role in globalization.
April 2, 2001 UT: The Utah Animal Rights Coalition and two of its members, Summer Adams and Bill French, filed suit to strike down a law passed by the 2001 legislature protecting animal enterprises. Language in the law included prohibitions of anyone from interfering with a business by physically entering the building or emitting a sound wave or light ray that enters the building (people targeted by protests have complained that laser beams have been directed into their homes at night, with the implication that they could be coming from rifles). The lawsuit claimed violation of constitutionally protected free speech.
April 2, 2001 NJ: Three adults and a 17-year old girl were arrested at a noisy protest outside the Huntingdon Life Sciences lab in East Millstone. Police sprayed about a dozen protesters with pepper spray. Arrested were Adam Weissman; Nicholas Hensey; Justin Kelley and the teenager.
April 2, 2001 Germany: Wolfgang Ullruch, former head of a German animal rights foundation, went on trial for allegedly pocketing more than $31 million in donations and membership fees. He and two former assistants of the German and European Animal Relief Organization are accused of taking more than $45 million through a network of firms from 1994 to 1999.
April 1, 2001 NJ: The Animal Defense League relayed a message claiming ALF credit for stealing 14 beagles from a Huntingdon Life Sciences lab in East Millstone. The theft took place the day before a major protest planned for the facility and the day after protests at the residences of Huntingdon employees.
March 30, 2001 VA: An environmental radical group claiming to be a part of ELF spiked trees in a 300-acre tract in Westmoreland County on the Northern Neck timber tract. Rock Hill Lumber spokesmen said the company would have to invest an additional $30-40,000 to use metal detectors and take other safety measures when it harvests the timber next month.
MARCH 30, 2001 0R: The Joe Romania Chevrolet auto dealership in Eugene lost more than 30 new vehicles, gutting several Suburban and Tahoe model cars and causing $1 million in damage. This same dealership was torched last year and one accused arsonist from that fire, Jeffery Michael Luers, is scheduled to go on trial on April 3, 2001. A communiqué released by ELF spokesman Craig Rosebraugh described the incident and claimed credit for the destruction on behalf of ELF principles without specifically naming a group or individuals.
March 29, 2001 MD: Two animal rights activists were arrested after climbing on a Burger King counter and attempting to close the restaurant. Nicholas Jonathan Patch and Sarah Anne Clifton were charged with unlawful entry.
March 28, 2001 UK: Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein removed themselves as the last remaining broker in Huntingdon Life Sciences, withdrawing after an incident involving one of their senior members and animal rights protesters over the weekend.
March 27, 2001 UK: Winterflood Securities deregistered as a market maker for Huntingdon Life Sciences amid mounting protests outside its offices and the homes of directors. Unless a second broker can be found shortly, HLS will be forced to move from the SEAQ trading platform to SEATS Plus, which is primarily used by groups with only one broker. Winterflood officials reported that the protests had moved from their business site to the homes of at least 6 employees, with up to 60 protesters outside a personal residence, threatening and abusive phone calls and terrified families.
March 27, 2001 NC: A state court dismissed two lawsuits against Virginia-based Smithfield Foods. The action had been filed by the Water Keeper Alliance in an attempt to force the hog producer to abide by environmental regulations without going through DEQ to seek enforcement of federal regulations. The coalition filed a similar suit last month in Florida and filed notice of intent to sue in Missouri. Last August, the company and attorney general of North Carolina agreed to conduct research on new waste management technologies. Smithfield committed $15 million to help fund research and $50 million for environmental enhancement programs.
March 27, 2001 Australia: Environmental radicals hold trees hostage in attempt to prevent a bat slaughter. In what officials term the most difficult and serious threat to the Melbourne Botanic Gardens in its 155-year history, a colony of 20,000 fox bats has been slated for culling. They have been destroying plants, some of which are rare exhibits from around the world. Frightening the bats had not worked, so culling by lethal injection and sharpshooting is slated. Activists vowed to cut down a tree for every animal that is killed, and have marked trees that they say are the first to go. According to Garden officials, vandalism has already occurred in reaction to their plans.
March 26, 2001 TX: Three unnamed ranchers and the Texas Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation obtained a July 9, 2001 trial date in a lawsuit that seeks a permanent injunction against disclosure by the USDA of names and addresses of farmers using government-provided predator defense livestock collars, designed for use with goats and sheep. The collars are charged with lethal doses of fluoroacetate, which are discharged if bitten by a predator. Activist groups claim a right to the information in order to monitor taxpayer-sponsored federal programs.
March 26, 2001 Washington, DC: The Florsheim Group reportedly ended its leather contract with India, citing documentation provided by PeTA that showed unacceptable treatment of animals. Gap, J Crew, Clarks and Liz Claiborne are also reported to have ended leather contracts with India under similar scenaraios.
MARCH 25, NETHERLANDS: A slaughterhouse burned, causing more than $4 million damage near Eindhoven. ALF admitted responsibility for the arson. The facility was closed for a few days prior to the fire due to hoof and mouth disease restrictions.
March 25, 2001 UK: An animal rights protester at a drug firm in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, was arrested after refusing to remove her hood and show her face fully.
March 24, 2001 OR: A group calling itself "GenetiX Alert" claimed responsibility for destroying over 800 young poplars used in research in two locations in the Corvallis area. Some trees were genetically engineered and others were produced with normal hybrid breeding practices. They were being used in studies on flowering, fertility and cross-pollination.
March 23, 2001 IL: Signs depicting farm animal slaughter in graphic and profane terms were discovered on L trains in Chicago. 28 were removed from the Orange Line and 15 were taken from the Blue Line. The situation was unusual because of the number of signs and the care taken in their format, designed to fit in with other rail car ads.
March 21, 2001 NV: At least seven protesters were arrested at a banking seminar hosted by Stephens Inc., financial supporter of Huntingdon Life Sciences. Las Vegas police were in complete control of the Desert Inn Golf Course and the Monte Carlo Hotel, both focal points of the conference.
March 17, 2001 CA: An ALF communique claimed credit for a raid on Sunny-Cal Eggs in Beaumont, that cited removal of 468 chickens from the premises and reminded readers of the last raid at this site,which occurred in June, 2000. Contact with the company revealed no knowledge or evidence of any break-in or any fowl removal.
March 16, 2001 GA: 5 Animal rights activists were arrested at a demonstration outside the Augusta Golf Club during a coordinated telephone blockade and public protests. The subject of the demonstration was Warren Stephens' recent membership into the exclusive, low-profile club. Those jailed were Chris Edward Freeman, Randall Reid Smith, Lauren Teresa Ornflas, Caitlin Petrakis Childs, and Joseph William Bateman. Instructions on the internet bearing the intro "from lauren@idausa.org" gave specific directions on clogging up the club's telephone system, both locally and through long distance calls. Lauren@idausa also offered to pay for long distance charges if calls were made.
March 12, 2001 UK: Llin golding, a Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire and opponent of a hunting ban bill, was warned that she is on an activist hit list because of her support of hunting. She was told to look for explosives under her car and suspicious parcels or envelopes in the mail. Golding has already found a coffin with a skull on it in her garden, along with an effigy of a dead huntsman and tombstones and anti-hunting banners scattered around.
March 8, 2001 OH: Student protesters demonstrated in front of Bricker Hall at Ohio State University. A group calling itself "Protect Our Earth's Treasures" criticized university funding and support of AIDS-related research that uses cats and methamphetamines to investigate the link between the drug and HIV replication rates.
March 8, 2001 UK: 62-year old disabled Peter Rainbow was fishing alone near Harston, Cambs, when a mob of about 20 balaclava-wearing animal rights protesters terrorized him with shouting, pickaxe handles, baseball bats, drums and bullhorns. The intimidation continued until Rainbow called the police.
March 5, 2001 Long Island, NY: At least eight 10X10 plate glass windows and one neon sign were smashed at the Old Navy Outlet Center in Huntington. ELF claimed credit for the attack, which was aimed at the owners, the Fisher family, for their involvement in and support of the timber industry.
March 5, 2001 OH: On Sunday night/Monday morning, anti-research activists coated four sides of Ohio State University's Bricker Hall and University President William Kirwan's home with red letter protest graffiti. They also glued locks shut at Bricker Hall, which houses the university's administrative offices. Protests were aimed at AIDS-related research that used cats.
March 2, 2001 UK: On the heels of Huntingdon Life Sciences Managing Director Brian Cass' beating by hooded activist thugs, the British Parliament approved legislation to allow company directors threatened with violence to keep their home addresses secret.
March 2, 2001 OR: A communique from ELF claims that units 6 and 8 of the Judie Timber Sale in the Umpqua National Forest has been spiked with 60-penny nails and 8- and 10-inch spikes placed high and low. Survey stakes were pulled and destroyed. The Seneca Jones Corporation purchased the timber on the US Forest Service Sale.
March 2, 2001 NY: Two Schaller and Weber Meat Packing Plant trucks were burned by incendiary devices planted underneath them in an early morning raid by ALF activists.
February 27, 2001 CT: Connecticut State University bans circus animal acts at O'neill Center after protests by student animal rights activists.
February 27, 2001 AR: Animal rights activists from around the world staged a "sit-in" to shut down web site services of Stephen, Inc. of Little Rock, Arkansas. Stephens was targeted as the biggest shareholder and chief financier of Huntingdon Life Sciences. An anonymous group calling itself the Animal Liberation-Tactical Internet Response Network unleashed a "floodnet" program, used world wide by more than a thousand activists' computers, which slowed down and clogged Stephens' system.
February 26, 2001 Galt, CA: Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey settled a lawsuit filed by an animal rights group by agreeing to turn over some retired elephants to the group and pay for their care. The amount of money and number of elephants were not disclosed in the settlement agreement.
February 26, 2001 UK: Animal rights activists target homes and property of Countryside Alliance members who have registered for a march in London next month. The Surrey Anti-Hunt Campaign internet site urges making the most of the absence of owners who may join the march.
February 26, 2001 UK: In the wake of the foot and mouth disease disaster, in which at least 7,000 UK cattle and sheep have already been scheduled for destruction to prevent spreading, BBC 2's Newsnight reported that it had been told by high-level sources at the Ministry of Agriculture that its search for the source of the outbreak was considering the possibility that animal rights activists might have deliberately brought the virus into the UK.
February 24, 2001 Nantes, France: About 10,000 hunters in Nantes protested passage of a law restricting hunting practices in France, while hundreds of hunters blocked roads for nearly two miles in a protest north of Bordeaux. At issue is the exclusion of hunters from the lawmaking process by Green party member and Environment Minister Dominique Voynet, and the new law, which restricts hunting seasons.
February 24, 2001 UK: Glynn Harding, a 26-year old man and one of three arrested last Saturday for sending letter bombs to agricultural interests, was charged with 15 counts of sending explosive devices from Dec. 15, 2000, through February 21, 2001. The other two arrested individuals were released without charge.
February 24, 2001 UK: Ben Gunn, Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, reported that he had obtained an additional 1 million pounds from the Government to offset the 1.8 million pound cost of additional work caused by activist assaults on Huntingdon Life Sciences.
February 23, 2001 VA: Virginia enacted legislation making malicious damage or destruction of any farm product grown for testing or research for product development at private research facilities or universities or federal, state or local governmental agencies a Class 1 misdemeanor or Class 6 felony, depending on the value of the product. Courts in determining the market value of the damaged or destroyed products are to consider the cost of production, research, testing, replacement, and product development directly related to the product damaged or destroyed.
February 23, 2001 Washington, DC: Research by the Guest Choice Network turns up allegations that the communications director for the Animal Farm Reform Movement has been sending letters to the editor to daily newspapers across the country under different names. The latest was a warning opinion piece about mad cow disease, appearing word for word in at least 11 dailies.
February 23, 2001 CO: The Rocky Mountain Animal Defense threatens to sue over the extermination of 300 prairie dogs near core buildings at the 670-acre Denver Federal Center, which houses 25 federal agencies. February 20, 2001 CA: In an early morning raid, ELF arsonists broke into a warehouse, set incendiary devices and torched a research cotton gin at Delta & Pine Land Co. in Visalia. Damages were estimated at $700,000.
February 23, 2001 UK: In a major public escalation of animal rights terrorist violence, the managing director of Huntingdon Life Sciences was attacked as he arrived home by three masked goons wielding baseball bats or ax handles. Brian Cass, 53, bludgeoned with head and body wounds and bruises, including a 3-inch scalp gash, was saved from further injury by his girl friend's screams and the aid of two passersby. One of the Good Samaritans chased the attackers, but was debilitated by CS gas from one of the attackers. Cass, stitched up and back at work the next day, vowed to continue the work of HLS, which includes government mandated tests seeking cures for dementia, diabetes, AIDS, asthma and other diseases. In reaction to the attack, Ronnie Lee, ALF founder who is no longer with the group, condoned the attack and expressed surprise that it didn't happen more often, declaring that Cass got off "lightly." Other animal rights groups publicly backed off condoning the act, but expressed "understanding" of how it could occur. In calendar year 2000, 11 Huntingdon employees' cars were firebombed.
February 21, 2001 UK: Two men ages 26 and 36, and one 31 year-old woman were arrested in connection with letter bombing attacks against at least eleven agricultural businesses. Since December 10, 2000, three bombs were intercepted, but 5 of 10 others exploded, causing serious eye and facial injury to two adults, and leg wounds to a 6-year old daughter of one of the intended victims. Authorities considered all of the bombs potentially lethal. The businesses included pet supply, pest control, farming, agricultural supply, and a livestock auction agency.
February 17, 2001 UK: Rock Star Bryan Ferry is targeted by animal rights activists for declaring his support of foxhunting. Ferry's reunion tour of Roxy Music is threatened with protests; he cancels plans for attending a March pro-hunting demonstration in London.
February 13, 2001 Scotland: A letter bomb was sent to an agricultural entity in the Borders. Army experts were called out to defuse the bomb.
February 12-16, 2001 Long Island, NY: Suffolk County arsonist suspects are arrested. Four teenagers were charged with burning trucks and 9 homes under construction; and with plotting to burn a duck farm and a McDonald's. The group is linked to ELF and ALF. Arrested were Connor Cash, 19; and Jared McIntyre, Matthew Rammelkamp and George Mashkow III, all aged 17. Each could face 5 to 20 years in jail, $500,000 in fines and $358,000 in restitution.
February 12, 2001 UK: An agricultural firm in North Yorkshire received a letter bomb which was defused without incident by army experts.
February 11, 2001 UK: Nearly 1,000 animal rights protesters in Southern England attacked facilities of GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Roche, Bayer and Pharmacia. They also targeted homes belonging to company executives. Organized by Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, the rally met at a central location and split to 9 locations where they smashed facility windows, broke and entered, destroyed machinery and upended cabinets. 87 were arrested with more arrests expected, pending individual identification from videotapes of the protests.
February 10, 2001 Finland: Karri Konsti's fur farm suffered destruction of all cages and the release of 40 foxes on this date, in the fourth raid on his facility. The foxes were dyed and released inside the farm property to confuse breeding efforts.
February 7, 2001 Washington DC: A McDonald's franchise was vandalized, with damage attributed to the Animal Liberation Front.
February 7, 2001 UK: Barclays Stockbrokers, a subsidiary of Barclays bank, announced that it will cease to hold Huntingdon Life Sciences shares in Barclays nominee accounts on behalf of its clients. In taking this move, a Barclays spokesman explained that "our first responsibility is to the safety and welfare of our staff and their families. Unfortunately we cannot currently guarantee the safety of our people because of the actions of a very small group of animal rights extremists. Until the actions of this group have been stopped - and we welcome the Government's recent comments on this matter - we feel the only responsible course of action is to stop holding Huntingdon Life Sciences shares for clients in our nominee company. We deeply regret this decision."
February 6, 2001 NY: Credit for smashing a Corlina Furs front window was claimed in an ALF communique.
February 5, 2001 UK: One of the 47 beagles stolen from the hunt kennel in Kent a month ago was returned to the kennel, recovered near Bristol by police on a tip. The dog had been castrated and an attempt had been made to remove its ear tattoo. Julian Greensides was arrested and charged with handling stolen goods. The hunt has put up a 5,000 pound reward for the recovery of the hounds and the capture of those responsible.
February 5, 2001 Buffalo, NY: ALF claims credit for a night time raid on a University of Buffalo campus Burger King, smashing 4 display windows and a glass door, and spray-painting the restaurant sign.
Feburary 4, 2001 Charlotte, NC: Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus train cars were vandalized with spray paint slogans, credit claimed by an ALF communique.
February 4, 2001 UK: In an attack near Nantwich, Cheshire Beagles master George Murray, his wife and five other hunt members were assaulted by masked animal rights activists. At least five hunt members were injured by the stick- and whip-wielding attackers. Murray was beaten, kicked in the head and face and his wife was punched in the face. They were threatened with death as retribution for the death 10 years ago of hunt saboteur Michael Hill.
February 1, 2001 UK: Huntingdon Life Sciences reported more than 400 attempts by protest hackers to infiltrate its web site in the 4th quarter of 2000.
January 31, 2001 UK: Animal activist Charlotte Lewis was sentenced to six months in jail after pleading guilty to sending hate mail to staff members of Huntingdon Life Sciences. Her letters included the warning "If you don't quit HLS then your life will not be worth living. You will always have to be looking over your shoulder." Another letter read "This is a warning. Your life is in grave danger if you don't stop working at HLS. You will find yourself having a gun aimed at your stupid ugly head." Evidence against Lewis included DNA tests matching her saliva on the backs of postage stamps.
January 31, 2001 UK: Pershing, a division of the Credit Suisse First Boston investment bank, severs its links to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a drug-testing group. Investors holding shares in nominee accounts, which enabled anonymity, were asked to take their shares back in their own names and told that Pershing would stop buying HLS shares on their behalf. The move, according to Pershing's managing director, was aimed at protecting Pershing's own staff - who could not remain anonymous in normal operations - from harassment, intimidation and assault by animal rights activists. This move by Pershing follows withdrawals from HLS support already undertaken by the fund manager Phillips & Drew; broker WestLB Panmure; the bank HSBC; and broker TD Waterhouse.
January 31, 2001 UK: A letter bomb exploded in Cumbria in a charity shop owned by the British Heart Foundation. The woman who opened the package was not injured.
January 30, 2001 UK: Two nail bombs, sent to an agricultural supplier in Sheffield and a cancer research campaign shop in Lancashire, were detected and defused by authorities before being opened by the recipients. Both bomb attacks were linked to letter bomb mailings that started in mid-December.
January 27, 2001, Philadelphia, PA: The Pride of the Sea, a fish distributor struck by ALF activists earlier in the month again sustained night time truck tire slashings.
January 26, 2001 AZ: The tally has reached 11 for torched Expensive homes under construction in the Phoenix area. No one has claimed credit for the arson attacks, but circumstances suggest opposition to urban sprawl and ecosystem disturbance.
January 26, 2001 Netherlands: The Dutch government became the second European country to ban the breeding of animals for fur production. The 200 mink farms currently operating in the Netherlands were given 10 years to scale back production to closure. Current Dutch fur production yields 2.8 million furs annually, mainly for the Italian market.
January 25, 2001 VT: In response to a decision to remove "Got Milk?" posters from Burlington school premises, Governor Howard Dean told dairy industry officials that the state would be willing to help pay the costs of any lawsuits filed by a group that objected to the portrayal of milk as a healthy food. Superintendent Donna Jemillo's removal of the posters two weeks ago, after PETA objections, considered "equal space" for anti-milk ads an unworkable alternative.
January 25, 2001 MN: Frank B. Ambrose was arrested in Bloomington on charges of timber spiking, a charge punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. Ambrose is the Midwest organizer for the American Lands Alliance. At least 26 trees in an 80-acre stand of oak and other hardwoods were found to have been spiked, after which the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the act through an internet posting. Officials claimed that the distinctive 10-inch nails driven into trees were traced to Ambrose.
January 24, 2001 UK: Animal rights activist Matthew Holborrow, 26, was convicted of harassment and put under a restraining order prohibiting any approach closer than a half mile from Ponteland mink farmer Peter Harrison's land. Hexham magistrates noted three occasions of harassment stemming from pointing a video camera into a house occupied by Harrison's parents. The farm has been the target of more than 400 protests in the last three years, with Holborrow present at about 20. Harrison claimed stress, family distress and a heart attack stemming from the harassment.
January 23, 2001 France: The French fashion house Chanel suffered a web site hacker smear protesting fur fashion only hours before presenting its latest haute couture collection. Chanel's site was altered by the insertion of gory pictures and charges of "murderers." The hacking is under investigation.
January 23, 2001 UK: The Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty group (SHAC) claimed to have information on the identity of the anonymous US financial backer who rescued Huntingdon Life Sciences from dissolution recently. SHAC Spokesman Greg Avery said, "We will destroy them. They will come to rue the day they had anything to do with Huntingdon Life Sciences… They must be mad if they think they can keep it a secret." Protesters have established a track record of intimidating and backing off businesses and investors that could provide financial support for HLS. Tactics include publishing the names and addresses of shareholders, with web site invitations to "…get a list of shareholders in your area…"
HLS is the biggest contract research firm in the UK, with most of the work on new medicines for dementia, asthma, AIDS and diabetes. In the last 10 years nearly every new drug has had some of its research done there. Over the course of animal rights protests, HLS stock has gone from a 1990 level of 335 pence to one penny in the week of January 15-19, 2001. The value of HLS also fell from 350 million pounds to 5 million pounds.
Cambridge police received an extra one million pounds to help with the added costs of policing the protests at HLS.
January 22, 2001 Canada: The Crown Isle golf resort in the retirement community of Courtenay broke its silence, disclosing vandal attacks over the past few months. Damage included spray paint graffiti, destroyed course fixtures and slogans against "the rich" painted on greens with turpentine. A communique to the Comox Valley Record protested the development of green space and warned against building high end housing around the golf course.
January 22, 2001 UK: A pet shop supplier in Newcastle received a letter bomb. The device failed to explode.
January 21, 2001 France: Nearly 400 mink were released from a fur farm near Fecamp in northwestern France, according to police. ALF slogans were left at the farm, the value of the lost mink is not immediately known.
January 19, 2001 OR: Elaine Close joined Craig Rosebraugh on the witness list of people subpoenaed to testify at Josh Harper's criminal contempt trial scheduled for February 6, 2001 in Portland, Oregon. Harper is charged with refusing to cooperate with a federal grand jury investigating the work of ALF and ELF.
January 18, 2001 Washington DC: London Mayor Ken Livingstone, appearing at a luncheon in his honor during the US Conference of Mayors meeting, took a glass of water in the face from a PETA spokesperson who was upset over the plan to rid Trafalgar Square of pigeons. Bruce Friedrich, attending the luncheon under a faked press affiliation, asked the mayor about the plan, pronounced it "all wet," tossed the water at Livingstone and was hustled out of the room by security.
January 17, 2001 UK: A bill to ban fox hunting passed the House of Commons, setting up a battle in the House of Lords and pitting urban dwellers vs. rural traditionalists over the issues of liberty, democracy and a rural way of life.
January 14, 2001 NY: Radicals struck on Long Island, torching equipment shortly after 5 a.m. at a North Shore construction company. ELF claimed credit for the attack, which caused about $8,000 damage, destroying a pickup truck and burning a 14-ton payloader.
January 13, 2001 OR: The Oregon Regional Primate Research Center was cleared of allegations of animal abuse after inspection by 6 officials of the US Dept. of Agriculture. An investigation by USDA followed allegations by former employee Matt Rossell, who filed a formal complaint and released secretly shot videotape purporting to document animal abuse at the facility. USDA reported no abuse, but recommended improving monkey housing, providing more frequent fresh produce regularly, exploring new ways of collecting semen samples, and gathering monkeys in less stressful fashion.
January 12, 2001 UK: A letter bomb was sent to a pet shop in Coventry, it did not explode.
January 11, 2001 CO: Chairman Bernard Black of the Colorado State Wildlife Commission, who is black, reports that Stephanie Tidwell, a part-time staff member for an animal rights organization, called for a lynch mob after a heated meeting about allowing the aerial shooting of coyotes as a way to protect mule deer. Tidwell, according to Black's wife, said after the meeting, "what we need now is a lynch mob." When Dorothy Black told Tidwell to watch her language, the Chairman said three animal rights activists verbally assaulted and intimidated him and his wife. Tidwell later admitted to making an unfortunate statement, the Rocky Mountain Animal Defense organization sent Black a letter communicating regret over the incident. Nicole Rosmarino, the official member of RMAD in attendance at the hearing, denied that she was involved and Bettina Rosmarino says she is no longer actively involved with the group.
January 11, 2001 UK: A letter bomb sent to a fish and chips shop in Flintshire exploded without injury to anyone. Letter bombings since December 15th using the same materials and targeting animal- and research-related enterprises are linked for investigation by authorities. MI5 is called in by the to assist police from several jurisdictions in the investigation.
January 11, 2001 TX: Houston billboard companies joined Cheyenne and Tucson companies in rejecting PETA backed billboards picking on the rodeo and meat-eating. The rodeo board pictures a buxom blond in a black cowboy hat with the words, "No one likes an eight-second ride," and "Buck the rodeo." The anti-meat ad pictures a bikini-clad model holding several large sausages with the words, "I threw a party, but the cattlemen couldn't come." Both boards were rejected for various reasons, including impropriety, offensiveness, sexual explicitness and promoting a political cause rather than goods and services.
January 10, 2001 UK: Animal rights activists were suspected of placing an incendiary device under the car of a prominent fox hunt supporter in Surrey. It ignited, destroying two cars and damaging another. Members of three hunt organizations were told to be on the lookout for attacks after their names and addresses were discovered on an internet "hit list."
January 10, 2001 UK: Cambridgeshire police chief Ben Gunn disclosed that the extra expense for policing the protests at Huntingdon Life Sciences have cost 2.6 million pounds over the past 14 months. He added that the tone of the protests was becoming increasingly bitter.
January 10, 2001 MT: Three protesters were arrested after hindering Department of Livestock efforts to manage bison. Wandering bison are slated for hazing back into Yellowstone or trapping and testing for brucellosis or if elusive, shot. About 20 bison are outside the park. Three organizations also filed 60-day notices of intent to sue Montana and the Federal government for failure to complete a bald eagle survey before building the buffalo trap.
January 9, 2001 Washington DC: PETA publicizes its intent to announce a negative publicity campaign against Burger King tomorrow. It wants Burger King to follow the practices McDonald's moved to after the PETA campaign against them.
January 6, 2001 UK: Attendees at Uttoxeter racecourse evacuated during the fifth race after receipt of a bomb threat at the facility. It was the third time a day of racing had been curtailed because of a bomb threat since cancellation of the Grand National in 1997.
January 6, 2001 UK: 47 beagles were stolen from a hunt kennel in Kent by animal activists. All of the stolen beagles had ID tattoos on their right ears, only 4 remained at the kennel, apparently missed by the activists. (See continuation at February 5, 2001.) As to professed plans of ALF to place the hounds in "safe, loving homes," Dan Murphy, the joint master of the Wye Beagles Hunt, said the hounds would wreak havoc in a domestic environment: "People who think that they are getting a gentle Labrador or collie that will fall asleep in front of the fire are in for a big shock. They are naïve if they think that these hunting animals will become cuddly pets."
January 5, 2001 NY: Animal rights activist Andy Stepanian received a 90-day sentence for breaking a Long Island fur store window. Judge A. Corso had indicated the possibility of a community service sentence earlier, but gave Stepanian 90 days and refused a stay of sentence pending appeal.
January 5, 2001 Philadelphia, PA: The Pride of the Sea, a fish distributor, sustained vandalism damage including slashed truck tires, a punctured radiator, moth balls in the gas tank and glued building locks. Credit for the damage was subsequently claimed by an ALF communique. See January 27th report for additional damage to the same facility.
January 5, 2001 UK: Livestock auction estate agents in East Yorkshire are attacked by letter bomb. One female staff member sustained serious eye injuries from the explosion.
January 5, 2001 UK: A farmer in North Yorkshire was injured by nails from an exploding letter bomb.
January 2, 2001 OR: An ELF arson attack against the Superior Lumber Co. administrative offices in Glendale caused $400,000 damage. This is the third holiday arson against an Oregon timber business in as many years.
Crime in the Name of Animal Rights Archives:
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