Animal rights gang face sentence

Six animals rights activists who targeted companies linked to
Huntingdon Life Sciences in an attempt to close down the animal
testing lab will appear in court at the start of their sentencing
hearing.

Sarah Whitehead, 53, Nicole Vosper, 22, Thomas Harris, 27, Jason
Mullan, 32, Nicola Tapping, 29, and Alfie Fitzpatrick, 20, were all
members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty SHAC.

The gang waged an international campaign of intimidation over a
seven-year period against a host of supply companies to try to force
the closure of HLS.

--
full story:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jY27scDu465Q73RiWaxgt5ZsoFBw?docId=N0008401287626420750A

PETA Classified as a “Terrorist Threat” by the USDA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been classified as as a “terrorist threat” in a document created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA created a new “APHIS Facility Security Profile” form to send to animal experimentation facilities. Recipients were asked to answer about their experiences, and return the form to the government so the USDA can better meet their needs.

In one section of the form, on p4, item #2 B and C, PETA is listed as a “domestic special interest terrorist”:

B. Terrorist Threat. What terrorist activities have occurred in or around your building/facility in the past 5 years (documented cases)? Please check all that apply.

[ ] Attack from international terrorists
[ ] Attack from domestic special interest terrorists
-[ ] Earth Liberation Front (ELF)
-[ ] Animal Liberation Front (ALF)
-[ ] People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
-[ ] Animal Defense League (ADL)
-[ ] Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC)
-[ ] Formal hate group(s) (please specify):
-[ ] Other (please specify): ____________________
[ ] Cyber Attack from a known or unknown source.

I have written extensively on this site about how the ELF and ALF have become the number one domestic terrorism threat, even though they have targeted property and not people. And Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty activists were convicted on “terrorism” charges for running a website that vocally supported the actions of those groups. The listing of PETA and the Animal Defense League is something else entirely.

PETA is perhaps the most recognized organization in the animal rights movement. They are known for their undercover investigations, and their use of celebrities and outlandish media stunts to draw attention to factory farming, fur, circuses and animal experimentation.

Regardless of how you feel about PETA and their tactics, they are a lawful, above-ground, national non-profit.

So why in another section of the USDA form, are they listed as a possible answer under “Greatest Threat or Danger. What do you consider the greatest source of danger to your organization and/or fellow workers?”

Because they expose what goes on behind closed doors.

Justin Goodman, research associate supervisor for PETA, had a fantastic oped in The Sacramento Bee about the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and the misuses of the “terrorism” label against non-violent activists. In California, four activists are facing terrorism charges for protesting at individuals homes and allegedly creating fliers with names and addresses on them.

From Goodman’s oped:

This should give all Americans pause. People who engage in nonviolent protests and civil disobedience are sitting in jail cells, stigmatized by one of the most politically charged and discrediting labels of our time, while people who wake up every morning and go to jobs in which they torment and kill animals in laboratories continue to enjoy their freedom, paychecks, social lives and families.

Animal industries are quite open about their desire to use terrorism laws to keep their practices out of the public spotlight. I recently posted about the Animal Agriculture Alliance calling for federal prosecution of undercover investigators. It’s not because the investigators are violent. It is because they pose an even greater threat: educating the public.

As Goodman wrote: “To shield them from public opinion and discussion and to protect them from peaceful and heretofore lawful pickets by locking up those who dare to challenge the suffering that occurs inside laboratories is an attack on every American’s right of protest.”

Related posts:

How Corporate Provacateurs Made Fran Trutt an “Animal Rights Terrorist”
Environmentalist Sentenced to 21 Years as a “Terrorist”; Violent Racists Receive Half That
2 Animal Rights Activists Arrested as “Terrorists” for Freeing Mink in Utah

Group targets U animal scientist

The school raised security for one of its researchers after an animal
rights activist group singled him out on its website.
...
University of Minnesota police have increased patrols near the home of
a Medical School animal researcher after a posting on an animal rights
activist website displayed his name and photograph and noted that "...
we should not be surprised when the unconscionable violence inflicted
upon animals is justifiably visited upon their tormentors."

The Internet posting went up late last week on the website
NegotiationIsOver.com in reaction to a Star Tribune story about a
multimillion-dollar national campaign by biomedical researchers,
including U Prof. Dick Bianco, to increase lagging support for medical
and scientific tests using animals.

--
full story:
http://www.startribune.com/local/69622092.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUZ

Ethicist challenges man-animal 'speciesism'

The animal liberation movement is a “far-reaching revolution,”
philosopher and animal rights advocate Peter Singer told a packed
MacMillan 117 Tuesday night. In his lecture, titled “Ethics and
Animals: Where we’ve come from, and where we need to go,” the
world-renowned ethicist shared his controversial views about the
ethical basis for giving animals the same moral considerations as
humans and the justification for treating all beings as a “community
of equals.”

“We should give interests equal consideration, whatever those
interests might be,” Singer said. “It’s hard to say that species
membership should mark a morally crucial divide.”

Because animals suffer like human beings and can feel pain, Singer
said, humans cannot justify exploiting other species for food
production and research. “This equal consideration of interests is one
that we routinely violate,” he said.

Singer, a professor at Princeton, came to Brown with support from the
Brown Animal Rights Club and the Kaleidoscope Lecture Fund, a group
promoting the expression of diversity of ideas and opinions at the
University. Though his appearances have spurred protests in the past,
Tuesday’s talk occurred without incident, save a quiet protest and
pamphleting from members of the Lyndon LaRouche movement before the
event.

--
full story:
http://www.browndailyherald.com/ethicist-challenges-man-animal-speciesism-1.2049447

Animal Rights Activist Indicted On Contempt Charge

SALT LAKE CITY - 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.

"Are you willing to go to jail again for this?" Halliday was asked by
Fox 13's Ben Winslow outside the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown
Salt Lake City.

"There's no option, I guess. I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do.
If I go to jail, I go to jail, but it's not a priority," he replied.

The indictment accuses Halliday of willfully and knowingly disobeying
an order by U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell on two separate
occasions in March. Halliday was subpoenaed as part of an overall
investigation into the release of thousands of mink. He believes he
had a right to exercise his constitutional right to refuse to testify.

"I pled my Fifth Amendment right and they said it's not a bona fide
privilege," Halliday said, adding that he disagreed with federal
prosecutors.

The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) claimed responsibility for the
release of mink from farms in South Jordan, Hyrum and Kaysville.
Halliday and another activist were subpoenaed, presumably as part of a
larger investigation into the ALF and its activities locally. The FBI
considers the ALF a domestic terrorist organization.

--
full story:
http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-animal-rights-activist-indicted,0,3641752.story

Jacob Ferguson, Lead ELF Arsonist, Interviews with CNN

Oct 5th, 2009 by Will Potter



Jake Ferguson was the lead arsonist in the “Operation Backfire” Earth Liberation Front actions in the Northwest. He was involved in more than a dozen arsons, more crimes than any other defendant. But he is walking the streets, free, because he became a government informant. He wore a wire and entrapped his friends into make statements about the actions.

By the government’s repeated admission, this is the only reason that the FBI and Department of Justice were able to successfully prosecute the group of activists the Feds called “The Family.” Without Ferguson, none of this would have been possible. “It was essential,” said assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Engdall.

The FBI has overwhelmingly been incompetent in going after the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front. They’ve had few successful prosecutions, which would never have been possible without snitches. It’s part of the government’s seven step process for convicting activists as terrorists.

Ferguson was recently featured in a CNN “exclusive” about the case. Even by mainstream media standards, it was a pathetic excuse for journalism. CNN repeatedly played up the “terrorist” rhetoric as much as possible, and had no questions about Ferguson’s character. (For instance, Ferguson wore a hat during the interview to cover up the tattoo of a pentagram on his forehead. And according to all of the other defendants and attorneys I have interviewed, he had a serious drug problem that made the FBI’s offer to turn snitch more palatable.)

Ferguson received 5 years probation for his crimes. His co-defendants received 3-13 years in prison, with the “terrorism enhancement.” One co-defendant, Daniel McGowan, is now in a secretive prison facility called a Communication Management Unit because of this “terrorist” status.
Full story:http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/jacob-ferugson-elf-cnn/2260

Appeal for funds in defense of AETA case

Posted on behalf of Bob Bloom, defense attorney in the AETA 4 case in California.

I write to ask you to support my work defending a young man, Joe Buddenberg, who is accused of serious crimes in an indictment that dangerously undermines the First Amendment. In fact, my client and his co-defendants have not committed any crime at all. The federal government has indicted four young animal rights activists in San Jose for violation of a new statute, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA). . . The legislation was expressly intended to deal with acts of violence, but the language of the statute is so broad and so vague that it can be used to prosecute protected speech. In fact, that's just what this case is about.

The defendants are accused of identifying researchers involved in animal-based medical and cosmetic research at the University of California, picketing and chanting outside their homes, and debating with the researchers on about a dozen occasions. That's it! There are no allegations of violence or of any harm to anyone, just loud picketing, some four-letter words, and writing accusatory words in chalk on public sidewalks. Pure First Amendment activity.

The case is extremely important because it's the very first prosecution in the United States under this statute. The government, under pressure from the politically powerful University of California, chose to use this statute, one intended to target violent activity, to prosecute four picketers, and to label them as terrorists. This choice by the government is a brazen and ominous assault on the First Amendment.

The immediate and obvious concern for the four defendants is, of course, potential imprisonment as a consequence of overreaching by the government that criminalizes their lawful efforts to protect the rights of animals. As Joe's attorney, needless to say, defending him is my main task. But as a person who has been representing a broad range of dissidents for more than 40 years, I have a larger concern as well. I see significant danger in this statute and this prosecution. If this prosecution succeeds, it will permit, indeed encourage, the government to target legitimate activism related to any and all social and political issues.

. . .
I'm very proud and privileged to be involved in the resistance to this statute and to this prosecution. But I am the only attorney in the case who must rely upon outside fund-raising to pay my [greatly reduced] fee and cover my expenses. (The attorneys for two of the other three defendants are being paid by the court, and the attorneys for the fourth defendant are able to take on the case without fee). My client and his family have no money at all, and I have agreed to represent him with the understanding that my fee would be paid through fundraising.My financial situation does not permit me to take on this case without remuneration. I've been involved in a number of political cases for little or no fee in the past, but I just can't do that now. My involvement in this complex and labor-intensive case will require considerable time, and that precludes my taking on other cases. In all the years I've been representing political activists, I have never made a personal request for financial support outside the family of the accused. But in this case I must seek outside donations. If you are able to help, donations are tax-deductible through the National Lawyers Guild Foundation. (The mailing address is 132 Nassau Street, Suite 922, NY, NY 10039. Please indicate AETA Defense Fund on your check.)Thank you for helping. /s/ Robert Bloom

Back in Santa Cruz, Peter Young still advocating for animals

SANTA CRUZ -- The night before masked demonstrators rattled the door
of a UC Santa Cruz biomedical researcher's home in February 2008,
famed animal rights advocate Peter Young gave a speech at the Louden
Nelson Community Center.

The 32-year-old Los Gatos native, who served two years in prison after
being convicted in 2005 of setting minks free from farms in the
Midwest, had returned to Santa Cruz just four months earlier.
...
Although Young shared the same views as Animal Liberation Front
activists, in all his raids, he said he chose not to claim the action
on behalf of the organization, mainly for strategic reasons. He said
invoking the organization's name could bring more attention from
authorities and potential targets.
...
In 2006, Congress passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,
replacing an earlier law by making it an act of domestic terror to
harass or endanger researchers who use animals.

Young says the tighter restrictions on free speech have pushed
activists toward more aggressive action, like the UCSC firebombings.
"Now a protest at the home of a vivisector is illegal," Young said.
"They've closed off all legal channels to affect change. What do you
expect?"

--
full story:
http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_12979334


SEE ALSO:
Veterinarian endorses her non-vegan lifestyle

Great New Book on Rod Coronado and the Animal Liberation Front–Review it!

Aug 27th, 2009 by Will Potter

Operation Bite Back is a great new book by Dean Kuipers on the life of Rod Coronado, one of the most influential figures in the modern animal rights and environmental movements. Coronado is perhaps best known for a string of Animal Liberation Front actions, the namesake of the book, targeting the fur industry. He also had a pivotal role in the growth of the Sea Shepherds (I’m still waiting for the next “Whale Wars” disc on Netflix) and the ideological development of radical environmental groups like Earth First! and the Earth Liberation Front.

That’s a grossly abridged look at this man’s life. Regardless of how you feel about direct action and the animal rights and environmental movements, Rod Coronado’s story is one that demands to be told.

Kuipers has done just that, and well. Of course, some folks are up in arms that he is telling the story, period. Fur industry folks have slammed the book, not because of the content, but because it was written. Kuipers had a great response to an Amazon review:

“Platt [of the Fur Commission] has strong opinions about these issues and I don’t take them lightly. They’re represented in the book. But maybe she could have given me two stars for writing well!? Ah, the writer’s ego, another bourgeois vestige …”

Please check out the book and leave a review on the Operation Bite Back Amazon page.
Actually, BUY the book. As a writer I think I need to make this across-the-board pitch for other writers: buy their work. If a writer is dead, yeah, who cares, go to your local used book store, borrow from a friend, go to the library. But if the writer is alive? Well, they’re trying to pay their bills by doing what they love–something this culture undervalues–and if you don’t support them they can’t pursue their craft.

Steve Best, Gary Francione to debate animal rights

Twitter has been buzzing lately about September's debate between Prof.
Steve Best of the University of Texas at El Paso and Prof. Gary
Francione of Rutgers School of Law-Newark.

Best and Francione both defend their respective animal rights
ideologies which oppose most noticeably by each's view on violence and
pacifism in the animal rights movement.
...
The debate will be held on September 18th shortly thereafter appearing
on the Animal Voices talk show. Originally, the debate was to feature
three additional persons; Prof. Bob Torres, author of Vegan Freaks and
co-host of Vegan Freak Radio as a third opponent, Host Anthony Marr as
moderator, and Vegan News host Adam Kochanowicz as co-moderator. The
debate was to be ordered with specific questions and alternating time
slots for each professor's respective points. However Best and
Francione have recently agreed to simplify the debate to only
themselves in an unmoderated debate with Marr introducing.

--
full story:
http://www.examiner.com/x-4198-Vegan-Examiner~y2009m8d26-Steve-Best-Gary-Francione-to-debate-animal-rights

BJ and Alex both being held pre-trial, please send support!

BJ Viehl was put back into custody on Monday, June 29th. On July 2, there was a court hearing where bogus arguments about BJ "violating pre-trial" were made. The judge has ruled that BJ remain in custody until the (undetermined) court date.

Alex Hall was taken back into custody on the July 15th. The judge has also determined that Alex is to remain in custody until. The prosecution argued that BJ and Alex are a "threat" to the public even though they were under strict electronic monitoring. BJ and Alex have been locked up before it has been determined that they are "guilty" or "not guilty". Please send them letters of support to raise their spirits. The cour date has been postponed many times and it is unknown how much longer it will continue to be delayed.

How To Send Mail:
If you are sending letters please remember that all mail will be read. Please do not mention the case. All mail must have your first and last name, be on clean white lined paper, in blue or black ink, and must contain nothing lewd. If you would like to send pictures please don't send any that are larger than 5" X 7".

How To Send Books:
All books must be NEW and come only from amazon.com we are working on getting a book wish list together so check back for that.

Addresses:
Alex Jason Hall
Inmate # 2009-06304
Davis County Jail
800 West State Street
Farmington, UT 84025


William James Viehl
Inmate # 2009-05735
Davis County Jail
800 West State Street
Farmington, UT 84025

Drug Company Novartis: Activists Steal Ashes of CEO's Mother, Torch his Hunting Lodge

Association with Notorious Animal Abuser Huntingdon Life Sciences Cited
Bern, Switzerland: Drug maker Novartis AG said Tuesday that animal
rights activists have stolen the ashes of its CEO Daniel Vasella's
mother and set fire to his Austrian hunting lodge. The message "Drop
HLS Now" was spray-painted on the gravestone, indicating the company's
involvement with notorious animal abuser Huntingdon Life Sciences was
the reason behind the attacks. Graffiti slogans against Novartis and
Vasella were also written on the church in Vasella's village of Risch
in central Switzerland about three weeks ago, the company said.

Although Novartis was quick to deny their continued involvement with
HLS, they have refused to issue such a statement to the animal
advocacy movement concerned about animal suffering and abuse at the
hands of HLS vivisectors. Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), has
campaigned for years against the British testing laboratory Huntingdon
Life Sciences, and is active in 18 countries around the world, but on
Tuesday the group denied any involvement in the Novartis attacks.
According to Novartis, attacks on houses and cars of the company
employees as well as on Novartis property have grown in recent months.
In May, the company's restaurant at sports facilities in nearby St.
Louis, France was damaged by fire.

Huntingdon Life Sciences has been exposed in seven consecutive
undercover investigations which exposed lab technicians simulating sex
with the animals, punching beagle puppies and violating numerous
animal welfare regulations. The company kills 500 dogs and other
animals every day testing such products as oven cleaners, pesticides
and pharmaceuticals. Before losing their NYSE listing several years
ago, HLS lost their listing on the London Stock Exchange, after UK
campaigners exposed atrocities occurring inside HLS facilities; the
company currently teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.

A Press Officer with the North American Animal Liberation Press Office
stated: "To the best of our knowledge, there has been no claim or
communique from the Animal Liberation Front or other animal liberators
regarding the burning of the home of Daniel Vasella of Novartis or the
desecration of his mother's cremated remains. Both actions are
consistent, however, with those of activists fighting for the
liberation of oppressed, tortured and murdered non-human animals. HLS,
with whom Novartis does business, tortures and kills 500 innocent
animals every day, and has been exposed in seven undercover
investigations to be in violation of even basic animal welfare
standards. We personally can only regret that Mr. Vasella was not
present in the home when it burned."

For more information visit, http://novartiskills.com/


Animal Liberation Press Office
6320 Canoga Avenue #1500
Woodland Hills, CA 91367

www.animalliberationpressoffice.org

press@animalliberationpressoffice.org

New Prisoners: Utah Activists BJ Viehl and Alex Hall Locked Up Again!

Meanwhile Political Prisoner Jordan Halliday Remains Caged for Refusal to Co-operate with Grand Jury


BJ Viehl and Alex Hall were put back into custody for alleged "violation of their pretrial orders". The judge (an ex-prosecutor against "eco-terrorism" ) has ordered that they remain in custody pending trial.

WILLIAM "BJ" VIEHL AND ALEX HALL were originally arrested March 5, 2009 for their alleged role in a raid of a South Jordan, Utah mink farm in August, and the alleged attempted raid of a second mink farm in October. Both are being held captive in Salt Lake City Jail on charges of animal enterprise terrorism, while the real terrorists continue to trap, maim, imprison and murder thousands of innocent fur-bearing animals for their own perverted profits. Their trial has been postponed; we don't know the exact date, but will keep everyone updated when we find out.



BJ Alex Jordan


JORDAN HALLIDAY was arrested for contempt of court on March 13. The United States Attorneys office subpoenaed him to testify in front of a Federal Grand Jury, and provide information involving the mink liberation's in Utah. He refused to cooperate, because the questions asked where not related to the investigation. He was only asked personal questions about his friend and associations.

Grand juries are unconstitutional fishing expeditions that have been used throughout U.S. history to disrupt and destroy social justice movements. They take away rights to force answers to questions, without being able to have a lawyer present. Jordan was well aware of the exploitation and abuse of these tactics and resisted the proceedings which resorting in him being arrested.

Please send books and letters to:

William James (BJ) Viehl
Inmate #2009-05735
Davis County Jail
800 West State St.
Farmington, UT 84025

Alex Hall
Inmate #2009-06304
Davis County Jail
800 West State St.
Farmington, UT 84025

Jordan Halliday
Cache County Jail
Inmate # 24836
1225 West Valley View Highway Suite 100
Logan, Utah 84321

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information visit, http://www.animalliberationpressoffice.org/prisoners.htm

Animal Liberation Press Office
6320 Canoga Avenue #1500
Woodland Hills, CA 91367

http://www.animalliberationpressoffice.org/
press@animalliberationpressoffice.org

10 rabits rescued (video) SPAIN

Received anonimamenteVideo: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa0s4j_liberacion-conejos

On July 24th 2009 we released 10 rabbits on a farm in the outskirts of Bilbao. Animals that waited, crammed in cages, his death to become a product of the food industry.

Anyone who carries a life-exempt, in whole, in animal products is responsible for animal exploitation. To not be part of this bloody indutria be taken as a first step, a way of life that rejects the spectrum and that no use of animal products.

Such actions may seem "insignificant" to some people. Would have no need to stress that they are 10 individuals who feel, who have been released from the bars, the bars and that the executioners had finished with his life, the killers and the consumer.

Every action has an impact - Every life saved is a victory

Press Office Communique: ALF Attacks HLS Supplier

Animal Liberation Front Attacks Huntingdon Life Sciences Supplier
Phenomenex Who Provides Chemical Reagents Used in Torture of 500 Animals Daily

Torrance, CA: In a communique accompanied by photographs that was received by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, animal liberationists claim to have attacked a Torrance, California firm that supplies chemical reagents to notorious contract animal testing company Huntingdon Life Sciences. Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS, Ticker: LSR), is Europe's largest animal testing company with laboratories in New Jersey and the United Kingdom. The campaign to stop animal abuse at HLS is global, being waged in at least 22 countries throughout the world.

The communique reads, in part:
In solidarity with SHAC North America's launch, the underground of Los Angeles made note and paid a quick visit to Phenomenex's Torrance location on 7-18 to leave a calling card. Fliers were taped to the windows and their flowerbeds were trashed and their lawn signs bent up and ripped from the ground. It's hard to stomach the idea of what Phenomenex provides Huntingdon Life Sciences, and to ask them to merely quit working with HLS is what we demand - Phenomenex, you're in that quiet little business park in Torrance and your building is a nice safe distance from others. This was just a calling card - a friendly request - we suggest you take it.

Huntingdon Life Sciences has been exposed in seven consecutive undercover investigations which exposed lab technicians simulating sex with the animals, punching beagle puppies and violating numerous animal welfare regulations. . The company kills 500 dogs and other animals every day testing such products as oven cleaners, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Before losing their NYSE listing several years ago, HLS lost their listing on the London Stock Exchange, after UK campaigners exposed atrocities occurring inside HLS facilities; the company currently teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.

To read the original ALF communique and see photos of the action, visit
http://www.animalliberationpressoffice.org/communiques/2009/2009-07-21_phenomenex.htm

(UK) Animal rights group "frees" pigeons

AN ANIMAL rights organisation has claimed it has freed pigeons that
were trapped by netting under a railway bridge.

Last month the Advertiser reported that pigeons had been trapped by
netting under the bridge in Guildford Road, Fetcham, and that some of
them had subsequently died.

As a result the paper received letters sympathising with their plight
and condemning the actions of the council which is responsible for
maintaining the pigeon-proofing.

But the controversy reached a new level on Monday when the Advertiser
received an anonymous call from a man claiming to be from the Animal
Liberation Front – an organisation that often uses illegal methods to
free animals it believes are being treated cruelly.

He said: "The netting has been cut down and the Animal Liberation
Front is claiming responsibility.

--
full story:
http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/news/Animal-rights-group-frees-pigeons/article-1152272-detail/article.html

(US/ia) Regents OK plans for underground lab at UI

AMES -- The Iowa state Board of Regents approved plans Thursday tobuild an underground lab for animal research at the University ofIowa....Tunnels connecting to other facilities will allow researchers theability to access the lab without having to take the animals outside,Cohen said.
UI researchers use a variety of animals in research -- primarily mice,but also fish and larger animals such as pigs and sheep, which provide researchers a better replica of humans, Cohen said.
Having a secure location is an important asset for animal research, Cohen said.
In 2004, vandals broke into animal research laboratories housed in Spence Laboratories and Seashore Hall, causing $450,000 worth of damage. The Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the incident.
--full story:http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20090612/NEWS01/906120319/1079

To dam the torrential rivers of blood and to silence the cacophony of their agonized cries....

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated, allied, aligned, or connected
with the Transformative Studies Institute, the Institute for Critical
Animal Studies, Anthony Nocella II, or Richard Kahn. While I am a
press officer for the North American Animal Liberation Press Office
and am an associate of Jerry Vlasak and Steve Best, I am penning this
piece independently of NAALPO and all of my allies.

Years of introspection and profound soul searching-intrepidly trekking
the seemingly infinite number of unexplored, untamed, thorny and
treacherous paths winding circuitously through my psyche-led me to
naively conclude that I'd sketched out a nearly complete map of who I
am, my worldview, and my purpose.
...
Steve Best commented to me about a year ago that he wanted to make
philosophy dangerous again. With that in mind, I've come to some
radical conclusions about us humans and our largely reprehensible ways
of being as a species. Indulge me as I "philosophize with a hammer,"
driving home some ideologies, thoughts, observations, principles, and
assertions that will bludgeon some of the sacred tenets of the
anthropocentric Judeo-Christian status quo of Western Civilization,
evoke the wrath of hardened speciesists who lash out like spoiled
children when people challenge their "unassailable right" to torture,
murder, and eat other sentient beings, and leave me about as popular
as an agitated, unleashed pit bull at a Cat Fanciers' Association
show.
...
To dam the torrential rivers of blood flowing from the veins of
billions of slaughtered animals; to silence the cacophony of their
agonized and pitiful moans, bleats, squeals, and shrieks; and to
redeem ourselves for this seemingly endless holocaust, one of two
things must happen. The human species has to become universally vegan.
Or if our cravings for flesh consumption, our desires to wear the skin
of another, our cowardly compulsions to stalk defenseless creatures
and riddle them with bullets or pierce them with arrows, or our
perceived need to subject other animals to heinous torture to "advance
our science and medicine" are too strong to overcome, we need to put
human flesh on the menu, stock the store shelves with shoes and coats
fashioned of human skin, turn our hunting rifles on human targets, and
fill our research laboratories with human subjects. After all, if
we're going to use, abuse, and slaughter sentient beings to please our
palates, enhance our lives, and vivisect, in order to restore justice
and to put an end to abject hypocrisy, we need to include our own
species in these activities.
...
Philosophically speaking, the animal liberation movement needs to
embrace 'counter-violence to protect innocent beings' as one of many
tactics in the war to end the animal holocaust. Attacks on
incorrigible, empathy-deficient, sociopathic speciesist animal
torturers and murderers by courageous underground militants are both
necessary and morally acceptable aspects of the fight to liberate
nonhuman animals. From an ethical standpoint, such acts would be
readily justifiable as a form of extensional self-defense on behalf of
voiceless, defenseless sentient beings.
...
Jason Miller is a relentless anti-capitalist, vegan straight edge,
animal liberationist, and press officer for the North American Animal
Liberation Press Office. He is also the senior editor and founder of
Thomas Paine's Corner.

--
full story:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/To-dam-the-torrential-rive-by-Jason-Miller-090705-696.html

AN INSPIRING LETTER TO OUR MOVEMENT FROM ONE OF THE "AETA 4"

Forwarded from the Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC)

As I write this, I am awaiting trial and could spend up to ten years of my life in prison. I am accused of speech and non-violent actions on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of animals currently imprisoned in University of California laboratories. It's been four months since my arrest and as more facts of the case come out, one thing is transparent: this case has nothing to do with me or my co-defendants. Nothing to do with our alleged crimes. Not the alleged chalk on the sidewalk outside a vivisectors home or computers allegedly used for research in California. This is about the power all of you hold, as individuals and collectively as a movement. This is yet another attempt by the FBI to intimidate and destroy our community, to strike fear into each and every one of you. Force and threats are the only tools they have against a movement composed entirely of selfless individuals driven by compassion.

But I am not intimidated. I have seen the best of people through this ordeal. From the 60 calls to the jail I was held at in one night demanding and succeeding in acquiring me vegan meals, to all the letters I received, to the hundreds of people who have donated to our legal fund or organized benefits, you all have been amazing.

The government simply does not have the money to prosecute all of you as terrorists. They are counting on you to read of cases like ours and retreat, paralyzed by fear. So be fearless and increase your activism. Because those we are fighting for don't have the privilege of turning their backs and walking away.

I'd like to end with a humble plea. The government intends to send an example and go all the way with this case. Our legal team is solid and experienced in fighting government repression and dedicated to winning the case and hopefully overturning the AETA. They are working hard at reduced fees simply because they believe in us. We are relying on the generosity of supporters for our legal defense. If the government wins this case, it will have immeasurable consequences on future activists as well as the animals. If you can help in any way, please donate to our legal fund.

Joseph Buddenberg

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DONATE TO THE CLDC,
PLEASE CONTACT US AT info@cldc.org
or donate@cldc.org

(UK) CRACKDOWN ON ANTI-CORPORATE DISSENT:THE ANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

During the past three years, the police and the Crown Prosecution
Service have launched a new campaign against anti-corporate animal
rights campaigns across the country. The crackdown has lead to the
imprisonment of activists linked to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
(SHAC) for a total of 50 years and the jailing of Sean Kirtley, who
was linked to the Stop Sequani Animal Torture Campaign (SSAT), for
four and a half years. The sentences, the charges and the nature of
the prosecutions have all been political. Public opposition to the
crackdown has been confounded by a media smokescreen thrown up by the
press releases churned out by the National Extremism Tactical
Coordination Unit (NETCU), portraying activists as ‘extremists’ and
disseminating misinformation. Many of those jailed have not committed
any conventional crime but have been targeted by new legislation
intended to counter the threat posed to the pharmaceutical industry by
effective direct action.

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full story:
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3405