NEWS: UK Clampdown on Animal Activists

The British government is planning legislation that would provide new police powers and new criminal offenses to deal with the more extreme elements of the animal rights movement. These "terrorists" have caused considerable havoc in recent years, culminating in the desecration of a grave where the mother-in-law of a guinea pig breeder was buried. The government is particularly concerned that such attacks might threaten medical breakthroughs in Aids, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.



This is a difficult problem. As an animal lover, I have serious concerns about the use of animals for medical testing; as I understand things, however, it seems that in some cases there really is no alternative.

One thing is for certain: so-called "direct action" is not the answer. Whoever dug up that woman's grave is clearly insane, and only managed to bring extreme discredit onto the entire animal rights movement.

I believe there’s plenty of sympathy within the general public for the basic aims of the movement, but tactics like hate mail, malicious phone calls, hoax bombs, arson attacks and grave robbery will only serve to alienate them.

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These radical environmental groups are NO different that Hamas or Hezbollah IMHO. They may not have killed anybody as of yet, but thier aims and methods bear some striking similarities. Groups like Earth First and the newer Earth Liberation Front (I think) should be given the same level of attention as any other terrorist group.

Yeah, totally agree with FredT.

From small acorns grow large oaks. Intimidation and arson initally, until someone is killed.

I dont like the idea of animal testing, but i have lost two members of my family to diseases, namely cancer and i know of many others who have lost family to one ailment or another.

I'm sorry, the choice is clear, if i has to sacrifice 100 animals to have extended the life of my family then i say: so be it.

Animal activists are terrorists. Pure and simple.

They are backward thinking people just like those deluded fools thiking that genetic experimentation is an abomonation. if handled incorrectly: yes. but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Sorry, my life for an animal. i choose the animal to go before mine anyday.

I don't know much about the Animal Rights guys, but the Environmental Movement has cost lives and could have done more-these I've seen directly, having worked security for a Prominent Timber Company in the Pacific Northwest.

Besides the spiking of trees (which kills the trees too, not to mention the damage caused by a whipsawing broken chainsaw blade) there was an incident where a logging road was trapped with caltrops. A private contractor, owning a single truck, was hauling a load down first thing in the morning. Tires blew, truck continued out of control down the hill. Road curved and the truck hit the dirt embankment, stopping it abruptly. The load of wet logs shifted violently forward, rammed thru the cab and decapitated the driver-punching his head somewhere deep within the soil embankment. I'd never seen my co-worker so pale before, when he got back to the guard shack and was describing what he'd seen.

On patrol, I'd came across vandalism done by a "concerned" environmental group at the settling ponds, where pulp bleaching chemicals and sulphur compounds were consumed by bacteria and encouraged to settle in three ponds. Each pond successively cleaner than the last before being released into the river. The whole system controlled by pumps and valves, driven by a neat touch-screen interface in the pump shack. The wackos went in and tried to force a release of the first stage contaminated liquid directly into the river and instigate a fish-kill that would have ruined miles of shoreline. Fortunately, since the pumps were computer controlled, the handles were removed from the motor-driven gate risers, so they couldn't be forced open. Nor could these rocket scientists figure out the simple graphical touch screen interface (draw a line with your finger from where you want a pond to drain from to where it should go) so they took fire axes to the controls and equipment in frustration. That could have been scary.

I have no trouble branding these stinkweeds as terrorists.