DOMESTIC  TERRORISTS

Kendal Hemphill

 

            For years we’ve been amused by the ridiculous complaints and accusations of animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Friends of Animals, the Humane Society, and others. They have tried to encourage our young people to drink beer instead of milk, cried foul about casino patrons playing tick-tack-toe against chickens, vilified Burger King because their veggie burgers are cooked on the same grill with meat patties, and filed lawsuits against McDonald’s for labeling French fries and hash browns as vegetarian items, because they are fried in vegetable oil that contains traces of beef essence.

            Hardly a week goes by that people with common sense don’t get a chuckle from the antics of these supposedly well-meaning imbeciles. We ignore their inane babblings and smile at their suggestions concerning relocation of prairie dogs. We shake our heads at their attempts to control deer population through contraception, and we just about busted a gut when a couple of them sued the state of New Jersey because they hit a deer with their car.

            The problem is that they’re not funny anymore. They’re dangerous.

            The basic premise of animal rights groups is that animals are just as important as people, if not more so. Alex Pacheco, former director of PETA, said, “We feel that animals have the same rights as retarded children.” PETA’s president, Ingrid Newkirk, said, “Six million Jews died in concentration camps, but 6 billion broiler chickens will die this year in slaughterhouses.”

            Chris De Rose, director of Last Chance for Animals, said, “If the death of one rat cured all diseases, it wouldn’t make any difference to me.” A rat’s life, in other words, is as important as the lives of countless people.

            Many people think of the Humane Society as a group interested only in helping animals that have been abandoned or abused, certainly not a radical organization. But its vice president, Michael W. Fox, said, “The life of an ant and that of my child should be granted equal consideration.” Not much doubt where Fox stands.

            These attitudes are disturbing, but most of us have not associated animal rights activists with actual violence in the past. All that has changed. Pacheco, who is now head of an animal rights fund-raising company, recently said, “Arson, property destruction, burglary, and theft are ‘acceptable crimes’ when used for the animal cause.” These people have no regard for the property or safety of other humans.

            One of the main problems in combating these space cadets is that they are seen as people who are sincerely trying to do ‘The Right Thing.’ They are not. Their efforts are aimed, not at obtaining rights for animals, but at controlling the lives of the rest of us. We need to wake up and smell the litter box. They want to take away our freedom, and maybe our lives.

            On September 11, 2001 , the day of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C. , The Earth Liberation Front and its sister group, the Animal Liberation Front, took ‘credit’ for burning a McDonald’s in Tucson . Nine days later the ALF set fire to the Coulston Foundation primate-research facility, and claims to have been the group that set fire to two meat trucks in New York in March, 2001, and placed other incendiary devices beneath trucks in Canada in 2000.

            FBI special agent David Szady said, “Make no mistake about it; by any sense or any definition, (ELF) is a domestic-terrorism group.” ALF uses the same tactics, as do many other groups.

            The problem has reached the point where even our federal government recognizes the threat. On February 12, 2002 , U.S. Congress held a hearing on eco-terrorism, at which Craig Rosebraugh, former spokesman for ELF, was called to testify. When asked about the 137 attacks the ELF took credit for during 2001, including the fire-bombing of a Vail ski resort which resulted in $12 million in damages, Rosebraugh pled the Fifth Amendment more than 50 times.

            ELF’s website opens with a picture of a burning building – the direct work of its members. The first page contains an article entitled “Setting Fires With Electrical Timers – An Earth Liberation Front Guide.” There is no question that David Szady is correct.

            David Barbarash, of the ALF, sells books online that contain instructions for criminal activity. The ELF and ALF brag that they have caused $45 million in damages since 1997.

            The 2002 national animal rights conference was held in Washington , D.C. , June 28 – July 3. One of the highlights was a speech by Captain Paul Watson, founder and president of The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Watson quoted Timothy McVeigh, who said he considered dead women and children to be collateral damage, a by-product of war.

            Watson was also quoted as saying, “There are 30 million plus species on this planet. They’re all earthlings. They’re all equal. And some are more equal than others, I admit. Earthworms are far more valuable than people.” He also said, “There’s nothing wrong with being a terrorist, as long as you win.”

            Last June PETA hired Gary Yourofsky as its National Lecturer, planning to have him tour the nation and speak to educators and students. Yourofsky founded Animals Deserve Adequate Protection Today and Tomorrow, and is a strong advocate of terrorism. He has a tattoo displaying the symbols of the ELF, and once said that if an animal abuser were killed in the process of burning down a research lab, “I would unequivocally support that.”

            We are involved in a war against eco-terrorists, and one of the main problems we face is the difficulty in recognizing the enemy. Some of these groups, such as the Humane Society of the United States , are viewed as benign animal lovers. Many of them adopt names that conjure images of cuddly kittens and playful puppies in order to lure honest people into opening up their wallets. When all else fails, they lie. PETA, for instance, claims to eschew violence, yet the organization makes large donations to ALF.

            This is a war we will not win unless, and until, we acknowledge the fact that animal rights activists are people-hating criminals, no less a threat to the American way of life than Al Quida. Even those groups that do not actually condone violence are guilty, since they encourage citizens to become involved in the overall cause. There is no middle ground left.

            No sensible, intelligent person abuses animals, or tolerates those who do. But animal abuse is not the issue here. The issue is people abuse, and the problem has become epidemic in America . Unless we stand up against it, we deserve to lose.

            We’ve laughed at the animal rights wackos long enough. It’s time to start taking them seriously . . .

 

            Kendal Hemphill is an outdoor humor columnist who is not anti-animal, but pro-people. Write to him at PO Box 1600 , Mason , Tx   76856 or jeep@verizon.net