Timeline of Animal Liberation Front actions, 2005–present

This is a time line of Animal Liberation Front (ALF) actions since 2005.

Background

ALF formed

Two years after Ronnie Lee and Cliff Goodman had been charged for the raid on the Oxford Laboratory Animal Colonies in Bicester in 1974, as part of the Band of Mercy, the "Bicester Two" as they were known; Lee emerged even more militant than before. There had been daily demonstrations at the court during their trial, including Lee's local Labour Party member of parliament, Ivor Clemitson. With the remaining activists from the Band of Mercy and another two dozen new willing activists, 30 in all, Lee formed the Animal Liberation Front upon his release in 1976.^[1] It was reported that in the first year alone, the ALF targeted; slaughterhouses, furriers, butchers shops, circuses, breeders and fast-food restaurants, causing damage that totaled £250,000.^[1] The first fur farm raid was then heard of in the same year, with 1,000 foxes released from Dalchonzie fur farm in Scotland.^[2]

1980s and 1990s

The ALF was then founded throughout Europe and further broad in the 1980s,^[2] with notable raids including those removing the Silver Spring monkeys and Britches. Unnecessary Fuss, a film by PETA with footage that the ALF stole, was also released which showed primate researchers laughing and joking at a baboon, as they inflict brain damage as part of a research project into head injuries caused by accidents.^[3][4]

The ALF then continued into the 1990s, causing even more damage, with notable actions such as the jointly claimed ALF and Earth Liberation Front (ELF) arson at the U.S. Forest Service Oakridge Ranger Station, causing $5.3 million. A series of raids also followed, which frequently targeted fur farms and animal laboratories and their breeding facilities,^[5] including the Harlan Interfauna raid in Cambridge, by Barry Horne and Keith Mann.^[6]

2005–12

For previous article, see Timeline of Animal Liberation Front actions, 2000–04

2005

January

• A major security operation is set up in Clonmel, Ireland for the National Coursing Festival after threats are made by the ALF. With the festivals 80th year and 25,000 members expected to arrive, extra security and Gardaí (Irish police) are drafted in to contain any potential incidents.^[7]

16 March

• An ALF raid on a mink farm in Rome, Italy,saw 2,000 mink released.^[8]

26 May

• A Vancouver-based brokerage announced that it had dropped a client, Phytopharm PLC, in response to a ALF firebombing of a car belonging to Canaccord executive Michael Kendall in London, England.^[9] The ALF stated on the Bite Back website a month later that activists had placed an incendiary device under the car, which was in Kendall's garage at home when it caught fire. Phytopharm was targeted, as were those doing business with it, because it had business links with Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS).^[10]

18 June

• The ALF warned Phytopharm to stay away from Huntingdon or "see your share price crash and your supporters property go up in flames,"^[10][11][12]

4 July

• The Oxford Arson Squad, an ALF cell, caused their first arson in Oxford on 4 July resulting an estimated half a million pounds worth of damage.^[13]

The fire caused 26 boats in total to become unusable which were part of St Hilda’s, St Catherine’s, Hertford, Mansfield and St Benet’s Hall boats and boat clubs.^[14] Upon investigation the cause of the fire was attributed to incendiary devices which had been placed in the Eight's bays.

The group targeted the boathouse because of apparent ties to Oxford University. A posting to Bite Back said "We are stronger than you, we have more resolve than you and we never give up". Ed Mayne, spokesman for Oxford University, said that "Attacking one of the poorest boatclubs in Oxford certainly isn’t going to help them"^[14]

• An incendiary device was found deactivated at Christ Church College's Sport Pavilion, despite the group claiming they had targeted Corpus Christi College.^[15]
• Keith Mann, a leading ALF member and notorious animal rights extremist, has a tougher measure imposed on his sentence by the Attorney General. This was for his role in removing over 695 mice from Wickham Laboratories.^[16]

August

• ALF spokesperson, North American Press Officer and professor Steven Best is banned from entering the UK by the home secretary using hate laws. This follows the closure of Darley Oaks Farm by the ALF and ARM, as well as the July 7 Bombings in London, when the Home Office reported it would prevent people to enter the UK who "foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs; seek to provoke others to terrorist acts; [or] foment other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts." Dr Best has said that he doesn't want to reform vivisectionists, but to wipe them off the face of the planet, claiming that he is not a terrorist, but instead a threat.^[17]
• 26 October Carr Securities announced it had withdrawn from making a market in HLS shares after a New York yacht club was vandalized in red paint by the U.S. branch of the ALF, because members of the club worked for Carr Securities, which traded in HLS shares. The ALF announced on its bulletin board:^[18] "Let this be a message to any other company who chooses to court HLS in their ... entrance into the NYSE. If you trade in LSR shares, make a market, process orders, or purchase shares you can expect far worse treatment."^[19]

2006

March

• "We will be back", "we'll shut you down" and graffiti referencing the ALF are spraypainted around Lothian greyhound track, with electrics ripped out, tractor-type vehicles wrecked and track safety boards dismantled causing £10,000 worth of damage. Previously activists have smashed vehicles, slashed tires, sabotaged electrical cables and vandalized the stadium.^[20]

April

• The ALF send hoax explosive devices to five senior staff's homes linked to HLS, the animal research laboratory.^[21]

June

• The ALF target UCLA researcher Lynn Fairbanks when a Molotov cocktail is placed on the porch of what was believed to be his home on 30 July; instead, by a mistake it is left on the porch of his neighbor, an elderly woman unrelated to the university. After his personal information had been posted on the Primate Freedom Project and having received threatening phone calls, Dario Ringach, an associate neurobiology professor at UCLA, issued a statement in August 2006, that he would discontinue his animal research into visual processing. University spokeswoman Judy Lin was quoted in the press as saying "this is a problem that's much larger than UCLA. These groups have been harassing researchers all over the world," she continued "It has reached terrorist level. The university is very disturbed by this."^[22][23] The ALF in a communique to the North American Animal Liberation Press Office the following month replied: "If the primates could escape from their cages they would do this to Lynn Fairbanks and worse. Since they cant we did."^[24]

July

• The ALF anonymously report to Bite Back on 26 July that they have broken into an ex-military laboratory, owned by QinetiQ, grabbing nine goats that were undergoing experiments in hyperbaric chambers.^[25][26] The tests are to simulate under water pressure, to attempt to research the symptoms and possible cures of decompression sickness and to study deep-sea rescue.^[27] Southern Animal Rights Coalition then campaigned to end the experiments. According to the group, the animals were tested in order to simulate under water pressure and were suspended in March with a committee of experts looking into alternative research models, such as computer-modelling and safe human trials, in an attempt to simulate the effects of decompression sickness, or 'the bends', caused by ascending too quickly.^[27] The Ministry of Defence then scrapped the experiments in February 2008 with goats, claiming that they were essential although they had now collected all the information necessary.^[28]

September

• The ALF were linked to an attack on a fish farm near Oban, Scotland in September 2006 which led to the deaths of thousands of halibut.^[29]

October

• Six lorries belonging to Deans Foods, Cotswold Farm, a battery egg farm near Witney, were set on fire on 26 October, using what the ALF described as electronic incendiary devices, remotely detonated from miles away. They further claimed that the devices were the first of its kind to be used in the UK by the ALF, which caused £250,000 worth of damage,^[30] and also stated in a communique to Bite Back that the action was a warning and dedicated to Barry Horne and animal rights prisoners.^[31]

November

• An arson, claimed by the ALF, was carried out at The Queen's College, Oxford because of its financial relationship with Oxford University.^[32][33] The activists report in an anonymous communique to Bite Back a few days later: "Attacks will escalate in the face of an institution and government which have sought to destroy legal protest and continue to sanction violence to animals. For Barry"^[34]

December

• Donald Currie, said by police to have been the ALF's most important bomb maker,^[35] was sentenced to 12 years in jail,^[36] with a recommendation of at least six years, after conducting a fire bomb campaign targeting suppliers and customers of Huntingdon Life Sciences.^[37]

2007

January

• ALF activists enter Tegel Factory Broiler Farm in South Auckland, New Zealand, whose owner was found guilty of cruelty to animals by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1996, because three sheep died suffering from distress and pain. They claimed the birds were crammed into cages, unable to spread their wings, walk, and were surrounded by dead animals.^[38] Activists claimed in a communique to Auckland Animal Action the rescuing of five birds and removal of ten dead birds, which were then sent to an individual responsible for the suffering and death. They said the company had; "no interest in animal welfare at all."^[39]
• University of Utah neuroscientist Audie Leventhal's home is doused in glass-eating acid, covering it with animal rights slogans such as "Cat Killer". Damages estimated at $20,000.^[40][41]

February

• Incendiary devices were found at Templeton College, Oxford; Robin Webb said as a continuation of a campaign against Oxford University's proposed new biomedical center, which will house and conduct experiments on animals.^[42] They claimed that the action was "...part of an ongoing fight against the University of Oxford and its continued reign of terror over the unseen victims inside its animal labs.".^[43]
• In Estonia, locks of two fur shops are glued shut and one has ALF spray painted on the wall.^[44][45]

March

• On 6 March, the financial adviser and first vice-president of Wachovia Securities is targeted in Portland, Oregon, because the ALF allege that Wachovia owns over half a billion dollars in shares in GlaxoSmithKline. "Drop GSK" was spray-painted on his garage and ALF "scrawled" across his car in black paint.^[46][47]

April

• A hunting supply shop has windows smashed and doors painted, claimed by ALF Estonia reporting; "We have only just begun".^[44][48]
• The ALF again target another Wachovia Securities V.P. in Portland, because the company invest in GlaxoSmithKline, a HLS customer. His SUV is spray-painted with slogans, with the activists threatening Wachovia saying; "We have the names and addresses of the top executives, and believe us our actions are like child's play compared to what we have in store."^[47][49]
• Another home owned by Audie Leventhal has house locks glued and salt poured on the lawn.^[40][50]

June

An estimated £500,000 in damages is caused in Oxfordshire after two fuel tankers are blown up with incendiary devices. ALF activists vow to continue targeting livestock businesses.^[51]

August

• The ALF report that they have targeted the home of an animal researcher for the Oregon National Primate Research Center, at the Oregon Health & Science University, spray-painting "ALF Eyes On You" on his garage and covering his daughter's car with a white foamy chemical.^[52] In a communique to the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, the ALF said that his involvement in research into the effect of nicotine on fetuses should stop.^[53] The researcher responded by stating he mainly worked on cultured cells and "does as little research on animals as possible."^[54]
• 2,500 mink are released from unlocked cages at a fur farm in Helsinki, Finland. EVR was left spray-painted on a feed silo at the farm, standing for the Finnish ALF.^[55]
• 2 September 500 mink are released from their cages in Mustasaari, Finland, with "EVR" painted at the farm. A chief inspector made the connection that it stood for the ALF in Finnish.^[56]

October

• UCLA researcher Edythe London's home was vandalized, during which a window was broken and a garden hose inserted, flooding her home and causing over $20,000 in damages.^[57] In the communique released following the action, the ALF promised to return if necessary:^[58]

One more thing Edythe, water was our second choice, fire was our first.... It would have been just as easy to burn your house down Edythe. As you slosh around your flooded house consider yourself fortunate this time. We will not stop until UCLA discontinues its primate vivisection programme.

• The headquarters of Escada is vandalized in Estonia because of the companies marketing of fur.^[59]

November

• Activists claim the liberation of over 100 hens from Shepherd's Egg Farm near Spanish Fork, Utah, on the 5th. They claimed there were several sheds containing tens of thousands of chickens, many of which in bad conditions and that the hens were rehomed where they can go outside. The said in a communique, activists claim that around the world the ALF are making progress, and dedicate the action to all animal liberation prisoners, including Barry Horne, died six years ago today on a hunger strike.^[60]

Farm operators said they were confused by the raid, and that no damage had been done to indicate it had happened.^[61]

• Vehicles allegedly belonging to a researcher of the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University were firebombed as well as a director's sports car of Acorn Integrated systems who the group accused is aiding the construction of the laboratory. The ALF claim that for Barry Horne and Felix, the actions will continue.^[62][63][64]

• Auckland Animal Action received an anonymous communique and undercover footage, exposing animals suffering from ammonia burns, overcrowding, eye infections due to a lack of water, as well as workers punching a bird. As part of the six-week investigation, 30 ducks are rescued in order to live out their natural lives, with the ALF claiming:^[65][66]

For the short six weeks of their lives they are crammed into overcrowded, filthy sheds where they are deprived of water to bathe in, nesting material and the ability to display natural behaviours and social patterns.

• Three Wachovia Banks are attacked in California, involving graffiti and jamming or destroying the night deposit box using explosives. The ALF claimed the vandalism by sending communiques to the Animal Liberation Press Office, media outlets and Wachovia. The company was the largest shareholder of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) largest shareholder, selling its shares following the actions.^[67][68][69]

December

• The Animal Liberation Front took credit for targeting the home of an Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) researcher who conducts reproductive studies on primates inside the Oregon National Primate Research Center. The researcher awoke to find the words "Sadist" and "ALF" spray painted on his Audi and Jeep Grand Cherokee cars. The vehicles were also reportedly damaged by paint stripper. This was the second OHSU researcher to have his property damaged by ALF in less than 6 months.^[70]
• Two homes in Wales, which belonged to the joint-master and hunt secretary of the Golden Valley Hunt, had property spray painted. The activists only left initials for anti-hunting groups the ALF and HRS (Hunt Retribution Squad).^[71]
• Following a sustained campaign from animal rights groups, two properties in Cassington and Kidlington were graffitied, with van tyres burst at one of the locations. Thames Valley Police said they were investigating the acts of "minor criminal damage", with the ALF claiming it would "stop businesses dealing with the uni".^[72][73]
• KFC in Bremerton, Washington, had "Animal Love," "Mess with Animals get Served," and "Meat is Murder" spray-painted on the exterior of the building. Officers found ALF left on the restaurant, as well as "Boycott KFC" fliers plastered on the exterior.^[74]
• Activists in the Netherlands painted graffiti on the homes of several Van Der Looy employees due to the company's involvement with a life-science industrial park.^[75] On 7 January, the company announced it was pulling out of building project and stated that the activists had acted in an "unacceptable intimidating attitude".^[76]

2008

January

• ALF volunteers raided Highgate Rabbit Farm on 6 January, and removed 129 rabbits which they said were due to end up in laboratories for animal research.^[77] The owner said he was shocked and disappointed when discovering he had been burgled, citing concern for the rabbits which he believed would not survive in the wild and would be unsuitable as pets.^[78] A quad bike, lawnmower, van and a sports car were also reported to have been paintstripped and glued during the visit causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. The volunteers accused the owner of selling rabbits to laboratories such as Huntingdon Life Sciences and other universities in the United Kingdom.^[79][80]

February

• University of Hasselt's Biomedical Research Institute in the town of Diepenbeek, Belgium was burned to the ground. "ALF" was written on a building nearby.^[81][82]
• The ALF return and an incendiary device is left at the front door of UCLA researcher Edythe London's home in Los Angeles early on 5 February. The device charred the front door. Nobody was home at the time.^[83][84][85]
• Three goats are liberated from Carpinteria High School in California and discovered wandering in a rural area, in an action claimed against the teaching of anthropocentrism.^[86][87]
• On the third anniversary of the Hunting Act, activists targeted the Duke of Beaufort's and VWH kennels, as well as the Hunting HQ in Gloucestershire. "Enforce the ban" and "ALF" were painted on the driveways of both hunts and the walls of the Hunting Office. Some cars and lorries had paint stripper poured onto them, with others having their tyres slased. The Masters of Foxhounds Association said it appeared the Animal Liberation Front had been in three places in one night.^[88] The activists in a message to Bite Back website said:^[89]

This action is dedicated to Mike Hill the young hunt sab killed by hunt scum. This action is also timed to coincide with the anniversary of the hunt ban 3 years ago. The ban's not being enforced and most hunts still kill animals. Maybe when they stop breaking the law we will.

• "Stop Selling Foie Gras" and "Ban Foie Gras" were spray painted on the walls of Midsummer House in Cambridge. The Animal Liberation Front reported to the Cambridge Evening News that they had poured etching fluid over windows, paint stripper on window frames and glued the locks of the restaurant. It has also been the subject of protests by Cambridge Animal Rights, although denied any involvement in the action that initially caused an estimated £3,000 in damage,^[90][91] but was then calculated later to exceed £6,000.^[92] The next day, the owner announced that he had taken the dish off the menu, saying he felt pushed into the decision following attacks by the ALF and a brick thrown through the restaurants window after 7pm one Saturday evening.^[93]

April

• A campaign by the ALF, PETA and In Defense of Animals, leads to San Francisco Art Institute suspending their controversial art exhibition. It is claimed that death threats, amongst others, were used in an attempt to shut down the event.^[94]
• 50 mink released from a fur farm in Jefferson, Oregon and breeding records destroyed. The Fur Commission USA claims all mink were recovered, but estimates the dollar loss for the destroyed breeding records was $5,000.^[95]
• The ALF claim responsibility for spraypainting "Drop Oxford Uni" on shutters at Steve Rusk Plumbers, Wootton Road Industrial Estate, Oxford. The activists said the attack was carried out due to the companies involvement with the laboratory at South Parks Road owned by Oxford University.^[96]

June

• In an effort to force UCLA to end their primate experiments, the ALF set alight a UCLA van.^[97][98]

July

• Ahead of the shooting season the ALF cause extensive damage to grouse pens and electric fencing around Ilkley Moor. Bingley Moor Partnership, which won rights for grouse shooting on the moors, said due to shortage of grouse stocks there wouldn't be any activity for at least two years. The Moorland Association branded the action as "criminal".^[99]

A large grouse pen was identified and trashed; the water pipes and distributors were left split and smashed. The wire fencing from the entire enclosure was brought down. The electric fencing was sabotaged and the system destroyed. Two set fen traps were discovered and placed permanently out of commission. Two smaller pens were found nearby and the netting roof and wire surrounds were left in tatters. Feeders in the area were also tampered with.

August

• ALF activists claim responsibility for releasing 6,000 mink from Rippin Fur Farm before opening the farm gate in Aldergrove, British Columbia. This was done near Aldergrove Lake Park, which activists claim "provides over 200 acres of water habitat for them to survive."^[100]
• A press officer for the ALF reports that 300 mink had been released and breeding cards destroyed at a South Jordan mink farm.^[101]

September

• The ALF claimed responsibility for releasing mink from the S&N Fur Farm in Scio. The ranch owner claims that of the 215 mink released, 177 were recaptured and 4 died.^[102]
• Thousands of mink were released and the records were destroyed at a Davis County, Utah mink farm. The Fur Commission USA claims most of the mink were recaptured and that at least half a dozen died.^[103][104]
• Four Barclays Banks are vandalised in Hampshire during the month, because of Barclays previous trading in HLS shares. Slogans are painted including "Scum", "Murderers" and "ALF". In the same month a Fedex van is covered in slogans and has tyres slashed in Wickham. In January 2011 Thomas Harris pleaded guilty to "conspiracy to cause criminal damage" for his role in planning the attacks.^[105]
• Supporters of the ALF and other animal rights campaigners are given £40,000 compensation, after they were prevented from attending a demonstration against live exports. The London activists were travelling to Dover in July 2006 on their way to a protest against sheep and cattle being deported, before they were reportedly photographed, threatened with arrest and unlawfully denied the right to protest.^[106]

December

• ALF Netherlands claim responsibility for setting on fire two cars belonging to a Euronext employee in Wassenaar, because the company trade shares in HLS. Activists also claimed vandalizing the home of NYSE Euronext director with slogans in Noordwijkerhout on the same day and setting alight two cars belonging to another Euronext employees three weeks before.^{[107][108][109][110]}

2009

January

• A fake bomb is planted at University of California, San Diego, leading to evacuations at the university's school of medicine. The ALF claimed responsibility with an official press release and three phone calls.^[111]
• A Bradford councillor has two cars covered in acid (paint stripped) and tyres slashed, because of her support for the Ilkley moor shoot. The ALF claim responsibility with an anonymous posting on the Bite Back website.^[112][113]

February

• The ALF is accused of filming inside Ireland's six known fur farms, showing clips of distressed mink. The footage is later released by the Coalition Against The Fur Trade (CAFT).^[114]
• Mel Broughton is jailed for 10 years, described as an ardent and determined activist and vegan, he is sentenced for planning and possibly carrying out the arson attacks against Oxford University college buildings on the university by the ALF.^[115]

May

• The Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for an arson attack against Scientific Resources International in Reno, Nevada a company that imports primates from China for scientific research. The fire caused $300,000 in damages. A manager for the company claimed the building had been destroyed and the company would be unable to conduct business until it was rebuilt.^[116]

March

• The DBF (Dutch ALF) release 3,000 mink from a fur farm in the Zeeland province, near Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the night of Saturday 14. In a communique, the ALF claimed to have also destroyed breeding cards in 20 of the sheds, damaged nets and spray painted 'DBF is everywhere'.^[117] Vegan Streaker Peter Janssen is later arrested on suspicion of the raid.^[118][119]
• A fire broke out at a livestock auction in Ussel (Corrèze), France, in the early hours of Saturday 28. The initials 'ALF' were found painted on the building, causing future auctions to be cancelled.^[120][121]

July

• Shortly after The Advertiser reported pigeons were getting trapped under the railway bridge in Fetcham, Leatherhead, which was due to the council's policy of pigeon-proofing the area, a man contacted the media and reported that the ALF were claiming responsibility for slicing the netting, and said they would be watching who puts more up.^[122]

November

• Carrie Feldman and Scott DeMuth are subpoenaed to a grand jury investigating the 2004 raid of the University of Iowa, during which the ALF claimed responsibility for vandalizing two labs and three offices.^[123][124] DeMuth is indicted with conspiracy to vandalize property under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act shortly after their subpoena. Feldman serves 4 months on civil contempt for refusing to testify, but is never charged with a crime.

December

• Police detain three youths in Mexico City after investigators find links between the ALF and homemade bombs that burned seven vehicles. The symbol of a local version of the ALF was found spray painted near in the attacks.^[125]

2010

April

• The Sheepskin Factory in Glendale, Colorado is destroyed by arson on 30 April. According to the Denver Post, in June, an Internet posting associated with Bite Back claims the ALF are responsible for the arson.^[126]

May

• A leather store in Salt Lake City, Utah is destroyed by arson on 31 May. According to the Denver Post, in June, an Internet posting associated with Bite Back claims ALF responsibility for the arson.^[126]

July

“	The ALF is watching and there is nowhere to hide. The arson at the Tiburon restaurant in Sandy Utah was done because of there [sic] sale of Foie Gras (young duck) and other 'wild game'. Animals exist for there [sic] own purposes, not human ends. Go Vegan! ALF Lonewolf.	”

After previous arsons in Utah by the same individual, ALF Lone Wolf sets a third fire, this time to Tiburon restaurant in Sandy.^[127]

August

• In an action costing the Greek fur industry potentially exceeding €1 million, the ALF in Athens, Greece, report they liberated 50,000 mink from two fur farms in the towns of Kastoria and Siatista, described as the heart of Greece's fur industry. Greece's National Fur Breeders' Association claimed in response to the attacks that most of the animals would likely die due to the heat.^[128][129]

September

• 400 mink liberated from a fur farm in Granite Falls, Washington.^[130] In an anonymous claim to the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, the Animal Liberation Front took credit for the action declaring: "we released aprox. [sic] 400 of the mink there and all we can say is that it wasn't enough."^[131]

October

• The owner of Capilano Furs has his car painted black and tyres slashed. Later that same day ALF Canada claim responsibility for the vandalism, as well as attacks against another clothing store and a restaurant.^[132]
• ALF claim they removed a large amount of fencing from a deer farm in Molalla, Oregon, with the intention of releasing deer into the surrounding forest. However there were no animals on the land when the fence was cut.^[133] Ranchers claimed they weren't worried by the attempted liberation, while an anonymous email sent to the North American Animal Liberation Press Office stated; "The venison meat industry remains small in this country, but as long as they exploit sentient animals, they will remain a target of the ALF." The FBI noted the incident as minor vandalism, rather than terrorism.^[134] T

2011

June

• The ALF used an industrial pressurized chemical sprayer with a two-foot-long spraying area to spray a corrosive chemical into the Speiser Furs salon in Vancouver, British Columbia. A glue like substance was also sprayed into the locks. Around 25 leather and fur coats were destroyed causing $50,000 in damage.^[135]

September

• The ALF claims to have sabotaged the fencing surrounding a pen at Damascus Elk Farm in Clackamas, Oregon. This was the second deer farm targeted by the ALF in the state of Oregon, and the third ever in the United States.^[136]
• 300 mink released from a fur farm outside Astoria, OR. All but 40 of the mink were recaptured. The Gordon Shumway Brigade Claimed responsibility. The Gordon Shumway Brigade apparently refers to the main character in a 1980s television show, ALF, which stood for 'alien life form'. ALF is also an abbreviation for the Animal Liberation Front.^[137][138] This act was followed in October with a fur farm raid in Jewell, Iowa which saw the release of 1,200-1,500 mink^[139] and another raid in Gifford, Washington which saw the release of 1,000 mink.^[140] This marked the largest wave of mink liberations in the United States since 1998.^[141]
• Animal rights activists claimed responsibility for a fire that caused $100,000 in damage to Rocky Mountain Fur & Fireworks, a fur retailer in Caldwell, Idaho. The group claimed they drilled a hole into the buildings storage space, pumped fuel through, placed multiple charges next to an adjourning structure and placed ignition devices to start the fire. The communique was signed by a group calling itself "Arson Unit". A spokesman for the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, said the Arson Unit may refer to a branch of the Animal Liberation Front.^[142][143]

2012

January

• An anonymous claim received by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office takes credit for an arson at Harris Ranch, California's largest feed cattle processor located in Coalinga. The fire caused the complete destruction of 14 cattle transporters. The anonymous claim stated that the attack was aimed at "the horrors and injustices of factory farming".^[144][145]
• ALF activists claimed to have sabotaged a tuna pen off the coast of Ugljan, Croatia by cutting and lowering down the net to allow the endangered bluefin tuna to escape. The communique claims that this was the second action of its kind, after a Maltese tuna farm was damaged in the summer of 2011, causing 100.000 Euro in damages and liberating an undefined number of animals.^[146]

March

• 75 to 100 pheasants were liberated from a farm in Scio, Oregon that breeds ring-necked pheasants for hunting and dog training. In an anonymous post on the Bite Back magazine website, The Animal Liberation Front took credit for dismantling a pheasant aviary and liberating the animals "into the night sky". Initial damages and losses are estimated at $4,000 and the Linn County Sheriff's Department is investigating this crime as an act of domestic terrorism.^[147]

May

• The Animal Liberation Front took credit for a vandalism spree targeting four Vancouver-area fur stores. Snowflake Furs, Pappas Furs, Capilano Furs and Speiser Furs were doused with red paint on windows, storefronts and doors.^[148] In an anonymous claim of responsibility sent to Bite Back magazine the vandals declared "The new Fur Wars have just begun."^[149]

August

• According to a communique posted by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office the ALF claims to have liberated 13 foxes and damaged equipment at a fur farm in Elkton, VA.^[150]
• "DROP HLS" and "PUPPY KILLER" were in red paint across the garage door and driveway of a Beckman Coulter Inc. executive in Yorba Linda, California. A red stain was also thrown into the woman's backyard pool "to remind her of the blood on her hands." In a press release the Animal Liberation Front claimed it targeted Beckman Coulter for their ties to the U.K.-based Huntingdon Life Sciences warning: "You know what to do to bring this to an end. Cut your losses and drop HLS. Until then expect to spend thousands more on damages because this is not a one time event."^[151]
• Animal rights activists are suspected of spraying a noxious substance through the mail slots of Speiser Furs and Snowflake Furs in Vancouver. Police say that surveillance footage shows two people disguised in heavy coats, bandannas and hats squirt at least a half dozen syringes filled with a white liquid seven into the buildings through a gap in the front doors forcing the stores to be closed while hazmat crews and police investigated. Back in May both these locations were vandalized with red paint by the ALF. A spokesman for the ALF in regards to the incident stated: "I would fully expect (the attacks) to continue and perhaps escalate,"^[152][153]
• ALF claimed to have released hundreds of thousands of rainbow trout from a fish farm in northern Sweden. The farm was uninsured and police estimated the damages in the millions of Swedish krona.^[154]

September

• In an email to Bite Back the ALF took credit for ripping open a flight pen at a game bird farm in Canby, Oregon on the night of 21 September and liberating captive pheasants into the wild.^[155] However the farm owner claims that most the farms 2 dozen pheasants remained in the pen. This was the second pheasant breeding operation targeted in the state of Oregon by the ALF in 2012.^[156] Also, on the same night in the Toledo province of Spain the ALF claims to have released 400 partridges from a game farm that bred birds for hunting.^[157]

November

• 1600 mink were liberated from a fur farm outside of Skara, Sweden. In an email to Bite Back magazine the Animal Liberation Front claimed they planned this action to coincide with World Vegan Day.^[158]
• Members of the Animal Liberation Front took credit for firebombing cars of scientists attending a Biomedical Symposium in Chile. The group claimed to have placed explosive incendiary devices beneath a van belonging to the University of Concepción and a truck belonging to an animal researcher outside the International Symposium on Biomedical Research Models.^[159][160]
• The Animal Liberation Front is linked to incidents on two chicken farms in the Niagara region in which equipment and buildings were damaged, and slogans were spray painted on walls including the letters "ALF". The damages at one farm was estimated at $25,000 and $150 at the other.^[161]

December

• The ALF claims to have vandalized fur and leather garments at Four Seasons Fur and T.O. Leather Fashions Ltd. in Toronto, by spraying a foul smelling chemical through cracks in the doors. The owner of Leather Fashions Ltd said he discovered a horrible, rotten-egg smell and a clear liquid covering the floor the next morning, but that no merchandise was damaged.^[162]

2013

January

• The ALF issued an anonymous statement declaring that members hit an unoccupied Vancouver police cruiser with a Molotov cocktail while it was parked in front of the home of Megan Halprin, who co-owns the Snowflake Furs store in the city’s downtown. The statement went on to threaten "This is a fur war. This is a class war. The elite and the police are the enemy and will be treated as such." According to a police spokesman the incendiary weapon never hit the police cruiser and failed to cause any damage. Both Halprin’s home and business have been the target of previous acts of vandalism with paint, bleach and graffiti.^[163]

March

• The ALF claimed responsibility for spray-painting "ALF" on the door of Glass House Couture in Vancouver. They also sprayed butyric acid into the building. The activists claimed they targeted the store for its sale of fur. This act of vandalism resulted in the closure of the store for a month and a half.^[164]

June

• A lone Animal Liberation Front activist claimed to have punctured several slaughterhouse truck tires with an ice-pick at Cami International Poultry in Ontario, Canada. Damages are estimated at $1,000.^[161]

July

• An online statement from the ALF claimed that "anarchists in San Diego" attacked the fur retail store, Furs by Graf. During the attack windows were covered with eroding etching solution, and slogans were sprayed on the exterior with red paint. Foul smelling acid was also sprayed into the store, according to the statement. The ALF also targeted the homes and vehicles of the stores owners with acid, paint stripper and spray paint.^[165]
• Animal Liberation Front, said they used wire cutters to enter the property of the Ash Grove Pheasant Farm in Riverside, California to steal and release more than a dozen pheasants being kept in an aviary. The farm owners claim that they awoke to find one loose pheasant in their yard, and that of the nine birds left in the aviary some had to be euthanized. The owners had previously sold pheasants for hunting, but will stop selling pheasants as a result of this action.^[166]
• Activists cut holes in a perimeter fence and released 3,600 mink from the Moyle Mink Ranch near Declo, Idaho. The farmer also claims that breeding papers were thrown into a pile, severely hampering the farms breeding program. The Animal Liberation Front is taking responsibility for the raid.^[167]

August

• The ALF took credit for gluing locks shut, pouring red paint, and spray-painting the words "Free the Animals" across the patio of the Taco Asylum Restaurant in Costa Mesa, Ca. They claimed to have targeted Taco Asylum for selling the meat of rabbits, ducks, cows, and pigs.^[168]
• In an anonymous message to Bite Back magazine, the Animal Liberation Front took credit for vandalizing the truck of Eugen Klein at his North Vancouver home, which is also where he runs Capilano Furs & Taxidermy Studios. The group claims to have: "shot syringes filled with a foul-smelling liquid through the rubber sealing and into his truck". The vandalism was in response to an article in the National Post that featured an interview with Klein.^[169]
• The ALF claimed responsibility for the attempted release of 5 game birds from the E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area in Monmouth, Oregon. The activists claimed to have cut open two cages giving the birds a chance to escape into the wild, but according to law enforcement none of the birds left their cages. In a communique posted on Bite Back magazine the activists said their efforts to cut more than two cages was thwarted when a car pulled into a parking lot next to the cages, forcing them to make a premature departure.^[170][171]
• ALF members claimed to have glued the front door lock shut and a truck ignition along with spray painting "MEAT IS MURDER" at the Mcnee Meats facility in North Branch, Michigan. They also claimed to have released cows, destroyed light fixtures and smashed chicken cages at the facility. This company had previously been linked to an E. coli contamination in 2011.^[172]
• The ALF took credit for the release of approximately 420 mink and 75 fox from the Bollert Fur Farm in Renton, Ontario. According to a spokesperson for the Fur Council of Canada most of the animals were recovered and returned to their cages, but 15 mink remained unaccounted for along with 20 fox. Two weeks earlier, a similar release occurred at the East Fork Mink Ranch in Morris, Illinois, where 2,000 mink were released and words "Liberation is love" was painted on a barn. No one has taken responsibility for the Illinois break-in.^[173]

October

• Between July and October 2013 animal rights activists claimed responsibility for late night raids on fur farms in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, Iowa, and 4 other states resulting in the release of over 7,700 mink. That is more raids than in the preceding three years combined. At least 3 of these raids were claimed by the ALF.^[174]

2014

January

• A McDonald's franchise was vandalized in Jaffa. "ALF" was found spray painted in red on the windows of the franchise.^[175]

February

• A KFC restaurant in Upper Hutt, New Zealand was damaged after someone set fire to the rear of the building.^[176] In an email to Bite Back magazine the ALF took responsibility for the blaze.^[177]

March

• In an email from Bite Back magazine and the Animal Liberation Front claimed to have destroyed breeding records at the Fraser Fur Farm in Ronan, MT. The farm raises bobcats for fur. The activists claimed they destroyed the breeding records "to ensure the loss of irreplaceable genetic lines, rendering the breeding stock of a given fur-producing business lost." However the activists attempt to free the captive bobcats was thwarted when residents awoke to chase the activists off the property.^[178]

May

• The ALF took credit for the liberation of approximately 35 pheasants from a game bird farm in Gervais, Oregon. According to the farm owners the birds released were part of the brooding stock and the loss of profits is estimated in the thousands of dollars.^[179]

July

• Vandals affiliated with the Animal Liberation Front took credit for pouring bleach and "chemical abrasives" into the fuel tanks of mobile slaughter units owned by two meat processing companies in the state of Washington. The owner of one of the slaughter trucks in Battle Ground, Washington, said he noticed the damage to his truck when it started smoking and running terribly. This most recent vandalism brings to four the number of mobile slaughter units hit in the Northwest in the past month. In June, two trucks owned by slaughter companies were similarly damaged in Stayton, Oregon, and Hillsboro, Oregon.^[180]

September

• The Animal Liberation Front said in a written release sent to news organizations that it had released 30 foxes from an Iowa farm that raises foxes for fur. The owner of the farm said the group had only managed to destroy property, including stripping away much of the farm’s fencing, but that none of the foxes ended up escaping.^[181]

December

• A fire ripped through the Oberon Abattoir in New South Wales. Firefighters arrived to find the abbattoir's main building, and gas main alight^[182] The ALF later took credit for the fire.^[183]

2015

March

• A KFC in Reno, Nevada had a window smashed out and a Molotov cocktail thrown inside, causing minor damages to the interior of the building. The letters "ALF" were found spray-painted across the drive-thru menu.^[184]
• 50 pheasants were released from a game-bird breeder in Beavercreek, Oregon after unknown persons cut the lock to the door on one of four bird pens on the property. The Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the release in an anonymous statement saying "These birds were bred, among other reasons, to suffer and die in pre-orchestrated canned hunts; a practice which represents the height of human arrogance and disregard towards animal life,". According to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office this farm is one of four similar types of businesses in Clackamas County to have been struck by the group in recent years.^[185]

June

• Fire was set to 2 trucks belonging to Harlan Laboratory in Mississauga, ON. In an anonymous email the ALF claimed to have planted incendiary devices beneath the trucks in an effort to "eliminate this...company's means of transportation, to disrupt the systematic torture and murder of innocent animals, and to cause as much monetary damage as possible." Harlan is owned by Huntingdon Life Sciences a popular target of animal rights campaigners. The group accuses Harlan of supplying animals and feed for vivisection.^[186]

July

• 6,800 mink were released from four separate sheds at RBR Fur Farms Inc. near the town of St. Marys. This was the second mink release in the Perth County area since May 2015. The Animal Liberation Front took responsibility for an earlier incident at the neighbouring Glenwood Fur Farm that involved the release of about 1,600 mink. Will Hazlitt, a press officer with NAALPO, said he suspects activists who wanted to make a case against the fur industry through "economic sabotage" were responsible for the most recent break-in.^[187]

August

• Animal protectors entered a fur farm near Jindřichův Hradec spraying mink with pink dye in order to makes their fur useless. Officials claimed that 13 of the mink died as a result of "stress" presumably caused by the intrusion. The inscription "ALF" was sprayed on the farm fence, which is the acronym for the Animal Liberation Front.^[188]

September

• Animal rights activists attempting to thwart a pheasant hunt cut open a holding pen at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Management Area, but state game officials say only a handful of birds escaped. The wildlife area’s manager discovered a hole had been cut in the mesh surrounding one of the pens, allowing about 15 of the birds to get loose. In a statement posted online, activists associated with the Animal Liberation Front claimed to have hiked through the woods to reach the holding pen and used aviation snips to cut a hole in the mesh in order to "spare these animals from an almost certain death at the hands of hunters."^[189]

December

• The ALF took credit for an arson fire that burned down a clubhouse operated by the Fox Terrier Association in Germany. This arson came after an incident in June when the ALF released several foxes from an enclosure on the club ground.^[190]

2016

August

• The ALF took credit for another arson fire that burned down the residency of a farmer in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This came after the farmer had been convicted twice of lack of care to his animals, resulting in dozens of farm animals starving to death in horrific conditions.

See also

• Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group
• Animal Liberation Press Office
• Bite Back
• Behind the Mask

Notes

Further reading

• Young, Peter Daniel (2010). Animal Liberation Front: Complete Diary of Actions, The First 30 Years. Voice of the Voiceless Communications. ISBN 978-0-9842844-0-5
• Mann, Keith, (2007) From Dusk 'til Dawn: An Insider's View of the Growth of the Animal Liberation Movement, Puppy Pincher Press, ISBN 978-0-9555850-0-5
• Best, Steven, and Nocella, Anthony J, (2004) Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Reflections on the Liberation of Animals, Lantern Books, ISBN 1-59056-054-X
• Newkirk, Ingrid, (2000) Free the Animals: The Story of the Animal Liberation Front, Lantern Books, ISBN 1-930051-22-0

External links

• Diary of Actions Bite Back
• North American Animal Liberation Press Office
• Animal Liberation Front