Animal rights activists give the good guys a bad name

[Animal 0]

Animal rights activists give the good guys a bad name


By Barry Cooper, For The Calgary Herald August 11, 2010


During Stampede Week, I wrote a column offering good-natured advice to
animal-rights advocates for calling into question the myth of the cowboy. I
received a lot of bad-tempered e-mail in response, which got me thinking about
the difference between practical animal welfare organizations such as the
Calgary Humane Society and antics of animal-rights advocates.

The latter tend to be utterly humourless, though some are inadvertently
ridiculous. For example, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
advised Ben and Jerry, the environmentally sensitive guys who used to make ice
cream, to use breast milk in their product. Ben and Jerry solemnly replied that
mother's milk is probably best used for babies.

Some eccentric academics apply the abstruse categories of contemporary ethical
discourse to animals. For the most part, only their students have to pay
attention. But other serious advocates and activists are a different and
dangerous matter.

A couple of weeks ago, the FBI arrested Walter Bond in Denver. He has "Vegan"
tattooed on his neck and "Straightedge" on his arm, which signifies he doesn't
drink alcohol, take drugs, or engage in sexual promiscuity. He was charged with
torching a store, the Sheepskin Factory in Glendale, last spring.

After the fire, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) posted an entry on their
website said to come from Bond. It claimed the arson "was done in defence and
retaliation for all the innocent animals that have died cruelly at the hands of
human oppressors." Making a living "from the use and abuse of animals will not
be tolerated." Besides the Sheepskin Factory, Bond mentioned "my recent arson
against the Leather Factory in Salt Lake City." The posting concluded with "Go
vegan! ALF Lone Wolf."

The ALF, like their pals in the Earth Liberation Movement (ELF) and other
groups, is organized on the model of "leaderless resistance." Former Klansman
Louis Beam developed the concept almost 20 years ago. He called for a two-tiered
organization. The visible arm engaged in publicity; the underground tier is
comprised of "lone wolves" who remain anonymous, maintain no ties to the public
organization, and carry out the attacks.

Sometimes, small groups of individuals form cells to carry out "direct action."
Either as cells or as lone wolves, as Beam said, "they know what has to be
done." Nobody gives them orders.

Bond was carrying an ALF publication called The Declaration of War: Killing
People to Save the Animals and the Environment. But the ALF could hardly be
blamed for that, could they? The ELF published an equally useful manual, Setting
Fires with Electrical Timers, that included instructions on how to avoid leaving
forensic evidence at an arson site along with other bits of tradecraft. But
that, too, is just free speech.

Obviously, not all direct action involves "war" and arson. Sometimes, harassment
and intimidation of scientists who use animals in their laboratories is enough.
Sometimes, threatening their families or vandalism do the trick. The leaderless
resistance model poses problems for police. The visible side is legally
protected and the attackers are nearly invisible.

Even lone wolves like Bond have friends, in his case friends who share his views
about animals, if not his views on violence and intimidation. Apparently, Bond
was identified by an acquaintance concerned about animals, but also concerned
firefighters might be killed if Bond kept at his work.

This tells us another thing about the animal rights movement. Besides the
illegal practitioners of direct action and the legal propaganda arm, there are
the generally passive sympathizers. Occasionally, they have enough common sense
and courage to turn in the criminals. Unfortunately, the irrationality of animal
rights gives a bad name to the genuinely dedicated people who are concerned with
the welfare of animals.

Barry Cooper is a political science professor at the University of Calgary.

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