Posted on 10/01/2006 2:45:23 AM PDT by MadIvan
Police believe that half of the most violent of Britain's animal rights activists are behind bars. Such dramatic success has convinced officers that the total number of extremists prepared to risk imprisonment is very small – perhaps as few as 20 or 25.
Two leading animal rights activists have been jailed in the past 11 days, bringing the number in prison to about a dozen. Donald Currie, the Animal Liberation Front's (ALF) top bomber, is awaiting sentence for four charges of arson, one of attempted arson, and two counts of possessing explosives.
Supt Steve Pearl, the head of the National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit (Netcu) which was established in 2004, said that the number of what activists call "home visits" – in which people working for companies associated with vivisection are subjected to violent attacks and criminal damage – had fallen in the past two years, from two or three a week to one or two a month. However, he insisted that he would not feel satisfied until all illegal activists had been jailed.
"I am convinced that there is only a very small number of people within the animal rights movement who believe they are morally justified in committing criminal actions and who are prepared to get themselves arrested, charged and put in prison for their beliefs. My ultimate aim is to eradicate criminal behaviour as part of this protest campaign. I want those who hold strong views to get back to lobbying and other acceptable protests in a free and democratic society."
Mr Pearl – chosen to set up Netcu because of his experience in dealing with activists who, since 1999, have targeted Huntingdon Life Sciences, Europe's largest contract medical testing centre – leads a small team from a secret location in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. He is aware that, as the highest profile policeman combating such extremism, he could be in danger.
He said: "I have met most of [the animal rights activists]. They are individuals who feel very strongly about animal rights. It is a lifestyle for some of them, a lifetime's commitment. But they are misguided if they think by using criminal actions they will achieve their objectives."
He said that new legislation had helped the police combat extremism. Last month, Joseph Harris, 26, a cancer research scientist, was jailed for three years under a charge of interfering with contractual relationships so as to harm an animal research location.
In a separate case, Madeline Buckler, 24, was jailed for two years for sending hate mail to the owners of a guinea pig farm as part of a vicious campaign. Her boyfriend, John Smith, was jailed for 12 years in May for conspiring to blackmail the Hall family, who ran Darley Oaks Farm in Staffordshire. Smith was one of four people jailed for the campaign which saw the remains of Gladys Hammond, a relative of the Hall family, removed from her grave.
Mr Pearl claimed that the successes had helped the research companies. "The confidence of industry has most certainly started to rise again and we are seeing tangible evidence of this with greater investment in the United Kingdom," he said.
However, Brian Cass, 59, the chief executive of Huntingdon Life Sciences, warned that the crackdown had not yet led to increased investment.
"What we have seen over the past year will contribute to a building of confidence, but I don't think a switch has been flicked that suddenly indicates everything is okay. This is a great start but we need it to be sustained."
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph in May, Tony Blair accused anti-vivisection extremists of "stooping to appalling depths" as he launched an impassioned defence of animal testing.
Robin Webb, the press officer for the ALF, said: "The movement has always gone in peaks and troughs of activity over the years. Because there is no structure or hierarchy to the ALF, the police cannot stop its activities. You can imprison an individual, but you can't imprison an ideal."
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
"Because there is no structure or hierarchy to the ALF, the police cannot stop its activities. You can imprison an individual, but you can't imprison an ideal"
That's ok. The ideal can't wait outside someone's house and attack them with baseball bats, we'll settle for imprisonning the individuals.
And they say only religious beliefs that would lead people to terrorism...
It's England. They won't be there long enough to be any sort of effective.
Sounds good that they're being put away. I have issues with ecoterrorists.
Half are behind bars ... well that's a good start. Mind sending the Chief Inspector and Chief Prosecutor over here to show our lead Coppers and Magistrates how to do the same. We Promise on all that is FR to return your Inspector and Prosecutor to you.
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