Original ALF communique taking credit for the largest ever mink release.
Part eighteen in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
In September 2001, the Animal Liberation Front broke all records, releasing 14,000 mink from the Drewelow & Son’s Mink Farm in New Hampton, Iowa. This action holds the record as the largest fur farm raid in US history.
Although ever cage at the farm was opened, and losses were estimated at over $400,000, all evidence is that the raid did not shut down this farm. There is some evidence this farm remained open as of the mid-2000s, however there has not been any verifiable information as to the farm’s status in recent years.
The night after this raid, 215 pigeons were liberated from a vivisection breeder across the state, in Glenwood, Iowa.
The action also came a week after 179 birds were liberated from a toxicology lab in Wellington, Colorado.
The communique reads, in full:
“The Animal Liberation Front is claiming responsibility for the largest liberation of animals in history – the release of 14,000 mink from the Earl Drewelow & Son’s Mink Farm, 2477 239th St, New Hampton IA; during the early morning hours of September 7th, 2000.
Handheld cutting tools were used to strip away two entire sides of the farm’s fencing, giving the mink an escape route. Inside the sheds we found a horrific scene – thousands of mink crammed 2-3 to a tiny wire cage, waiting to die in a mess of waste and cobwebs. Any attempt by the fur industry to dismiss the Drewelow & Son’s Fur Farm as an isolated example should be considered a lie. The A.L.F. know from experience these conditions to be the industry standard. Ever cage was opened and 14,000 mink released to freedom.
The fur industry will be quick to respond to this beautiful act of compassion with baseless cookie-cutter form responses, in an attempt to discredit our actions and divert attention away from their sadistic industry. These standard lies from the mouths of murderers will be preemptively rebutted here:
Lie #1: “The mink will be hit by cars” – The absurdity of this statement is that before liberation, death was 100% certain. Every animal on the farm was bred to die. While it is true a small number may be hit by cars, most will not, and if nothing else they have been given a chance a freedom.
Lie #2: Mink are domestic and cannot survive in the wild” – Mink are in fact only one or two generation removed from their wild cousins and have not yet had their wild instincts bred out. The “Mink Rehabilitation Project” led by convicted A.L.F. liberator Rod Coronado proved this a decade ago. Mink legally purchased from a fur farm were released into the wild and shown through observation to retain natural survival instincts and thrive in the wild after a lifetime in a cage.
Lie #3: “Most of the mink were recaptured” – Mink travel several miles a day. Most mink had disperesed into the surrounding fields before the liberation was complete. A few may be recaptured, but only a handful. Our hearts go out to those few recaptured who were given a shot at life and now have only suffering ahead.
Lie #4: “The A.L.F. are terrorists” – Every action carried out by the Animal Liberation Front is an act of compassion, with the only intent to save the lives of sentient creatures. These actions are carried out with no benefit to ourselves, except peace of mind knowing we have done all we can to rescue animals from the torture chambers and concentration camps of the meat, dairy, egg, fur and animal research industries. Their freedom is our victory.
We break the law in adherence to a higher law – one which states animals are not commodities, not objects, but sentient creatures with a right to live. We will fight for the lives of these animals as if they were our own.
Animal murderers beware – the A.L.F. is watching and there is no place to hide…”
This is the eighteenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Part thirteen in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
After the large response to yesterday’s article on how three people shut down an Iowa fur farm, I am following up with both communiques from those actions.
The first raid took place on October 16th, 2002 in Ellsworth, Iowa. All 2,000 animals were released.
The second raid took place just six days later. After fur farmer Scott Nelson boasted in the media that he had recaptured most of the animals, the Animal Liberation Front returned and re-liberated every mink. The farm subsequently shut down.
Communique #1
October 16th, 2001
Ellsworth, IA
Scott Nelson Mink Ranch
1,400 mink released. This raid was video taped and footage released to the media.
“The Animal Liberation Front is claiming responsibility for the liberation of 2000 mink from a fur farm in Jewell, IA (Tollman Rd.) in the late hours of October 16th, 2001. Every animal was released.
Fences surrounding the farm were cut away, every cage opened, and 2000 mink ran to freedom. These animals were kept 3 and 4 to a small wire mesh cage. Their rescue came at the final hour, only a month from a violent death in the pelting season.
Captive bred mink are closely related to their wild ancestors, and have been shown to retain survival instincts when released – ensuring these liberated prisoners will live and thrive. The fur industry will move to condemn this action, using misleading half-truths and boldface lies. They point their fingers with blood stained hands. There is no defensible case for the taking of innocent life. Furthermore, there is no defensible argument against militant intervention to prevent this atrocity. When mink are no longer kept 4 to a small wire cage, when chickens are no longer kept packed in battery cages, when we stop calling dead animals food, when the blood stops spilling – these actions outside the law will no longer be needed. Until then, we will be tearing up fences, breaking down walls, and opening cages to free the animals. Terrorism against non-human animals will be met with liberation.
In this struggle for life against greed, compassion over sadism, our only recourse is to ignore laws and risk our freedom to save lives. Were you in a cage, whose side would you be on?
A.L.F.”
Communique #2
October 23rd, 2001
Ellsworth, IA
Scott Nelson Mink Ranch
“10/16/2001 A.L.F. liberated 2000 mink at Scott Nelson Mink Ranch in Ellsworth, Iowa
10/23/2001 A.L.F. liberates all recaptured mink at Scott Nelson Mink Ranch in Ellsworth, Iowa
The first time we visited Scott Nelson Mink Ranch in Ellsworth, Iowa we opened every cage on the property. We intended to close the place down; unfortunately some of the mink were recaptured.
To demonstrate our complete seriousness regarding the freedom of these animals and contempt for the people responsible for these horrible places we again visited the fur farm and opened every cage on the property. We demand these mink are allowed to remain free.
A.L.F.”
This is the thirteenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Anonymously-written story of how the Animal Liberation Front shut down an Iowa fur farm.
Part twelve in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
“In the week of October 16th, 2001, an ALF cell of three took wire cutters to the fences of a mink farm in Ellsworth, Iowa and released nearly 2,000 animals. Many mink were recaptured. Six days later they returned to free them. The farm closed its doors forever. This is that story.”
So begins the article written by an anonymous participant in the ALF raid of the Scott Nelson fur farm in Ellsworth, Iowa. This article was originally published in an early issue of Bite Back Magazine (click here to buy back issues).
This action was significant for a few reasons:
This was the first time the ALF raided a farm twice in one week. After the first liberation, Scott Nelson boasted in the media that he had recaptured most of the animals and had resumed business as usual. The ALF then returned six days later and re-freed every animal.
The first of the two raids was the first mink liberation in the US documented on video. The video was released to activists and the media following the action.
The second raid shut the farm down forever.
Farm confirmed closed in 2009
I personally went to the site of this farm in 2009 to verify that it had in fact closed. After confirming the exact location of the farm through old satellite images, I drove to the location, just north of the town of Jewell. Where the sheds once stood, I found nothing but a field of corn.
The Scott Nelson farm was a short distance from the site of three other ALF (or unclaimed) actions. The Isebrands fur farm, Palmer Erickson fur farm, and Hawkeye Mink Cooperative are each less than three miles away.
Also of note: 48 hours after the first liberation at the Scott Nelson farm, Double T Farms (a breeder of pigeons for vivisection) was raided and 162 birds were freed.
Read this inspiring story of how three people accomplished a tremendous victory for fur farm prisoners.
This is the twelfth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Complete, updated list of every known Animal Liberation Front fur farm raid.
Part eleven in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
Here it is: a list of every reported fur farm raid in the United States. From the first (incomplete) report of a fur farm raid in 1986, to the most recent: 13 foxes released from a farm in Virginia. Most of these were claimed by the Animal Liberation Front, while many were not.
This info was compiled from multiple sources, including: A.L.F. Complete Diary of Actions book, Bite Back, internal fur industry documents, discovery paperwork in legal cases, and media reports.
Here’s the final tally:
93 fur farm raids. Just over 130,000 animals freed.
(If you notice any omissions or errors, please contact me. I want this list to be as thorough as possible.)
Fur Farm Raid List
1986
Unnamed farm
Near Portland, Oregon
66 silver foxes liberated
August 13th, 1995
Davidson Fur Farm
Annendale, Minnesota
One coyote liberated
November 16th, 1995
Jordan Mink Ranch
Olympia, Washington
400 mink liberated
CLOSED
November 16th, 1995
Ma Ellis Fox Farm
Pleasant View, Tenessee
30 foxes liberated
CLOSED
August 20th, 1998
Hidden Valley Fur Farm
Guttenburg, Iowa
330 foxes liberated
CLOSED.
(the farmer mentions two actions have occurred, only one action is known)
August 8th, 1999
Gene Meyer Mink Farm
Plymouth, Wisconsin
2,500 mink liberated
(nearby United Feeds fur feed supplier burned down the same night)
CLOSED
August 14th, 1999
Frank Parsons Mink Ranch
Salisbury, Maryland
20 mink liberated
CLOSED
September 12th, 1999
Calvin Gunnink Fur Farm
Chandler, Minnesota
100 fox liberated
October 1st, 1999
Owl Creek Fox Farm
Montpelier, Indiana
30 fox painted with henna dye
October 12th, 2011
Miller’s Mink Ranch
Gifford, Washington
1,000 mink liberated.
August 5th, 2012
D & S Fox Farm
Elkton, Virginia
13 foxes liberated
This is the eleventh of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Read fur farming newsletter covering the peak of the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
Part nine in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
The year 1997 saw a record 22 fur farm liberations, a rate of over one action every two weeks. By the fall of 1998, there was no indication that the ALF was losing momentum. During one ten day period in the summer, there were five mink releases.
The fur farming industry was reeling, knowing that if this momentum continued, their entire industry would collapse in a few short years (or less). I believe if they ALF had sustained this pace, and continued to target both farms and suppliers (like feed plants), there would be no US fur industry today.
Fur Farm Letter
In October 1998, the Fur Commission dedicated almost an entire issue of their newsletter to covering this continued assault on their industry. I am posting some excerpts below.
The Fur Farm Letter is a controlled circulation newsletter distributed to the 400 or so members of the Fur Commission USA. As mentioned in previous articles, these newsletters were not intended to be seen by the public. With such a small circulation, fur farmers could reasonably expect that they would never be seen by anyone outside their circle. Fortunately, Animal Liberation Frontline has obtained dozens of issues going back to the late-1990s and will be posting many ALF-related selections over the next month.
1998: The fur industry staring down collapse
With continued intensity of Animal Liberation Front actions, the fear of their industry’s demise is evident in these articles. Some of the things covered in these excerpts:
A 1998 “incident report” which was distributed to fur farmers, listing every suspicious incident such as strange vehicles seen near farms, and more. (Sound interesting? Animal Liberation Frontline has obtained this too, and will be posting next week.)
“Although there were several sightings of suspicious vehicles, the lack of detail, from license
plates to description of the vehicles and occupants, makes it difficult for law enforcement to effectively
use their limited resources”
“Airplane surveillance”: Yes, fur farmers actually believe the ALF used small aircraft to surveil farms in advance of raids. As though such elaborate recon were necessary at small backyard operations.
“Problem oriented policing”: The Fur Commission’s (naive) belief that large non-profit groups are behind the ALF, and how their non-profit status must be “attacked.”
Encouraging fur farmers to be vigilant:
“It doesn’t mean we all become paranoid and call the police each time a strange car parks nearby. It
means going about our normal business, while getting into the habit of jotting down that car’s
license plate. The driver is probably as innocent as you or I, but what if the same car were spotted
by a farmer in the next state? What if you could compare notes and have FCUSA run a check?
What if? Such is the potential of a neighborhood watch to nip crime in the bud.”
Celebrating recent arrests and indictments: Including indictments of myself and several activists in Utah.
A list of break-ins and “foiled attempts” for 1998.
This is the ninth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Read the original ALF communique from the 1991 arson at the Malecky Mink Ranch in Oregon.
Part eight in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
While most Animal Liberation Front communiques written in the 2000s are preserved somewhere on the internet, the vast majority that pre-date the internet age are difficult to track down in their entirety. I am posting one communique that has been (mostly) lost to history.
This communique was from one of the ALF actions that was part of Operation Bite Back, a campaign in the early 1990s intended to cripple the US fur industry through the destruction of key research and infrastructure sites. Rod Coronado served 4 years in prison for his role in the campaign. According to the book Operation Bite Back by Dean Kuipers, Rod Coronado participated in this action.
After the ALF burned down the processing building, this fur farm shut down.
The communique reads, in full:
“December 21 1991 – Western Wildlife Cell members of the Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F.) raided Malecky Mink Ranch in Yamhill, Oregon, and set an incendiary device that destroyed the processing plant of this farm near Salem.
Intelligence sources revealed that the fur farm was to be sold, with intentions to continue exploitation of fur animals. Malecky Mink Ranch was a recipient of information form Oregon State University’s Experimental Fur Farm and had developed innovative methods of commercial exploitation of mink for the fur trade.
No mink or humans were injured in the A.L.F.’s fourth action against the United States Fur Farm industry. Flehsing machines, drying drums, skinning racks, feed mixers, freezers, and a workshop were all effectively destroyed in this economic attack against the tools of death and destruction.
This action was taken to avenge the lives of mink murdered on the ranch in the past and to prevent the further imprisonment of native wildlife in the future. 750,000 mink are slaughtered every winter in the Northwest for trade and four million nationwide on over (illegible –ed.) fur farms.
The Animal Liberation Front also announces a new campaign against the fur trade, one that directly targets the insensitive humans who wear fur garments. We will fight the fur-wearers in the streets. No longer shall the ecological arrogance of the public supporters of the fur trade go unchallenged. A.L.F. members shall arm themselves with battery acid and dye, and will inflict damage on the furs worn by humans. Fur is for four-leggeds, not two. The lives of fur animals will be avenged.
The fur industry is responsible for the demise of not only native north american wildlife, but the destruction of Native peoples’ cultures as well. Over the last four hundred years this barbaric industry has waged a genocidal war against animals and humans. Through the introduction of social and physical disease, the fur trade has forced native people to participate in their bloody practice, or perish like so many animals in traps and cages.
It is time to eliminate this anthropocentric profit-centered beast before the last howl is heard. A.L.F. calls on all peoples to join in the battle against this ecologically destructive regime, and to defend the defenseless from the oppression of our own species. We must destroy that which destroys the animals, earth, and ourselves.
On behalf of the mink, fox, bobcat, lynx, and coyote nations. A.L.F. shall wage non-violent war against the fur trade. Until the last fur farm is burned to the ground.
Animal Liberation Front, Western Wildlife Cell”
This is the eighth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Part seven in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
Yesterday I reported on the closure of the Charles Ide mink farm just one month after 3,500 mink were released there by the ALF.
Today, more good news: According to Coalition Against Fur Farms, the Tom Mohoric Mink Farm in Medina, Ohio has also been confirmed closed.
The farm was the site of a mink liberation in 1997, when 41 mink were released by the Animal Liberation Front. (There is no evidence to suggest the release played a role in the closure.)
It was small as mink releases go, but not small to each of the 41 animals.
The farm in question is:
Tom Mohoric Mink Farm, Medina, OH
Date of action: July 8th, 1997
Animals released: 41 mink
This is the seventh of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
New information shows Illinois fur farm shut down one month after a 1997 ALF raid.
Part six in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
The site Coalition Against Fur Farms is reporting that a mink farm closed down one month after the release of 3,500 mink by the Animal Liberation Front. This is the first time this has been reported, and the timing strongly indicates the ALF effectively shut down this farm.
The original source was fur trade publication Sandy Parker Reports, which reported that Charles K. Ide (Downers Grove, IL) died in October, and “…he pelted out in 1997 and retired.”
“Pelted out” refers to the killing every animal on a farm and shutting it down.
Photo from the closed Charles Ide fur farm.
Many ALF-targeted farms have shut down. However in the majority of these cases, there is no evidence that the Animal Liberation Front played a direct role in the closure.
However the Charles Ide farm closure is interesting in that it closed the month after a large ALF raid (3,5000 mink released). The timing is fairly strong evidence that the ALF shut down this fur farm. If accurate, this is further evidence of how fragile individual mink operations are, and how susceptible they are to going out of business from a single ALF action.
New resource on fur farm intel
I took this report from the new(ish) Coalition Against Fur Farms site, that has become the authoritative resource on tracking the fur industry. This site has left the fur industry scratching it’s head as to where they’ve gotten so much info, as seen in this security memo sent out by the Fur Commission over the summer.
Coalition Against Fur Farms re-launched earlier this year, with a new mission statement that lays out their goals: Mapping the fur industry, identifying weak links, tracking changes in fur farming (closed farms, etc), and broadcasting documents from whistleblowers.
2010 report from anonymous tipster
In 2010, I reported on a message from an anonymous tipster, who gave a self-guided tour of the Charles Ide fur farm and found it to be closed. The fur farm is now a Christmas tree farm, allowing the investigator to wander the property freely while “Christmas tree shopping.” View more photos of the closed farm here.
Very little follow up is done on past ALF targets, to give a better sense of the long-term effects these actions have. As information has come to me, I have posted updates on several past Animal Liberation Front targets that have been confirmed closed.
The farm in question is:
Ides Mink Farm, Downers Grove, IL
Date of action: September 1st, 1997
Animals released: 3,500 mink
Closed Charles Ide mink farm.
This is the sixth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
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“Attempted break-in” at an Idaho mink farm revealed in private security memo.
Part four in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
This “security alert” was distributed to mink farmers nationwide in March of this year. It covers what the Fur Commission describes as an “attempted break-in” at a mink farm in southern Idaho. This (attempted) action was previously unreported. No animals were released.
Franklin, Idaho is home to at least five active mink farms, and several others that are unconfirmed.
Animal Liberation Frontline has obtained dozens of these bulletins, which are sent by the Fur Commission out to alert fur farmers to specific security threats. I will be posting many additional bulletins over the next 30 days.
I have redacted information on the vehicle spotted near the attempted break-in so as to not publish anything possibly identifying.
Fur Commission USA Security Alert Idaho, Utah March 16, 2012
Wednesday night there was an attempted break-in at a mink farm in Franklin ID. The perpetrators were unable to release any animals.
In Hyrum UT last night, trespassers were detected at a feed packing plant. It is unknown if the two incidents are related.
Two individuals, traveling in a [REDACTED] car were seen near the feed plant. We will keep you informed as more information becomes available.
Animal rights activists may be protesting the Rocky Mountain Professional Rodeo Association event in Ogden UT this weekend, so please report any suspicious activity near your ranch, and take appropriate security precautions over the next several days.
Thank you,
Distributed by Michael Whelan Fur Commission USA”
This is the fourth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Detailed account of how one team got inside a “high security” animal research lab.
In 2010 I posted a short article from ALN (a trade magazine for animal research labs) on weaknesses found in a security audit done at an animal research lab.
Recently I was sent a similar but much more thorough article, which I am posting below. This one is a detailed story by a security expert who was paid by a large animal research lab to get inside their lab and tell them how he did it.
This type of work is called “penetration testing”. Companies will pay penetration testers to break into their buildings (or computer systems) in order to identify weaknesses in security. In this instance, the client was a pharmaceutical company that does research on animals and was concerned about a raid by the Animal Liberation Front.
The article is from a book titled Unauthorised Access by Will Allsopp (British title, thus the spelling). Subtitled “Physical Penetration Testing for IT Security Teams”, the book essentially functions as a how-to guide to breaking into buildings. The book is incredibly detailed and insightful for anyone interested in the tactics of those who access high-security (and low-security) buildings surreptitiously and without permission. For example, the Animal Liberation Front.
The article, title “Night Vision”, begins with a synopsis of the penetration tester’s mission:
“A couple of years ago my team was invited to simulate an attack by intruders on a medium-sized business in the Netherlands…. The company (We’ll call them Nederlabs BV) was a leader in the drug development industry and world leaders in the field of brain perfusion. This lead to them being targeted…. by animal rights groups.”
The article goes on:
“When I say animal rights, I’m not talking about the people who genuinely care about animals and don’t eat meat. I am talking about groups that firebomb family homes of employees they perceive to support animal testing or those who dig up and steal the remains of relatives.”
And the author explains why the company had reason to fear an ALF raid:
“Our client was more worried about animal rights groups than corporate spies…. The biggest concern was a night time raid on the premises because a previous raid to free laboratory animals was launched and aborted.”
The mission
Specifically, the attack they were hired to simulate called for the planting of fake explosive devices in “key locations” around the building. They were instructed to access the building at night, plant the fake bombs, and get out undetected.
The article is extensive, and details the several phases of the security audit:
The information gathering phase (identifying alarms, surveilling the property via Google Earth, identifying placement of guards, locating key offices, and finding the ideal place to plant the “explosives.”)
The planning phase (obtaining information over the phone via social engineering, getting a look at employee ID cards, doing a physical dry run of the raid.)
And finally, carrying out the attack (cutting a fence, using a fake ID, picking locks, and more.)
The conclusion
The raid was carried out successfully by the penetration testers, who concluded:
“Protecting your staff and facilities from terrorists and bombers is virtually impossible.”
Two photos from early Animal Liberation Front actions.
Original, high quality photos from early ALF actions are in short supply. I’m posting two such images from these seminal 80s lab raids: University of Pennsylvania head injury research lab (1984), and UC Riverside (1985).
In the former, the Animal Liberation Front broke in and confiscated over 60 hours of video showing horrific head injury experiments on primates. In the latter, over 1000 animals were rescued (the photo caption inaccurately lists the number as 260). Among them was Britches the monkey, who became a poster child for the anti-vivisection movement.
Message to ALF supporters from “an anonymous liberator”.
This week I received an anonymous article, which I am posting below. It is signed “an anonymous liberator”. There is no way to verify the authenticity of the author as being a “liberator” or ever having carried out an Animal Liberation Front action. However there is a tenor to this article that is hard to fake.
This article calls out a particular type of person: those who exploit the risk and sacrifices of the ALF (and others) to increase their social status. Specifically, a subculture of keyboard gangsters who build a social identity around ‘supporting’ the ALF – motivated only by the image it builds and the social benefits of appearing “radical”.
This takes many forms, from ALF t-shirt-wearing by those who have never lifted a finger to help animals to “militant” blogs written by those who leave their computers only to go to restaurants or anarchist meetings.
The message of this article is long overdue: There is no such thing as “supporting the ALF”. The ALF doesn’t need “support” – it needs participation.
Unfortunately many will misread this critique of “support” as including support of ALF prisoners. I did not take that from this article at all. Instead, I read it as a call for a redirection of “support” – specifically, less cultivation of the image of militancy for social gain, and more actual action.
This is the article, in full:
DO NOT SUPPORT THE ANIMAL LIBERATION FRONT by one anonymous liberator
The Animal Liberation Front is in desperate need of fewer supporters. It has far, far too many, and the madness has to stop somewhere.
The supporters are legion in their black t-shirts – tapping away at laptops, surfing crowds at shows, bussing tables at the local vegan eatery, distributing zines. Thousands of them share their support every day on Facebook and Tumblr. They post and re-post, like and comment. They are ever proliferating.
But, sadly, while all of this reaches new heights in the frenzy of the internet, the underground is largely at a standstill in the real world. ALF support, at one point a recruiting mechanism subservient to the action that it helped empower, has now become the main event. So, since it no longer serves its purpose, it is kindly but firmly requested that you abandon your support.
Take off your t-shirts – here is the wake up call. If you are able-bodied and you have built an entire social identity around ‘supporting’ sabotage and liberation, you are now required to go out and do those things. Your support will not be missed. You will no longer be able to hold on to the comfortable fiction that it ever mattered in the first place. And you will not be able to speak about your nighttime activities, so you will miss out on scene points.
But you will be able to relish accomplishments far more meaningful than anything you could ever do on Instagram or at a show. When you are old and your tattoos have faded, these memories will still be clear. You will be able to make a true and direct impact in the midst of a cold and vast system. And you will be able to look a creature in the eyes and save her life. For those who truly believe, it will be no sacrifice to change roles and take risks in order to keep alive this thing they hold so dear. It takes no specialized skill, only common sense and courage.
Perhaps, as a community, it is time for us to start changing our lifestyles through a new collective paradigm. If you are a self-identified ‘radical’ who spends their life going to work and watching movies with friends, the only thing currently separating you from the average American is ideas. This must no longer be acceptable.
We cannot explicitly speak about, and thus cannot socially reinforce, a culture of underground activity. However, we certainly can build a “culture of crime,” whereby we encourage not only disrespect (easy and functionally irrelevant) but disregard for the law. Jaywalk, shoplift, trespass, whatever – get acquainted with ignoring the rules as a way of life. Start in an area where you feel comfortable, get your friends doing it, and then put what you learn to use in the dead of night.
Accompany this with a culture of institutional privacy – encryption for casual conversation, proxy web surfing, releasing ourselves from the need to share every move we make on social media. While it is most important that individuals take action, these collective steps might be useful.
As for those who do not change, who continue to post their blogs or write their songs, they should not be given the respect or recognition that they seek. It is not respectable to align oneself in words with a phenomenon based on action. And when one gains social clout from doing so, it is parasitic, or at the very least cowardly. It contributes to an activist culture where such inaction is somehow a reasonable, even honorable, manner of behavior.
While others offer liberation and risk prison time, these individuals offer ‘support’ and risk too many high-fives. But those whose support is only as good as their own comfort can keep both.
Press officers, convicted operatives, and the disabled can continue to speak up for the ALF. If actions surge to an all-time high, but no one is sharing the news on Facebook, the animals won’t mind. They do not care about our theories, ideas, beliefs, or our drama. They are in desperate need of fewer supporters and more actors.
If your support for the Animal Liberation Front is genuine, it will end tonight.
