Big Crazy: ALF Steals Some Pheasants and the FBI Calls It Terrorism

This just happened a bit north of where I live, up in Riverside. In the last couple of weeks a couple who raises pheasants for commercial sale to hunters had their farm broken into by members of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) who the stole or released more than a dozen of the prized birds. The theft of the birds and vandalism of the property is being investigated by the FBI as an act of terrorism.

            That’s right, terrorism. As far as the FBI is concerned, this break-in performed with some wire cutters is on par with pressure cooker bombs killing people in Boston and airliners being flown into skyscrapers.

            I certainly have no patience for ALF. Though I can respect their beliefs about animals, and sometimes agree with their valuation of the lives of animals, I think that by taking part in blatantly illegal and destructive activities like stealing these pheasants they really don’t help anybody and don’t really help any animals. The people who committed this crime should be prosecuted.

            But is this terrorism? To think so is Big Crazy. As a spokesman for ALF, Dr. Jerry Vlasak, said, “Terrorism is thrown around a lot these days. It’s disrespectful to the victims of Boston or New York. Terrorism is flying planes into buildings, not setting animals free.”

Government and Industry Trample On the Rights of Environmentalists: Ho Hum

I just ran across this bit of news, although I have to admit that I fully expected to find a story sooner or later detailing how government and industry are spying on groups who oppose fracking or are otherwise working for a better environment. It was completely unsurprising to me that Monsanto contracted with a subsidiary of Blackwater to spy on environmental groups. I expected that the FBI would investigate organizations opposed to hydraulic fracking, even with no evidence of criminal activity. It is no surprise to me that Americans for Prosperity, a Koch brothers backed organization, would make harassing FOIA requests for the emails of a college professor who had formed a group opposed to fracking.

            And I guess I’ll continue to be unsurprised as Congress holds hearings on Benghazi and the IRS’s handling of 501(c)(3) filings of the tea party and ignores the trampling of the rights of people working for a better environment.