UNITED STATES:

Eco-Terrorism In The United States...

Earlier this year, a group calling itself the "Animal Liberation Front" boasted that they burned down a warehouse in Wisconsin -- even though they hadn't. The explosive devices that had been planted in the warehouse had malfunctioned and the attack on the refrigerated warehouse containing gourmet dog food failed. Acting alone or side by side, the ALF and its sister group -- the "Earth Liberation Front" -- have claimed credit for a string of costly arson attacks and other acts of sabotage across the country.

In their statements to the press, the so-called "eco-terrorists" say they're on a crusade to protect animals and the environment. They also say their intentions are non-violent. During the past three years, damage from acts of eco-vandalism has amounted to millions of dollars. Since December 1997, the two groups have taken responsibility for at least ten arson attacks, including a $12 million fire that destroyed a ski lodge in Vail, Colorado.

No lives have been lost, but some fear it's only a matter of time. Gary Perlstein, co-author of "Perspectives on Terrorism," a book about radical American fringe groups, said: "Until fairly recently, they have been more of a nuisance than a real problem. Somebody is going to die, even if it is accidentally. When they find that their present activities don't work, they'll have to get more aggressive."

ERRI's Clark Staten agrees, and frequently reminds police, military, and intelligence personnel in counter-terrorism lectures that fringe animal rights and ecology-related extremists may be on the "cusp of engaging in more violent acts." "At least some indicators would suggest that a limited number of activists may be getting frustrated with what they view as their seeming inability to get their message across to the general public," Staten said. "While most Americans are generally supportive of ecology and against cruelty to animals, they will view increasingly violent acts in support of these causes for what they really are...terrorist acts," Staten concluded.

Though their histories are murky, ELF and ALF trace their origins to the late 1970s with the founding of Earth First!, a group energized by Utah anarchist Edward Abbey's novel "The Monkey Wrench Gang." Serious environmental terrorism started to mount in the 1980s as conservationists fought to prevent loggers from cutting ancient trees and new concerns were sparked about endangered animals.

By the late 1980s, an increasing number of animal-rights activists had joined radical environmentalists in bids to save both wilderness and animals. Some believe there is a link between eco-terrorists and Eugene-based anarchists who were blamed for some of the violence during the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle last year.

ALF and ELF have no official headquarters or Web site. The only faces attached to the two groups are self-proclaimed "spokesmen" who alert the media each time the groups strike. Both spokesmen say they are merely sympathetic mouthpieces for the two groups, passing on anonymous communiqués after the groups strike.

Perlstein speculates that the ELF and ALF are a single, loosely knit network whose members don't all know each other. That way, they can't inform on the others if caught. He said: "It's a classic shell network that's been used in guerrilla warfare. Unless the FBI can arrest someone with information, they're going to have difficulty catching them." 

Click here for a 1999 related article by Tim Rhodes, M.Sc., entitled, "AMERICAN ECO-TERRORISM:  ANOTHER THREAT? OR IS IT A PROMISE?"

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