Feature Archives

5/26/2005: Nine local activists have been subpoenaed in the last week to appear before a federal grand jury convened in SF. Federal agents have been increasingly targeting animal rights activists in the Bay Area recently. They arrested 7-year fugitive Peter Young in San Jose, have followed and detained others, raided two homes, and posted a new bulletin for a "wanted" suspect.

In recent decades, the federal government has increasingly used the grand jury to intimidate and harass activists pushing for social justice. Pressure on the animal rights, environmental justice, anti-war and anarchist movements has been escalating. At a recent hearing before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, John E. Lewis, Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division of the FBI, testified that, "Investigating and preventing animal rights extremism and eco-terrorism is one of the FBI's highest domestic terrorism priorities."

An Emergency Grand Jury Teach-in was held on Tuesday May 31st at 7pm at 3030-B 16th Street near Mission in San Francisco. Speakers included Mark Vermeulen from the National Lawyers Guild, Claude Marks from Freedom Archives, former grand jury resister Anita Carswell, and local activists with grand jury experience. Enemy Combatant Radio provided a live stream of the audio.

Links for more information about grand juries: ECR archived audio of teach-in | Faultlines Article | Things you should know about grand juries | Who to contact if you are detained or contacted by the FBI about the Peter Young case | Just Cause Law Collective's Grand Juries Page | No Compromise's grand jury articles: 1 | 2 | More about the teach-in | More info on harassment of animal rights activists

Peter Young was arrested on March 21st in San Jose, CA. He has been "WANTED" since 1998 after being indicted on charges of violating the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act by releasing mink from five Midwestern fur farms. The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act makes humane acts like liberating animals from horrible conditions and even attempting to gain access to areas where animals are held an act of terrorism. Prosecutors say Young and accomplice Justin Samuel set out to cripple the fur industry in 1997, freeing more than 7,000 mink from their cages at five farms in Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Bob Anderson, an assistant U.S. attorney, said Young committed "an act of terrorism" by trying to impose his will on others by using violence. He said the crime spree cost farmers $569,000 in lost livestock and other damages. Anderson said the prosecution will send a "message to persons either considering these actions or perpetrating these actions that this is not a legitimate form of free expression." Read More

Previous Indybay Coverage | Peter Young Support Website

Various activists gathered at San Francisco’s Korean Trade Expo to urge attendees to join the campaign by Animal Freedom Korea and In Defense of Animals to get the South Korean Government to withdraw a back-door effort to legalize dog meat. Attendees were shocked to learn that the Korean Ministry of the Office for Government Policy Coordination announced in March plans to “hygienically control” dog meat. As Animal Freedom Korea have indicated, “Whether or not the Office officially legalizes it, by managing and inspecting dog meat, the Government is essentially permitting it.” Hygienically controlling dog meat is nothing more than a euphemism for legalizing it. If this proposal succeeds, millions of dogs will continue to suffer, but now with the Government's watchful approval. Cats don’t fare any better: ­viewed as pest animals, they are boiled alive so their “juices” can be extracted for health tonics purported by butchers to alleviate symptoms of rheumatism. According to In Defense of Animals, dog slaughter involves, "...two million South Korean dogs are electrocuted, strangled, or bludgeoned to death each year. Then they're boiled, skinned, browned by a torch, chopped up and eaten". Also according to IDA, "Thirty percent are stolen from families that love them. Most are homeless dogs, captured by butchers and sold in open markets".

Report & Photos from Korean Trade Expo: 1 | 2
Further Info on Korean & U.S. Anti-Dog Meat Efforts: 1 | 2
IDA's What You Can Do

This week, East Bay Animal Advocates (EBAA) unveiled the findings of their investigation into the California dairy industry, the largest in the nation. Their graphic documentation reveals systematic animal neglect at dairy farms across the state. EBAA documented conditions at farm operations in five of California's top producing dairy counties (Merced, San Joaquin, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Tulare). In California, dairy concentrated animal feeding operations commonly confine several thousand cows on limited acreage. Cows are denied adequate protection from severe weather conditions. The pasture-less dry lot system increases the incidence of infection, disease and injury among the cow population. According to California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District, California dairies pose a serious threat to humans living in surrounding rural communities. In 2004, the California Pollution Control Financing Authority allocated $70 million in state bond funds to expand large dairy operations, which produce significant amounts of pollution from cow manure. These findings seem to counter the "Happy Cows" marketing campaign, which each year the California Milk Advisory Board spends $37 million to promote.

Last week, the state Supreme Court denied review of an appeal by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) — which had sued the Milk Board for for false advertising and unfair business practices — leaving stand a previous ruling which declared that government agencies are immune from lawsuits over the truthfulness of their ads.

Reports: EBAA's Inside Dairy Production · KPFA | PETA vs CA Milk Producers

Federal agents have been targeting Animal Rights activists in the Bay Area — arresting one, following and detaining others, raiding two homes, and posting a new bulletin for a "wanted" suspect. Peter Young was arrested on March 21st in San Jose. Federal officials have accused him of freeing some 8,000 mink from fur farms in Wisconsin, South Dakota and Iowa. He had been sought since 1998 after being indicted, along with Justin Samuel, on charges of violating the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. He now faces up to 82 years in prison. Justin Samuel was caught by authorities in 1999. After agreeing to implicate Peter Young in a plea agreement, Samuel eventually served two years in prison and is now free and living in San Diego. Despite repeated efforts to reintegrate himself into the animal rights movement, activists have shunned Samuel as untrustworthy and a snitch.

At 6am, Sunday April 10th, members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, FBI, ATF, Secret Service, Coast Guard, and local police raided activist homes with guns drawn. Since the arrest of Peter Young in Santa Clara County, there have been increasing levels of activity by the Feds in the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz. The scope of the warrants issued suggests that their primary emphasis is on targeting people who are doing support work for Peter. All materials related to his support campaign found at the homes were seized, and people who have visited Peter in jail, or attended court dates have been followed.

Meanwhile, the FBI is still looking for Daniel Andreas San Diego, their prime suspect in the 2003 bombings of two East Bay companies targeted by Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC). Last week, an updated bulletin seeking his arrest was posted and distributed widely across the mainstream media regarding new information the FBI has apparently gathered regarding distinctive tattoos. The source of the information is unknown at this time.

SupportPeter.com · Related Reports: 1 | 2
Reports on San Diego and East Bay Bombings: 1 | 2 | 3
Reports on SHAC Arrests Last Year and More: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Almost two months ago, Kentucky Fried Chicken was one of the most protested chain stores targeted by animal rights activists (previous reports: 1 | 2 ). In response to the building public pressure, KFC entered into negotiations with PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and protests were suspended for a period of six weeks. PETA spokespeople now claim that negotiations with KFC have broken down, and they "still aren't planning to take the recommendations of their own advisors to eliminate the worst abuses of the chickens raised and killed for their restaurants". PETA is now calling for a "Month of Action Against KFC" and is offering free materials for groups that organize local demonstrations. KFC has come under fire because of their policies in regards to slaughtering, housing, and gathering the 800,000 chickens it processed every year. Read More

Summary of Peta/KFC Meeting
PETA's Ongoing Kentucky Fried Cruelty Campaign
Check Indybay's Animal Liberation Calendar for Local Events

To protest and draw media attention to UCSF's dog vivisection program, a Dog March was held Sunday, April 10th at the university's Mission Bay Campus in San Francisco. A large turnout of eighty-four activists plus fifty-two dogs protested the experiments that will make use of 750 dogs. "It's great to see so many people and dogs here to draw attention to this cruel and unnecessary invasive animal research," said demonstrator Nora Kramer, who attended the march with her 15-year-old Black Lab mix Spanky. "The dogs used in these experiments deserve as much compassion and protection from cruelty as the companion dogs we live with." The research, which involves placing pacemakers in otherwise healthy dogs, resulting in heart failure for some of them and the eventual euthanasia of all of them, has been denounced by animal rights activists as not only cruel but also scientifically invalid and unnecessary. Some argue that better scientific results can be achieved using humane human-based research methods. “Better information is available from clinical and epidemiological observations, surgical and procedural results, autopsies and human studies involving cardiac imaging and electro physiological tests,” said cardiologist Dr. John J. Pippin of the PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine).

Reports & Photos: 1 | 2 · Previous UCSF Protest Coverage
Details of dog experiments and others at UCSF
In Defense of Animals' Vivisection Information website