The Press Office Mail Bag
What Our Critics and Supporters Write, and How We Reply

July 12 , 2006 Regarding the ALF attack on UCLA Vivisector Lynn Fairbanks

From: Nostalgia (MySpace)
Maybe, just maybe, Lynn Fairbanks will stop and think, 'I'm torturing sentient beings...' Just maybe.
Thank you ALF for giving her a wake-up call.

From: Bleu (MySpace)
Thank you for all you are doing. They only know the world we create for them. And the world we rescue them from. Many blessings to you.

From: MB (Kentuckey)
I get emails from ya'll updating me on your work.  Your work re: Ms. Fairbanks was ingenious. People like her deserve a special place in Hell-not only to go there, but to be the fuel that keeps the "big furnace" going. Peace:

From: RB (Oklahoma)
I Thank God for ALF. Also, thank you for sharing the good news about the Fairbanks activity.

From: AD
GOOD STORY ABOUT LYNN FAIRBANKS!!!!!!KEEP ME POSTED.-THANKS Thank

From: J the Pirate (MySpace)
how could someone be so cruel to animals if humans do so its by choice let our filthy race kill its self off. If actions need to be taken for people to get the message then so be it!

From: XB (MySpace)
aww man, i wish it would have blown her ass apart!!!!!

From: L (MySpace)
fucking awesome.
im going to act like a mother and say, "Im so proud of you!" keep it up! you have lots of support.

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January 14, 2006
From: FS
I am so happy this organization exists. I love how you guys take action and don't just sit around and talk about it. I am only fifteen so I can't do much. I still go to demos and leafleting, I wish I could do more, if there is anyway I can help just email me. I would love to be a part of ALF. Well i was just saying thank you for all your hard work, and for trying to make this world a better place for animals.

The Press Office Replies: (We get a version of this letter almost every day)
Historically, those wishing to participate in direct action have gotten together with others they could trust of like mind and just started doing actions. ALF cells operate independently, and typically are begun locally by like-minded individuals who get together and decide to take action against animal abusers.

To begin learning about direct action, start here and follow the links where they may take you. Only you can decide what action to take, when to get started, and how much longer the animals must wait for liberation.

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/ALFPrime.htm

Alternatively, one might consider joining the campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences ( www.shac.net )

If you would like to support our work here at the non-profit Press Office, you can send a donation to NAALPO, 21044 Sherman Way #211, Canoga Park, CA 91303, US.

Please be careful out there. We'll add you to our e-mailing list.

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December 1, 2005
From: Cheryl

Who will stand up for the helpless and voiceless creatures who are used and abused by man's warped concept of "caretaking"?  Thank you, ALF, because I KNOW that you will. There is NO distinction between compassion for humans and compassion for other creatures.  Anyone who would draw such a line has no compassion for either...as is clearly evidenced by some of the venomous letters written by ALF's detractors.

As Coleridge said so perfectly:
“He prayeth well, who loveth well Both man and bird and beast. He prayeth best, who loveth best All things, both great and small; For the Dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all.”

I fully support ALF and want your organization to know that there are many of us "out there" who stand with you 100%.  I wish your organization continued success in all your endeavors, both legal and illegal.  Yours is truly the good fight.

Cheryl, Massachusetts

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August 28, 2005
From: R P

I fully support the Animal Liberation Front in all that they do for animals. Every animal freed is a victory. Please sign me up for periodic e-mailed Press Releases from the Animal Liberation Front Press Office. Their victories show that we can do something to change the world.

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August 10, 2005
From: H. Singh

Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is H Singh and I am a British Sikh.

I used to think that animal rights extremists were idiotic hippies, but then I realised that I would not like it if some cold, heartless, doctor plunged some sharp chemical-covered needle in my eye socket or heart, just to see what it does to me.

So now I fully support the Animal Liberation Front and other animal rights groups, particularly the ones who use violence and intimidation. That stuff works.

Could you please do something about the treatment of bears in Pakistan. Street performers use bears to entertain people. I think the Pakistani government may have banned it, but I have heard it is still going on. The street performers pierce a big iron ring through their noses to control them. The bears must be in indescribable pain. Pakistani Muslims do not even treat innocent human beings with love and care (remember Daniel Pearl), so think how they must treat animals.

Let us hope the bears gather the courage to rip the street performers apart with their big sharp paws.
Keep in touch.

Your friend, H Singh.

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July 22, 2005
From: gerran grimshaw

sirs,
you people are truly pathetic. why don't you grow up, get proper jobs and stop whining about a few fucking rats and monkeys? proper, decent, people are more concerned about the human lives saved through animal experimentation. personally, i think we'd be better off rounding up you reprobates and using your worthless carcasses to conduct experiments upon on. finally, you do realise that a bunch of misfits and fuckwits such as yourselves can NEVER stop animal experimentation through violence. you will fail. and you will rot in jail while failing. so, grow up and start behaving like the responsible adults you proport to be. best wishes,
gerran grimshaw

The Press Office replies:
Thanks for asking, but Press Officers here all have well-paying day jobs that allow us to devote our free time as volunteers to helping the animals who cannot defend themselves against the ravages of brutal, mindless humans. In typical fashion, you recommend forcefully using others against their will to experiment endlessly on for your scientific curiosity, taking no heed to their inalienable rights as sentient beings. Meanwhile, your species continues to get sick and die from your diet of animal flesh, so high in saturated fat and cholesterol., and so unnatural a diet for human beings.

Animal experimentation is an antiquated, ineffective method for curing human disease that has no place in 21st century medicine. Idiotic experimenters are wasting hundreds of millions of scarce healthcare dollars that could be directed to beneficial study.

Lastly, despite at least 1400 major acts of animal liberation since the 1970's, barely a handful of animal liberationists have ever been caught, much less incarcerated for any length of time. The struggle for animal liberation and the war against animal abusers goes on, gaining in strength every time an abuser is attacked.

Best wishes to you, too, Gerran. (Not.)

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July 17, 2005
From: Greg

Lab animals in danger. Just kidding.  I don't have any animals in cages and am against  gratuitous violence against them.  But I can hardly contain my rage  at you and your group.  By what right are you doing this?  You should  be ashamed when millions of humans are dying of disease, hunger,  etc.  Save human lives by any means available, I say. The saddest thing is to see your people wearing masks -- how  pathetic, playing terrorist.  Little stupid spoiled children. I hope at your next rally you are pushed down a flight of stars by a  Mc Donald's worker, causing you to suffer painful but superficial  injuries. Earnestly, Greg

The Press Office replies:
Who isn't against gratuitous violence? We certainly are; the gratuitous violence that allows arrogant humans to kill millions of innocent animals every day of the week. But what does this violence have to do with humans dying of hunger and disease? A meat-based diet causes most diseases in this country, and accounts for more human suffering than anything else, in addition to the needless suffering of non-human animals.

Animal liberationists wear masks because they are breaking the law, and don't want to go to jail where they can no longer help animals. You know, breaking the laws like those that allowed slavery, discrimination based on race, sex and age, laws like those that Hitler followed in his perfectly legal rise to power and attempted extermination of entire cultures. Some laws need to be broken, and those that promulgate animal exploitation and suffering are no exception.

We'll be extra careful on the stairs; thank youfor your letter.

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July 11, 2005
From: Kathryn

I strongly support EVERYTHING the ALF does . . . . Please add my email address to your mailing list.

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June 11, 2005
From: G P C, Surrey, UK

Dear Sirs:
I have read about the action in Iowa City for which ALF has claimed responsibility. I am a supporter of animal rights and have been a supporter of ALF but I do not condone violent action and terrorist like threats. Clean up your act or I and others like me will withdraw our support and shift our support to those organisations that can act more in keeping with civilised standards. Regards,

The Press Office replies:
Whilst you state you do not condone violence, by your inaction you continue to allow massive violence to proceed against non-human animals in completely useless laboratories such as the one in Iowa City. Hundreds of animals are tortured and killed in places like this, solely to satisfy some human's curiosity, or to improve their academic standing and procure money for their institution.

Liberation movements all over the world, including struggles against human slavery, Apartheid, and occupations by imperialists throughout the centuries have employed the use of force and violence in self-defense. The struggle for animal liberation is no different, and it is high time that "extensional self-defense" is used to protect the animals who cannot protect themselves.

If by civilised standards you mean the continuing torture of animals in laboratories, essentially unchanged after more than a century of peaceful protest, then we can only beg you to open your eyes to the incalculable misery that continues around you, as you congratulate yourself on your pacifism. If those being imprisoned and murdered were your children, or even the children of your friends, we suspect you might have a different opinion. In this, you would reveal your speciesm, not unlike the racism, sexism, and ageisms of those before you.

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June 11, 2005
From: F B

I read an article today in the Chicago Tribune that discussed the break in that happened in the University of Iowa. The people that broke into the lab were masked and destroyed thousands of dollars worth of equipment for absolutely no reason.

If you wanted to save the animals, I could've understood that. But the methods that your people used to get your voice heard were acts of terrorism. It made me sick to find out that some stupid animal right's group would go so far as to destroy perfectly good equipment all so that they could release some worthless rodents, which most likely died after being released because they had nothing to eat and no where to go.

I think that you should stop trying to fight for a cause that is totally useless. New medicines have to
be tested somehow, and when it comes down to it, they either have to be tested on humans or animals. So which would you choose? Would you rather have harmful chemicals test on humans?

The Press Office replies:
The only property destroyed was that used to oppress and torture sentient beings, and is morally comparable to the destruction of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. The animals were not dumped into the wild, but were homed with those that would allow them to live out their lives free of suffering.

The vast majority of new medicines tested on animals are withdrawn from the market or have to be relabeled due to unpredicted side effects not evident in animals. Vioxx is a recent drug in a long line of those that had unpredictable and fatal results not predicted by animal testing. No matter how many animals of differing species a drug is tested on, it is always is tested next in humans, so its not either/or. There are indeed much more effective toxicity tests for drugs that do not involve the use of rodents or any other animal.

Alternatively, many drugs shown to be ineffective or toxic in animals have been shown safe and effective in humans. Animal testing is an antiquated, ineffective method for toxicity testing that has no place in 21st century medicine. As a clinician myself, I can promise you no animal testing is helping any of my patients, and likely never will.

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June 4, 2005
From: C M

(RE: Peonyland in PA)
I am particularly curious about the destruction of plant life--I would think that might go against ALF and/or ELF philosophies--unless the peonies are considered to be an artificial commodity or something. I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts, because no one else can really answer my question.

The Press Office replies:
No animal liberationists that we know about has qualms about harming "plant life", because plants do not suffer pain, and have no logical expectation to freedom and the ability to live their lives as they wish. Without the means for mobility (fight or flight), with no analogous nervous system utilizing the neurotransmitters common to most animals, no cerebral cortex capable of higher thought or pain perception, it defies reason to think plants suffer from being deprived of their existence.

That should answer your question, unless you're trying to justify animal abuse by decrying the suffering of plants. Imprisoning hundreds or thousands of intelligent, non-human primates ripped from their homes in the jungle, and then torturing them to death over years in a laboratory for the purposes of scientific curiosity and personal promotion, would certainly be considered in a different light than uprooting some peonies.

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May 18, 2005
From: Dr. J C

Dr. Best,
Dr. Vlasik (sic) forgets.... the violence he "suggests"  to other ALF members is a double edged sword. It can, and does, strike both ways. For example, As a three year combat veteran of vietnam, I would have no trouble taking out someone who threatened me, my family, or my work with animals.  For me, humans are simply another form of animal, and when they turn rabid, as the radical ALF members do, then I deal with them in the same way I deal with rabid dogs on my place in NM. 

Point of fact, I had two ALF nuts attempt to "infiltrate my place" to "free" my animals..... both found that my property is protected by two Glock 9mm automatic pistols.... both got a taste of western justice and hospitality.  They can never return. ALF members should be careful..... if you buzz around like a mosquito, sooner or later you are going to get swatted.

My best regards to you at UTEP, Dr. J C DVM, PhD

The Press Office replies:
[This writer implies he shot, or shot at, ALF activists, even implying that he may have killed them. In our opinion, this is rhetoric typical of a frightened animal abuser, and is doubtful to have ever occurred. If anyone can offer proof or more information as to his claims, we would like to know about it.]

It would seem the use of violence remains the exclusive domain of the animal abusers. They murder animals by the billions, have killed a number of animal rights activists, and then have the nerve to state that animal liberationists have no right to use force in self-defense. There seems to be a certain cohesiveness lacking in their ideology.