PETA Deserves Close FBI Scrutiny, Says Consumer Group

Search Blogs that Mention this News Release
Click this link to view linked Bookmarking Services
Click this link to view linked Blogging Services
PETA Deserves Close FBI Scrutiny, Says Consumer Group
 Animal Rights Organization Has a History of Funding and Supporting Domestic-
                                Terror Groups

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- FBI investigations into the activities
of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which were recently
publicized by the American Civil Liberties Union, are entirely justified and
serve to protect the public from animal-rights violence, the nonprofit Center
for Consumer Freedom said today. PETA's history of offering both financial and
rhetorical support to FBI-designated "domestic terror" threat groups --
including the violent Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front
(ELF) -- has made it a logical and important subject for in-depth scrutiny by
federal law enforcement.
    "Given PETA's deplorable behavior and outright support of terrorist
violence, it would be scandalous if the FBI were not aggressively
investigating the group," said Center for Consumer Freedom Director of
Research David Martosko. "PETA has chosen time and time again to make common
cause with the most violent elements of the animal rights movement. It's
outrageous that PETA is now playing the victim and complaining about the
consequences of its actions."

    PETA has provided the FBI with numerous reasons to open a formal
investigation, including:

    *  PETA's 2001 federal income tax return disclosed a $1,500 contribution
       to the "North American Earth Liberation Front" (ELF) -- an
       environmental terrorist group responsible for tens of millions of
       dollars in arson damage. Last week the FBI announced six major arrests
       of ELF arson suspects. PETA's $1,500 check to the ELF is the only such
       donation to be publicly acknowledged by any American individual or
       group.

    *  PETA's other tax filings have revealed a $2,000 cash payment to then-
       ALF spokesman David Wilson, and a $5,000 gift to current federal Animal
       Enterprise Terrorism defendant Joshua Harper.

    *  During the 1990s, PETA paid over $70,000 for the unsuccessful legal
       defense of ALF arsonist Rodney Coronado after he set a fire that
       destroyed a Michigan State University research facility. In a
       sentencing memorandum to the court, the prosecuting U.S. Attorney wrote
       that PETA president Ingrid Newkirk "arranged days before the MSU arson
       occurred" for Coronado to send her stolen documents from the crime
       scene and a videotape of the arson being committed.

    *  In 1999 No Compromise (a self-described "militant, direct action
       magazine" for supporters of the ALF) published a list of its financial
       benefactors. That list included PETA president Ingrid Newkirk, two
       other PETA officers, and PETA itself.

    *  At a 2001 national animal-rights convention, PETA campaign director
       Bruce Friedrich told a large audience of activists that "blowing stuff
       up and smashing windows [is] a great way to bring about animal
       liberation," before adding: "It would be great if all the fast-food
       outlets, slaughterhouses, these laboratories and the banks who fund
       them exploded tomorrow  ...  Hallelujah to the people who are willing
       to do it."

    *  Since 2002 PETA has paid an activist named Gary Yourofsky to promote
       animal rights to U.S. middle-school and high-school children. Yourofsky
       is a felon who was convicted of committing a Canadian farm burglary for
       which a claim of responsibility was issued in the name of the ALF.
       Yourofsky told The Toledo Blade in 2002 that he would "unequivocally
       support" the death of medical researchers in an ALF arson fire. PETA
       first hired Yourofsky after he gave this interview.

    "PETA has a long history of supporting and encouraging unlawful activity -
- including violence -- in the name of animal rights," added Martosko. "PETA
has been lying down with dogs for 25 years, so it's no surprise that it's
waking up with fleas. It's outrageous that PETA's leaders are holding the FBI
responsible. They have nobody to blame but themselves."

     The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by
restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote
personal responsibility and protect consumer choices.
SOURCE Center for Consumer Freedom
http://www.consumerfreedom.com
CONTACT:
Andrew Porter of Center for Consumer Freedom,
+1-202-463-7112