NCJ Number
196924
Journal
Crime & Justice International Volume: 18 Issue: 64 Dated: July/August 2002 Pages: 13-15,33
Date Published
July 2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article informs the reader about the tactics and motivations of animal rights terrorist groups and offers ways in which businesses can protect themselves from attacks by these groups.
Abstract
The author begins the article by explaining that attacks by animal rights terrorist groups are on the rise in the United States. He then launches into a discussion regarding who these terrorists are and what their motivations and objectives entail. Most of the people belonging to animal rights terrorist groups, he reports, are middle-class people who otherwise live normal lives. They generally do not have prior criminal records and most enjoy normal family lives and jobs. For this reason, apprehending and prosecuting members of these terrorist groups is difficult because they are hard to profile and capture. Another reason why they are difficult to prosecute is because the public generally sympathizes with their cause: the protection of animals. Further, these groups do not usually target individuals but rather companies who use animals in some way or another. The article also discusses the violent tactics that these animal rights terrorist groups engage in to further their mission. In one example, the author explains that some members of the Greenpeace organization became dissatisfied with the tactics used by this group. These members decided to splinter off into a new organization called The Sea Shepard Conservation Society. This group uses much more violent tactics than Greenpeace and is responsible for the sinking of eight whaling ships and a drift netter, among other acts. In conclusion, the author suggests that businesses that may become the target of such terrorist acts cooperate with local law enforcement to protect themselves. He suggests that there are certain actions they can take to arm themselves against attack, such as hiring private security guards and increasing outside lighting. 4 References