Animal Liberation Front

The Animal Liberation Front (ALF, German: Animal Liberation Front ) is an internationally acting, decentralized group of militant animal liberation movement, whose aim is to prevent animal testing and killing of animals. This will be done by means of attacks on facilities and other material goods (sabotage, vandalism, arson ) as well as animal liberation.

Formation

The organization was launched in 1976 by Ronnie Lee, a British animal rights activists, according to a prison term because of various attacks on animal testing laboratories and fur facilities.

Organization and Methods

The ALF is not an organized movement, there is no membership in the traditional sense, there's only independently -acting autonomous small groups that give the label ALF. Each group or individual who identifies with the objectives of the ALF, can be described as part of the ALF and perform actions on their behalf.

Among the methods, of which the ALF uses include the liberation of animals from experimental laboratories or farms, warning letters, phone care and home demonstrations, as well as the marking of buildings, vehicles, equipment, etc., with all forms of animal use in direct or indirectly related. Due to the sabotage and the resulting costs for operators to be economically harmed.

The publish on their websites claiming responsibility after many actions limited, especially in Germany, to vandalism, according to the ALF, not opportune facilities. These are mainly hunting equipment ( high chairs, etc.), butcher shops, slaughterhouses, fur traders, fur farms etc., the methods by wrapping the windows on the sawing of high seats and the use of butyric acid to arson attacks rich.

In the U.S., however, militant currents are quite observable. So there were members of the University of California at Los Angeles ( UCLA), who were involved in animal testing, threatened serious, which was enough to their private homes until it stops with Molotov cocktails. From the FBI ALF is seen as a terrorist group with special interests. Since ALF is no union, there is in many countries supporters clubs (such as the Animal Liberation Front Supporters Group ( ALF SG) or the animal liberation ). This release claiming responsibility, accept legal aid costs for activists, or supervise incarcerated offenders.

Guidelines

The organization operates according to four principles. Any vegetarians or vegans, who adheres to these guidelines may, be described as part of the ALF and perform actions on their behalf. The principles are:

Criticism

Criticism is directed against the partial methods used (eg arson attacks on cars of people who are in contact with their respective companies ) have the terrorist trains. Although the ALF repeatedly emphasized that an important part of their planning exists to exclude damage to humans and animals, there are in any fire, stop the risk that innocent bystanders may be injured, which has hitherto not yet occurred.

Especially due to the much more militant occurrence in the U.S., the ALF is there often viewed as a terrorist organization. In January 2005, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security led also possible attacks by members of the ALF in their annual report on terrorism.

In Wiener Neustadt animal rights sympathizers process of ALF were accused of forming a criminal organization under § 278a (Austrian " anti-mafia - paragraph" ). The court denied the ALF property as a criminal organization in this case. In the specific case involved a series of butyric acid attacks and vandalism against Austrian fur trade transactions in which, however, the actual perpetrator could not be determined. However, the prosecutor evaluated the objectives and the organizational structure as forming a criminal association.

More moderate parts of the animal rights movement criticize the fact that the actions of the ALF to put back, to deter people from animal rights political issues. Such an approach WOULD polarizing, thereby activists are removed from society's basic values. It would thereby walls rather ( creation of enemy images ) as degraded and prevents dialogue. On the part of the ALF is argued that animal rights organizations would in turn moved by less radical methods the center of society through radical action. Although the ALF considers itself to the left scene, they are in the left scene many times as nerds, where anti-humanism and crude KZ comparisons are accused.

The ideological orientation differs fundamentally from animal welfare thoughts, which is why many animal welfare organizations this regard as too radical and therefore dissociate from the ALF and their actions. While "traditional" animal welfare organizations to fight an inadequate or animal tormenting in her eyes attitude or use of animals, activists reject the ALF 's attitude and use of animals per se from as illegitimate. At the same time the classic animal welfare, among other things, with the goal of animal welfare and gently slaughter rejects the ALF categorically.

Peter Singer, one of the architects of the animal rights movement, calls for an accurate description and differentiated evaluation of ALF activities. In particular, should be a clear distinction between different forms of violence. Only on this basis, certain forms of violence could be categorically condemned.