ANIMAL RIGHTS TERRORISTS

Scrupulously documented home invasion lawsuit begins with Animal Control-Humane Society armed break in, assault and arrest of disabled veteran, seizure and death of pets.

Animal Enterprise Terrorism

~ by Karen Snider ~

Warrantless property and home invasion is on the increase. The FBI calls it Animal Enterprise Terrorism. It is well named.

If I told you armed men with guns forced their way into our home, handcuffed my husband and assaulted me, you might think I had been watching too many TV crime dramas. This is exactly what happened to us in Arlington, Texas July 1994. We were not a drug bust. We were not murderers. We were ordinary human beings who bred, showed and sold Himalayan cats. We had not been cruel, negligent, or otherwise abusive to our animals. We had raised and exhibited the cats for over fifteen years. We were not aware we were breaking any laws. Nor did we know we had been targeted for a raid.

It began following a Halloween cat show in Ft. Worth in October 1993. We suddenly became the object of a harassment campaign when an anonymous female caller began calling Arlington Animal Control and the Ft. Worth Animal Control offices. The complaint was always the same, that I had "sick and dying cats and kittens living in deplorable conditions" and they needed to "do something about it".

We had no idea who the mystery caller was. Hardly a week went by without impolite officials banging on our door or leaving notices. We finally allowed two inspections and no citations were issued.

Finally, unable to find anything wrong for months, with no warning or notice, animal control personnel and armed guards forced their way into our home early one morning. I was awakened by loud voices and car doors slamming. Half asleep, I looked out of our bedroom window in disbelief.

I saw my husband, a disabled WWII veteran, being handcuffed. He was placed in a patrol car with the windows up in July. He was held there in the heat for hours without his morning insulin.  His "crime"?  He had denied them immediate access to our home. From his law enforcement background, he knew they had no probable cause. He had fought to defend the Bill of Rights so he knew them. For this he was treated like a criminal.

WHY THE FBI CALLS IT ANIMAL ENTERPRISE TERRORISM

The shock was overwhelming! News media were all over the property, police pounding on the door.  Shaking with fear I began to pray for my husband's safety as well as my own. I gained the courage to open the front door and was given a folded paper, a seizure warrant signed by a Justice of the Peace. I was told, "You have 5 minutes to get dressed or we are coming in anyway."

You can not imagine the sheer terror!  These were my own people. They were supposed to be protecting me as a law-abiding citizen. Instead they were storming my home and invading it like enemy troops. Within minutes there were people everywhere. They were going through our dressers, cabinets, files, and closets. They ransacked our entire home. One man even looked in our refrigerator.

I asked the humane society photographer what he was doing going through a vet supply cabinet in our laundry room. Without warning, he threw me against the dryer. It caught me completely off guard. My left ribs took the full impact. I began to cry, trying to get my breath. I was denied access to my own phone. "Give us the names of other breeders in the area," I was told. "Why should you have to go through this alone."

Alone we would be. No one at our church would speak to us after we were slandered by the media as "being cruel to animals". Other breeders would shun us as if we had a contagious disease.

For almost a year following the raid, the anonymous female caller continued her campaign of complaints. One of our grown children was even targeted. We were displayed on the internet as having "prescription medications in a rusty urine encrusted metal bucket, most of them years out of date" and it was said our home was "filled with stalactites and stalagmites of crystallized urine dripping down walls".

CARE OF THE ANIMALS BY THEIR 'RESCUERS'

The Humane Society tested all cats and kittens for feline leukemia and the feline AIDS virus. They were trying to establish diseased animals. The entire cattery was negative.

Following their seizure by the humane society, all our cats and kittens were placed in one locked room with wall to wall small cages. There was inadequate ventilation and no air conditioning, in July, in North Texas. As the door opened, we could actually feel a gush of hot air coming out of the room into the hallway where we stood. The Himalayan is a longhaired breed. They were accustomed to central air and a spacious four bedroom home, not 90-degree temperatures with no ventilation.

Their reaction was to stop eating and go into severe stress. One by one our high risk and elderly cats turned critical. A volunteer gave me a weekly report. Over half of the cages were without water or food, their cages were overrun with roaches every time she checked.  Special medical diets needs were ignored. What we observed was agonizing.

We studied other cases.  ....Near Slidell, Tx. -kennel owners were held at gunpoint while animal activists helped themselves to dogs and animal related items. As the owners watched in disbelief, food and water dishes were emptied and bags of garbage were spilled so pictures would show "deplorable conditions and negligence".

....In Cleburne, Tx.-a farm was raided and animals resold for profit. Witnesses observed raid participants helping themselves to horse related items from the barns and home which were broken into with no search warrant. The widowed victim was not at home during the raid in which they also seized her deaf son's service dog.

....Near Ft. Worth, TX-a kennel and cattery owner was handcuffed while terrorists raided her premises with no warrant. Following the raid ALL pregnant dogs and cats were killed, the reminder were sold.

....Near Dallas, Tx.-an attorney who is also a rancher filed his case in Federal court. The SPCA was involved with this cattle raid.

.... Ann Arbor, Mich.-an entire cattery of Cornish Rex cats was killed following a seizure raid. When the judge inquired why, the Humane Society official admitted they had never seen this breed and thought they were diseased because they looked different.

FACTUAL INFORMATION FROM OUR FEDERAL AFFIDAVIT

After the raid we discovered that Jody Garrison, a cat show judge for The Cat Fanciers Association (CFA), had contacted Animal Control and the Humane Society and enlisted their help to have us eliminated. We never met Jody Garrison before the raid nor had she ever been in our house.

Among cat breeders what happened to us was termed a "CFA witch hunt". In a statement our attorney obtained, Jody Garrison listed her activities with animal rights activists. She was there, on our front lawn helping the terrorists to catalog our cats and kittens. It was not out of concern for the cats or she would not have allowed the care they received after the raid.

In June 1995, we sold our home at a loss and moved to a rural area. We were tired of being targets for the animal rights extremists.   Following the raid, my husband's diabetes went completely out of control. Months later, he was hospitalized with congestive heart failure that he did not have prior to the raid.

The stress had an awful affect on both of us. On August 25, 1998, my husband of 30 years died of congestive heart failure..

HUMANS HAVE NO RIGHTS AGAINST ANIMAL RIGHTS TERRORISM

Yes, animal activists believe that humans should have no more rights than animals. Listen to what they are saying because it concerns you and our American way of life.

"Life of an ant and that of my child should be granted equal consideration."...Michael W. Fox, Director of the Humane Society of the U.S.  He also is on record with this (Feb 1990) "We are not superior. There are no clear distinctions between us and animals."

"...there is no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights- a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. They are all animals." - Ingrid Newkirk, PETA co-founder and National Director. Vogue, Sept. 1989

"In war you have to take up arms and people will get killed, and I can support that kind of action by petrol bombing and by bombs under cars, and, probably at a later state, shooting of vivisectors on their doorsteps.... It's a war and there is no other way you can stop vivisectors." - Tim Daly, ALF (Animal Liberation Front)

ANIMAL CONTROL ACTIVISTS TAKE OVER HUMANE SOCIETIES, SPCAs, CITY SHELTERS

Animal activist groups are organizing all over the USA demanding "equal rights" for animals. This is the brave new world according to the animal rights activists.  It is the world they are in the process of legislating into existence. They have been telling us for years exactly what their goals are, but we were not listening. Remember Hitler's "Mein Kampf".

The following was written published in an animal activist magazine. It clearly spells out the agenda. They are trying to change the world to what they want it to be. Can't happen, you say? Too far out, you say? Let me tell you, it is happening. Now. It has been happening little by little for years.  They hit biomedical researchers with so many restrictive laws and so much terrorism; destroying animals, research and facilities, that continuing their research will cost billions more than it should. Fur farmers and trappers' livelihoods are being threatened. McDonald's restaurants have been the objects of terrorist threats because they dare sell hamburgers and chicken. The outdoorsmen have been fighting for years to keep their right to hunt and fish.

"The twelve steps of the animal rights activists" are:

1. Abolish by law all research using animals.

2. Outlaw the use of animals for cosmetic and product testing, in classrooms and in weapons development.

3. Encourage vegetarianism, making vegetarian meals available at all public institutions and schools, as livestock production is environmental degradation.

4. Eliminate all animal agriculture: livestock grazing of U.S. Public lands should be prohibited.

5. No herbicides, pesticides and other toxic should be used; outlaw predator control on public lands and reintroduce native predators to restore the balance of nature.

6. Transfer enforcement of animal welfare legislation away from the Department of Agriculture to protect the animals and their environment.

7. Eliminate commercial trappings and fur ranching and end the use of furs.

8. Prohibit hunting, trapping and fishing while reintroducing natural predators. Protect native animals and plants from economic development.

9. End the international trade in wildlife goods and prevent destruction of rainforests by government control.

10. Stop a further breeding of companion animals; spaying and neutering to be subsidized by the state and municipal governments. Abolish commerce in animals for the pet trade.

11. End the use of animals in entertainment and sports, horse and dog racing, dog and cock fighting, fox hunting, rodeos, circuses, etc.

12. Prohibit genetic manipulation of species.

From: "Politics of Animal Liberation " by Kim Bartlett, Animal Agenda 11/97

EFFECTIVENESS OF ANIMAL EXTREMISM TERRORISTS

1. In a report to Congress, the U.S. Department of Justice named more than 300 incidents of violence by animal rights extremists against research facilities costing $137 million.

2. "Activists pass out anti-McDonald leaflets on London streets" 500 McDonalds restaurants were targeted....The Dallas Morning News 6/22/97

3. "Southwest grazing permits in doubt after environmentalists win ruling; approximately 125,000 head of cattle were grazing Arizona forests and approximately 92,000 in New Mexico."... Dallas Morning News 8/2/97

4. "Idahoans leery of plan to place grizzles in state." 9/26/97 ; "Wolf reintroduction raises howls of concern in Arizona." 12/2/97...Dallas Morning News

5. "3 women arrested during animal-rights protest at Macy's Department Store." 5/20/96; Dallas Morning News

6. "PETA plans to disrupt fishing contest- Louisiana." 3/24/96 Dallas Morning News

7. "Vet disputes claims of dog abuse as animal activists raid breeder." 1/97 San Antonio Express News

8. Camden , N.J. passed the strongest spay/neuter law to date. Sterilization is mandatory unless a vet pronounces the animal unfit for surgery or if the owner gets a $500 annual city permit to keep an unaltered animal.

9. "Animal activists arrested at circus, Dallas." 8/3/97...Dallas Morning News

10. Greyhound racing has been banned in Washington State, the fourth state to take such action.

ANIMAL ENTERPRISE TERRORIST TECHNIQUES

"They come earlier and earlier" a cat breeder told me recently as she described the harassment techniques of the SPCA of Dallas. "They stand at my front door demanding immediate entrance to do an on the spot unplanned inspection of my cattery. I never know when they are coming."

Such harassment is becoming commonplace. It is part of their training.  For the past several years I have compared harassment campaigns and seizure raids all over the country. I have come to the conclusion that animal activists are being well trained in the following techniques.

A. HARASSMENT CAMPAIGN

These are conducted on unsuspecting breeders, ranchers, and farmers. In cities such as Arlington, Texas animal control personnel and volunteers are being trained to pose as prospective purchasers. With a limit of three animals per household, any breeder is illegal, even with one litter. Raids to confiscate purebreds for sale are not uncommon and breeders are being fined for being in violation of city ordinances. Newspaper columns advertising animals for sale are watched daily. The phone number tells them the location of the advertiser.

B. SEIZURE RAIDS

Some raids use a seizure warrant signed by a Justice of the Peace who has been told that there are abused animals. Often no warrant is used, as animal activists become increasingly brazen. The ideal raid takes place when the owners are not at home. They simply break in, search and ransack the home and property, then seize the animals. Often animal related items such as dog and cat carriers disappear from the premises. Raids are usually well planned and often more than one animal control facility will be involved. Often the owner has no idea they are even in trouble, we didn't. The director of the humane society even admitted under oath that they did not have a file on us prior to the raid.

C. CONTROL OF THE MEDIA - Sensationalism type media coverage will successfully:

1. Increase donations from the public who believe that "abused animals have been rescued".

2. Insure buyers for reselling the illegally seized animals for profit.

3. Increase traffic and awareness of animals that are available for adoption. If the person can’t get one of the purebreds there are nice mix breeds to be had.

4. Raise the awareness of their existence to the public and justifies their jobs.

5. Increases attention for a new shelter or extra employees.

6. Disable the victim. Biased media coverage will make it very difficult for the raid victim, who is in a state of shock, to handle the necessary contact for defense. Competent legal representation is difficult to find since there are few animal laws on the books. We contacted over 40 attorney offices following the illegal seizure of our cattery. Most refused to talk to us due to the negative sensationalism type media coverage. One attorney told me, "I won't take your case because my wife loves animals." Like I did not. The media and activists use terminology such as "kitten/puppy mill", "cruelty", "diseased animals", "animal abuse", and "deplorable conditions". The same rhetoric is used all over the country.

7. Smear to raid victim's reputation and business with negative, often untruthful media coverage.

Animal activists want all breeders, farmers, and ranchers displayed as cruel uncaring animal abusers and they are using the media to accomplish their goal.  Who would not want to save the animals?

1993 FBI REPORT ON ANIMAL RIGHTS EXTREMISM IN THE U.S.

 Following are excerpts from this report:

"Many advocates of animal rights oppose all ways in which animals are confined and utilized by humans, whether it be for food, clothing, servitude, or household pets. Animal rights extremists have become more willing to repeatedly and systematically victimize individuals and their personal property with varying degrees of harassment, intimidation and...the theft or release of animals. Peter Singer's Animal Liberation states..."that animals, like humans, possesses certain fundamental rights and, therefore should be treated as equals..." Animal rights extremists tend to target animal enterprises that are easy to infiltrate and access, are readily visible to news media, and can generate maximum public sympathy...and who are least prepared to defend themselves. Since 1988, 32 states have enacted laws aimed at protecting animal enterprises from animal rights inspired violence and destruction."

CONCLUSION

For those of you who believe that this is only happening to so call "kitten/puppy mills" I would urge you to wake up. No cat/kitten was found without access to food or water in our cattery. We only bred our queens once per year and kittens were never released under 3 months of age or without inoculations and written contracts.

Whoever thought that a cat show in Dallas would have to have police protection due to animal activist pickets? Cat clubs are being warned not to publish exhibitor lists with addresses. Doing so is an open invitation for harassment. Listing your factual address in a national advertising publication such as "Cats", "Cat Fancy", "Dog Fancy' or a farm magazine has become risky. At an ACFA cat show here in Texas, exhibitors were warned if they displayed business cards on their cages, it was at their own risk.

The raid on our cattery was mentioned all over Texas in newspapers and many TV channels. It was planned that way to promote donations and insure buyers for the resell of the cats. Not one report mentioned that the county judge stated that we were "cleared of any purposeful negligence or cruelty".   We were not fined nor are there any charges pending against us.

Our cats are gone. Our reputation is gone. I have been threatened for writing this.  A friend's cat was poisoned at a cat show after she wrote a letter on our behalf. A newspaper in San Antonio printed "Karen Snider and the man that she lives with". Their aim is to terrorize and push their agenda. The pattern is there. Steal the animals and smear the raid victim.

"Activists...are so convinced their cause is morally right that they justify any means to gain their ends including violence and smear campaigns."...Patrick H. Cleveland, PHD. Associate Adjunct, Professor of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Diego, Research Physiologist.

He is right except some also plan these home invasions and theft of valuable animals for ego and profit.

Reference and Related Information: [#1] Littleton CO Animal Control, they broke in and seized Setter bitch and her nursing puppies  ~  Rescue Raids: the crime of animal confiscation

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