Direct Action: 12 countries

BROKEN WINDOWS AT FUR RETAILER (Sweden)

anonymous report:

"Fur selling store spray painted and windows smashed

Lund, Sweden - Scandinavian Sportsmen is a local clothing store selling a lot of fur. Lately the store has been spray painted on a number of occasions and on New Years Eve activists smashed five large windows on the building, and added some more paint. Hopefully the director, Maud Westerberg, will eventually be convinced that trying to make profit from other individuals suffering is really not a good idea!

An action like this is very easy to perform and don't forget that the best way of supporting the ALF in the struggle against the oppression of other species is being the ALF.

/ALF"

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100 HENS LIBERATED (UK)

received anonymously:

"just as jan 2010 began 100 hens were liberated from a battery unit in
the uk. happy new year to all prisoners."

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MEAT, DAIRY TRUCKS VANDALIZED (Italy)

reported anonymously on finoallafine.info (translation):

"Broken glass, tires punctured and messages written on the body of a truck used for transporting meat and a van used to transport milk and cheese in Rome.
Vegan Hooligans"

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ROADHOUSE GRILL DAMAGED BY FIRE (Italy)

reported anonymously on finoallafine.info (translation):

"Fire to Cremonini Group! With this motto the first day of the year we set fire to the electric cabin and the kitchen of the Roadhouse Grill restaurant in Reggio Emilia. This is dedicated to Nicu, Robbi, Andrea and the Brigata Garibaldi Antifascista.
8 litres of gasoline and 5 camping gas canisters were used. Up the revolt! ELF"

*Cremoni Group is the biggest meat producer in Italy and maybe in Europe. Roadhouse Grill is their steakhouse chain. Nicu, Robbi and Andrea are antifascists arrested during a demo against a nazi meeting in Bologna last month.

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CAR FIRE AT HOME OF FORTRESS VICE PRESIDENT (Germany

translation of anonymous communique (photo: derwesten.de):

"WHEN: 5-1-2010, Night time!

WHERE: Karim Bohn
Jungbornweg 6
45219 Essen (Kettwig)

In the night of 5 on 6 January the M.F.A.H. has operated by placing incendiary devices at the car of Karim Bohn, Vice President at Fortress Investment. Fortress Investment lends money to the filthy business of Huntingdon Life Sciences, they are the main investor!

The M.F.A.H. hopes Fortress Investment gets the point, when our family on earth, the animals, are getting threatened and murdered by evil human beings wearing white lab coats, that there will be caring human beings waging a militant war against those evil people and companies responsible, including any company supporting these evil businesses.

Bad luck to you Karim that the fire brigade couldn't get through because of a too small street and too many cars ha! What do you think that will happen when we would set fire to your house once you and Jörg Dietrich Beyer are off to work, no fire brigade for you we guess!

When words are not enough direct action will be taken against you Fortress Investment. Drop HLS now or one of you will be next...

And remember, we know you've been filthy liars. Andrew Baker can tell you what he wants, in the end he is the same like all the other corporate scum, it's about making money, on the back of innocent lives. There's nothing that can stop us from making this your worst nightmare in the whole Fortress Investment Group History.

Withdraw the loans given to HLS and stop any business with them, and your company's future will look a lot more positive.

M.F.A.H. Deutschland 2010"

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FUR SHOPS PAINTED (Croatia)

anonymous report:

"January 01, 2010. - Croatia, Zagreb

In the center of the main town, three fur shops were spray painted with slogans 'FUR IS MURDER' & 'MURDERERS'. The shops were also spray painted with a big 'X' - marking the fur in the window.

This is the first time ever that fur shops in Croatia were spray painted with slogans."

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PAVING STONES THROWN THROUGH WINDOWS AT FUR SHOP (France)

received anonymously:

"News from the Front line in Paris (France)

During the night of Saturday 2 january 2009 and Sunday the 3rd, our dear friends Cuir et Fourrure du Front de Seine (Fur & Leather shop) in the 15th arrondissement of PARIS were visited by the Animal Liberation Front.

Mad by their heavy advertisment campaign on French radios, the Front line had chosen action: Black indelible painting, tags everywhere on the show windows, locks glued, pavings thrown on the windows.

A bargain for the locksmith, the glass cutter and the cleaning team called on a Sunday!

Our fight is right and needed, so please do the same where animals rights aren’t respected.

ALF France, www.directaction.info"

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HUNTING CENTER TRASHED (Italy)

reported anonymously on finoallafine.info (rough translation):

"Taking advantage of the fireworks we celebrated New Year's with an attack on the quail hunting center in Veducchio (MI), already devastated last summer. The property is now protected by burglar alarms, cameras and grills on the glass. We broke the windows and lamps outside, we launched onto the grills 2 bottles filled with red paint that splattered throughout the room. With best wishes for a horrible year to all hunter murderers."

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LOCKS GLUED AT FUR SHOP, FOIE GRAS RESTAURANT (Canada)

anonymous report:

"On Christmas night haunted by the screams of animals killed for fur all locks to Pat Flesher Furs, in Ottawa, were superglued and the building spray painted.

We also stopped at Canvas Restaurant whose owner is always in the media blabbing about the pleasures of Foie Gras all the doors were superglued.

ALF"

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ATTACK ON MEAT TRUCK AND PSYCHIATRIC CLINIC IN SANTIAGO (Chile)

anonymous communique (translation):

"On the night of Tuesday the 29th, we had been planning to attack the evil tranquility of some exploiters. That's why we left that night with what was needed to do it, rather than just sitting still with only the intention to do something.

The first thing we did was to go to the house of a murdering butcher (forgive the redundancy) where in the yard he kept a truck for transporting corpses, and we directed our rage at it. The lights in the house were off when we decided to act, spraying a very corrosive acid (which corrodes metal and plastic, among other things) on the windshield, part of the engine and two wheels; at the same time red paint was thrown on the large advertisement on the side, which advocated consumption of animals, leaving the truck completely ruined. The entry of the house was also stained with paint.

With the same anger we moved to a psychiatric clinic, which stood out because of some large windows which despite being reinforced, were smashed with stones, where it would remain until discovered by the executioners in white suits a few hours later.

Both attacks were aimed at the property of exploiters, agents/defenders of the domination and alienation, of some beings by/over others.

Authoritarian practices are found everywhere; you decide to be complacent or to attack them, making life an example through action.

These actions are a fraternal gesture for all our comrades in prison who are on hunger strike from December 20 to January 1, because the unwavering attitude of each of you fills us with pride and encourages us to undertake the offensive.

A greeting full of strength for all the wild and insurgent ones who have been (and will continue) acting in the territory named Mexico. Comrades continue attacking because in the war against domination we encourage and motivate one another with each action.

As we have already mentioned, each attack is in fighting memory of Mauricio Morales, comrade we continue to strike blows against the enemy.

Dear Diego, your absence from the cages fills us with happiness. Your fierceness and conviction give us the strength in this battle to the death. Continue forward comrade, each day that passes is a strike against power.

Banda Salvaje e Insurrecta en Guerra Contra la Dominación [Wild and Insurgent Band at War Against Domination]"

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ALF VS. ABATTOIR (France)

anonymous report;
click here for additional photos from the action:  http://www.directaction4.info/France_abbatoir_Nov09/index.html

"ALF VS PIGS SLAUGHTER near Paris (France)

In the end of November 2009, the ALF visited the pigs slaughterhouse 'Guy Harang' in Houdan, near Paris.
In this slaughterhouse, the animals arrive alive in transport trucks and leave dead and cutted in fridged-trucks.
During our reconnaissance visits to the slaughterhouse (there we heard neighbouring hunters), we saw and heard animals near dying and we answered to our mission:
Even if the weather was difficult, several fridge-trucks from the parking were burned.

Nothing can stop the ALF!"

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INCENDIARY DEVICES PLANTED AT MEAT COMPANY (France)

received anonymously:

"An incendiary device was placed in a building and 3 trucks, which belong to a butcher's company.
Meat = Murder
ALF"

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20 HENS RESCUED (DELAYED REPORT) (Italy)

reported by activists in Italy:

"September 2009- Parma
In a moonless night activists rescued 20 hens from a battery farm.
The action has been claimed by the ALF and dedicated to eco-prisoners Sergio Maria Stefani and Alessandro Settepani."

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OPEN RESCUE OF MOTHER SHEEP AND HER TWO LAMBS (Spain)

Open rescue reported by Igualdad Animal;
click here for a photo gallery from the action:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/igualdadanimal/sets/72157622437140403/show/
click here for video:  http://www.directaction.info/news_dec29_09.htm

"Various activists from the Animal Equality Open Rescue Team have entered a farm in Catalonia which exploits sheep and lambs for meat, milk and wool, to rescue three animals from their state of exploitation and pending death sentences.

After having inspected the farm several days beforehand – that same morning we witnessed a lorry taking away scores of sheep to the slaughterhouse – and already having set up a suitable place for the animals to be rescued, we risked our freedom that night to help other animals, believing as we do that justice and solidarity with others does not depend upon species.

We decided to rescue a mother that we found penned-in together with her two newborn lambs, with their umbilical cords still attached. Taking advantage of the fact that they were separated from the others, it was easy to pick up the mother and carry her towards a waiting van that we had parked alongside. Although she was initially anxious – perhaps worried that we would hurt her or her children – once in our arms, she remained still and let us move her without any problems. Her lambs, carried in the arms of Sonia and Ivan, were reunited with her moments later. A few hours later they arrived at their secure home where they will now be safe from harm. We removed the ear tag from the mother that had marked her as human property and we watched as she adapted to her new home.

It is no surprise to learn that the consumption of lamb's flesh, sheep's milk or sheep's hair (wool) has terrible consequences for the sheep and lambs that are denied their freedom, mutilated, separated from their families and often forced to live in deplorable conditions, before finally having their throats cut in the slaughterhouse. That's why Animal Equality urges you to reject the consumption of animal products and go vegan, including using clothes made without the fur, skin or hair of other animals.
If you think going vegan is too difficult – don't hesitate to ask us for advice on taking the first step – let's take a look at what it means for the sheep and lambs if you don't. We'll start with the mother:

Nana, the mother sheep we rescued, would have had to suffer, as a “breeding ewe”, the terrible experience of being separated from her offspring over and over again. The successive pregnancies that she was subjected to would have always been followed by the almost immediate separation from her lambs - those children that she loved and tried to protect since birth.

Although we don't often think about it, humans are not the only animals that suffer when they are forcibly separated from their offspring. Sheep are social animals who form strong emotional bonds with each other, and their lives, and the relationships that they establish, are as important to them as ours are to us. In addition to the suffering and anguish she had to go through from these separations, she was mutilated – without anaesthetic – when her tail was cut off along with several vertebrae at the same time, and with the goal of easy identification her ear was also cut lengthways with a blade as can be seen in the photographs.

Her offspring would not have been any more fortunate. The female lamb may have gone on to experience the chamber of horrors set up by humans for “breeding ewes” as a means to obtain more victims. Her brother, once he reached 22 kilos, would be separated from his family and packed into a lorry to be sent on a journey of some hours to a regional slaughterhouse. Once there, and surrounded by other frightened lambs bleating for their mothers in search of her protection – as has been witnessed and recorded by Animal Equality – he would receive kicks and blows to force him to move forward with the others towards his executioner. All this time he would be able to see how one by one the rest of his group were led away. He would be able to see them struggling for their lives and hear them bleating while they were shackled and hoisted upside down, and see and smell the powerful odour of blood as it began to cover everything.

The slaughterhouse worker, tired after hours of killing, would not bother to stun him and would hang him by one of his legs with a chain to hoist him upside down, until robotically, he would be stuck in the throat with a knife and left to bleed to death over several minutes.

Fortunately, neither Nana nor her two offspring, will have to go through any of this. Now they are living in a safe refuge being cared for by responsible people who will ensure they have a full, happy life.

Nana is a mother in every sense of the word. She spends her life concerned for her two lambs (a boy and a girl), watching their movements and calling to them when they wander too far. They cannot contain their excitement to explore the world they have so recently entered. They are at the moment in which their desire to feel protected at their mother's side is starting to be overcome by the curiosity they have for everything around them that grabs their attention. If we mimic their bleating – something we especially love to do – despite having such a different appearance to them, they can't avoid coming closer, intrigued by the call, but always under the watchful eye of their mother, who has already started to trust us.

Now that the most intense moments for everyone have passed, we are satisfied to see them at peace, far from the horrors that awaited them– and that their mother already had to face. Unfortunately, many more ewes, rams and lambs will not have this opportunity. If we consider that, according to the Ministry of the Environment, and Rural and Marine Affairs, in Spain alone more than 13 million sheep and lambs are killed every year - without counting those that die before reaching the slaughterhouse – it might seem that rescuing two lambs and one sheep is something symbolic that at the end of the day will not change anything. Even though there are reasons we cannot ignore the tragic reality, at Animal Equality we believe that we ought not to forget that each animal is an individual, a someone. For these animals, the change in their fate caused by being rescued from a centre of exploitation in which they were prisoners, is total. For her or him, we are dealing with, quite literally, the difference between life and death.

Websites: AnimalEquality.net / OpenRescue.net"

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FIVE HENS LIBERATED (Mexico)

received anonymously (translation):

"On December 27 the frente de liberación animal liberated five hens in a small village southeast of Mexico City. This time in the darkness we entered the property of a person who maintains a small poultry farm; the chickens were taken from anthropocentric hands and given freedom where they can now run and flit around in the earth. The frente de liberación animal has shown that direct action is a tool when there is no value given to the fact that an animal wants and longs for freedom as much as we do, to be somewhere away from civilization, away from domination, away from all anthropocentric practices.
We will not remain, with arms folded, watching as time consumes our yearning for freedom. Civilization is about to collapse, life and freedom no longer belong to the industrial system.

Total abolition of the prisons, and the cages!
For a free and wild life! ALF-southwest
Action dedicated to the earth liberation prisoners in Mexico
Abraham and Fermin."

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HENS LIBERATED FROM BATTERY CAGE (Israel)

reported by activists in Israel:

"last week 6 hens were liberated from a battery cage in a village next to Jerusalem.
they were released into their first taste of freedom, in a safe place where they can get the love and space they need."

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INCENDIARY ATTACK ON MEAT MARKET (Chile)

reported on Liberación Total (translation):

"On the night of December 25 an incendiary device was placed in a meat market belonging to the murderous Friosa company in Santiago.

The device consisted of a can with gasoline, attached to sponges, activated by a simple chemical timer, and which was hidden in the roof of the extermination camp, because this way the fire would spread better.

The fire was lit and it destroyed part of the roof of that filthy cemetery, where beings are sold as mere objects of consumption.

We set fire to this place because in it we recognize a clear symptom of the power relations that exist in society and to put an end to the support of a system based on annihilation and exploitation, as are the prisons, the schools, the companies, the barracks, etc ...

This attack is in support of our comrades in the midst of a hunger strike, not as sacrifice but as a gesture of love and agitation, showing that prison has not annihilated them and that the war is fought both inside and out.

To the memory of all our comrades who have fallen in this war, as is the case of our beloved comrade Soledad Rosas, who made the decision to end her life while under arrest. As our beloved comrade Mauricio Morales, who died when the bomb he carried with him accidentally detonated.
In this war, declared centuries ago, no comrade is alone or forgotten!

To Diego Rios, your escape, which we have made ours, is a continuous action for the destruction of all prisons and cages. Your words are strength and energy for all who attack power and that is why with these flames we accompany you in flight."

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HUNTER'S CARS ATTACKED (Italy)

anonymous report:

"In the night of 24th december ALF attacked and damaged the cars of five hunters parked under their houses in Pomezia, near Rome (Italy). This is our christmas present for you, murderers"

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BIRDS RESCUED FROM HUNTERS (Italy)

reported anonymously on finoallafine.info (translation):

"On December 16 the imprisonment of 3 thrushes ended, thanks to our intervention. The birds were confined in cages suspended on trees near a hunting lodge in Renate (MI). Using a ladder we removed the cages that we then destroyed with great pleasure. We have liberated the birds in a park away from the hunter murderers."

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Related articles

Global
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/12/443980.html (27th)
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/12/443787.html (19th)
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/12/443546.html (15th)
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/12/443042.html (8th)
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/12/442713.html (3rd)

UK: Bookies Windows Destroyed, Claimed for ALF and ELF
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/12/443654.html (17th)

More information
 http://www.animalliberationfront.com