THE testimony of a leading animal liberationist to a US senate committee has added momentum to a bill intended to crack down on violent animal rights activists.
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act would make it a federal offence for someone to damage the property of people or firms that have connections with an animal lab or animal-related business. At present, only targeting a lab itself is a federal matter. The act would also penalise anyone making veiled threats of violence.
At a senate committee hearing on the bill on 27 October, Jerry Vlasak of the North American Animal Liberation Front defended a statement he made last year when he said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you鈥檇 have to kill 鈥� assassinate 鈥� too many vivisectors before you would see a marked decrease in the amount of vivisection going on.鈥� At the hearing he said, 鈥淚 made that statement. I stand by that statement鈥�.
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Committee chairman James Imhofe, the bill鈥檚 sponsor, said that Vlasak鈥檚 鈥渃hilling testimony, embracing assassination鈥�, emphasises the need for his law.