October 10, 2004 Garrett County, Maryland: A group called “The Institute for Public Safety” sent a mass mailing of postcards to landowners in the county, suggesting that 40 percent of bear hunters are alcoholics, drug addicts or mentally unstable. The chairman of the group admitted they made up the statistic, and that they planned to mail more cards to landowners of the other county in the hunt area. Several animal rights groups have sued to stop Maryland’s bear hunt.
October 10, 2004 Philadelphia, PA: A major highway connecting the city to its western suburbs was shut down for several hours during rush hour as police and FBI bomb squads dealt with a metal box, with the letters ELF painted on the front, that was attached to an electricity transmission tower.
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October 8, 2004 Yoxall, Staffordshire, England: Police suspect animal rights activists for desecrating and removing most of the remains from the grave of an 82 year old woman, whose family breeds guinea pigs for medical research. The Hall family, who run the breeding farm, local villagers, and others with connections to them have been under attack by animal rights activists for five years. They have been suffered hate mail, malicious phone calls, hoax bombs, a pedophile smear campaign and arson attacks. Local businesses have been forced to stop dealing with the family, cars and homes have been vandalized, and villagers terrorized by night visits from activists. Police are investigating, and state that at least two people were involved in the desecration. The Animal Liberation Front praised it. While denying responsibility, a spokesman said: "This is direct action on an inanimate being. Nobody has been harmed. If this stunt does not get that farm closed, maybe the next one will."
October 3, 2004 Grand Rapids, MI: The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus train was vandalized by animal rights activists. Parking booths and a glass door were damaged, and graffiti painted on the train. Police, working with the FBI, are withholding the name of the animal rights group which is taking credit for the vandalism.
October 3, 2004 Melbourne, Australia: Activists from Animal Liberation Victoria crashed the RSPCA’s formal ball, and threw red paint over RSPCA’s national president, Hugh Wirth while shouting “The RSPCA has blood on its hands.”. One protestor got up on stage and spoke against the RSPCA’s business with Pace Farms, Australia’s largest egg producer. He was removed by security guards, and the other protestors were escorted out. Dr. Wirth will be pressing assault charges.
September 20, 2004 Penrith, Hale, Altrincham, UK: Residents in these areas have received bogus letters, some purporting to come from “a concerned mother” stating that a named individual was a pedophile, and “assaulted her daughter.” In Hale and Altrincham about 180 letters have been mailed over three weeks. In Penrith, the person named has also had extensive damage to his car. The letters are part of a campaign by animal rights activists targeting employees of companies linked to biomedical research.