AASV Supports Anti-terrorism Legislation

May 23, 2006 — 

The AASV has joined over 80 other organizations in support of two anti-terrorism bills designed to provide additional legal protection for domestic animal enterprises.

The two congressional bills, S1926 and HR4239 sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe (R, OK) and Rep. Tom Petri (R, WI) respectively, known as the "Animal Enterprise Terrorism Acts" seek to strengthen protections for animal enterprises including agriculture from acts of terrorism. Domestic terrorist groups such as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) have begun resorting to tactics including property damage, threats of bodily harm and death threats directed at individuals associated with a variety of animal enterprises including laboratories, research institutions and agricultural interests. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) classifies animal rights and eco-terrorist organizations as the number one domestic terror threat in the US today. They estimate over 1,200 animal extremist incidents in the past 15 years have cost the economy $200 million.

These bills provide law enforcement much-needed additional authority and penalties to address this growing threat. They extend the legal protections to persons or entities associated with or doing business with an animal enterprise and provide for penalties ranging from fines to life imprisonment.

If you are interested in expressing your views on this or other legislation, you can email your congressional representatives using the Congress.org website. Simply enter your zip code, select the representative(s) you would like to email, compose your message and hit send.