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HSUS (Humane Society Of The U.S.) and PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals) are major forces behind the "Animal Rights" movement, vowing to end the breeding of all animals.  They have started with purebred dog and cat Hobby Breeders because we have no national representation, no Union, and no Federal / State tax status because we rarely have profit.  It should be noted, they are Tax Exempt organizations. This is the year we launch the VIP Project because your Votes Insure Pets!

Animal Enterprise Terrorism begins with an armed break in, arrest of a disabled veteran, assault on his wife, the raid, the suit and harassment, a first-person documentary and why the FBI calls it Animal Enterprise Terrorism.

Animal Rights Terrorism

Karen Snider © TheDogPlace - This report is about a type of terrorism on the increase throughout our country. The FBI calls it Animal Enterprise Terrorism. It is well named.

I. OUR STORY

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; I lived in another country; or I was insane. 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 were a nationally advertised Himalayan cattery. 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. I was told an anonymous female caller began calling Arlington offices and the Humane Society in Ft. Worth. The weekly complaint was always the same. I supposedly 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 female caller was. Hardly a week went by without several impolite demanding officials banging on our door or leaving notices. We finally allowed two inspections and no citations were issued. The City of Arlington had limits on dogs, but only a leash law in effect for cats at that time.

Months later, animal control personnel with armed guards forced their way into our home with guns. Had we been given a warning or citation on inspection this would have made some sense. We had permitted the inspections and cooperated.

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.

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.

The shock was overwhelming! News media personnel with cameras were all over the property. It sounded as though someone was breaking into our home. I was shaking with fear and 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 any way". You can not imagine the fear or the shear terror! I felt like a Jew living in Nazi Germany. 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 an enemy troop. No wonder the FBI calls this animal enterprise terrorism.

A few minutes later 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 my dryer. It caught me completely offguard. My left ribs took the full impact. I began to cry, as I could not 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 to her campaign of complaints. One of our grown children was even targeted. In June 1995, we sold our home at a loss and moved to a rural area. We were tired of being targets for the extremists.

After moving, we discovered we had been periodically displayed on the internet to thousands as having "prescription medications in a rusty urine encrusted metal bucket, most of them years out of date and our home was filled with stalactites and stalagmites of crystallized urine dripping down walls".

Due to the possibility of being targeted again and upon the advice of our attorney, we use a P.O. Box as an address. On our small farm, we maintain a small herd of pygmy goats in addition to Himalayans and four wonderful guard dogs.

Following the raid, my husband 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 number of years died of congestive heart failure.

II. FACTUAL INFORMATION FROM OUR FEDERAL AFFIDAVIT

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.

After the raid we discovered that Jody Garrison, a cat show judge for The Cat Fanciers Association (CFA), 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 on our front lawn helping the terrorists to catalog our cats and kittens thus she did participate in the raid. It was not out of concern for the cats or she would not allowed the care they received after the raid. Concerned animal lovers who called the humane society following the raid were told by the personnel to contact Jody Garrison and were given her phone number. The name Jody Garrison, CFA judge appeared on the TV the evening of the raid with a 30-second statement that "the Snider's cattery needed to be eliminated". At CFA cat shows nationwide, she has displayed pictures of our home and animals. She mailed them out at random bragging about what she had accomplished. Here in Texas, CFA and several of their personnel are being sued in federal court for their alleged participation in a similar raid near San Antonio.

III. CARE OF THE ANIMALS BY THEIR 'RESCUERS'

Following their seizure, all our cats and kittens were placed in one room with wall to wall small cages. The room was kept locked. 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 accustom 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 and most were losing weight. Special diets needs were ignored. What we observed was truly deplorable and shocking, but not unusual as 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 raid victim who was not at home at the time of the raid was smeared with extremist rhetoric. Several seized animals were service animals for the raid victim's son who is deaf. Dogs killed goats seized as the extremists failed to provide adequate protection and shelter for them.

....Near Allen, Tx.-SPCA personnel took control of cattle and feed. The owners' property and truck were searched when no warrant had been served. As usual, a smear campaign was started alleging animal cruelty. Cattle who were under the care of a vet were killed.

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

....Near San Antonio, Tx.- animal rights activists descended upon a kennel owner who told the media, "I just can't believe this is America."

....In Calif.- a goatherd was seized without warrant because the goats had become muddy following 5 days of rain; therefore they were abused.

.... 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. The raid victim, now a widow, has been banned from CFA because she was targeted by the animal rights movement.

....Near Austin, Tx.-owner came home to find them on property. No warrant and no probable cause. All dogs were taken. Cats and horses were left. Majority were toy dogs 2 pounds to 8 pounds. They were put in concrete runs and hosed down to clean the runs in 40-degree weather. It is not known how many died. No heat, no blankets, large water bowls, and large dry chuck dog food.

IV. ANIMAL EXTREMISM IS ON THE INCREASE AT AN ALARMING RATE

Our whole nation is being caught up in what can only be described as 'animal hysteria' caused by the animal rights movement. Breeders, farmers, and ranchers are being depicted as cruel uncaring animal abusers. Animal activists have taken over most humane societies; SPCAs and many city run shelters. Animal activist groups are organizing all over the USA demanding "equal rights" for animals. A well-known minister recently stated on national TV: " Animal activists are actually supporting a type of paganism sweeping our land- the worship of animals."

My husband and I uphold the Judeo/Christian belief found in Genesis 1:26, "And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over...all the earth..."

What do these extremists believe, you might ask? What is their agenda? Following is an article by the Animal Legislation Awareness Network titled, "The twelve steps of the animal rights activists agenda". Read it and study it. It concerns you. This is the brave new world according to the animal rights activist. It is the world they are in the process of legislating into existence. Thy have been telling us for years exactly what their goals are, but we are not listening. Remember Hitler's "Mein Kampf".

If you think this animal rights movement does not affect you personally, read on. The following should open your eyes. It was written by an animal activist and published in an animal activist magazine. It clearly spells out the exact 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 have been hitting 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. Now, the breeders of dogs and cats are being threatened.

"The twelve steps of the animal rights activist agenda" 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

V. HUMANS HAVE NO RIGHTS

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. 'Inhumane' Fox publication.

"We are not superior. There are no clear distinctions between us and animals."...Michael W. Fox, Director of the Humane Society of the U.S. Washington, Feb. 1990

"Animal liberationists do not separate out the human animal, so 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

"Even if animal tests produced a cure for AIDS we'd be against it."...Ingrid Newkirk of PETA

"Eating meat is primitive, barbaric, and arrogant."..."Six million people died in concentration camps but six billion broiler chickens will die this year in slaughter houses."...Ingrid Newkirk PETA Ingrid Newkirk of PETA

"Pet ownership is an absolutely abysmal situation brought about by human manipulation."...Ingrid Newkirk of PETA

"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)

VI. EFFECTIVENESS OF ANIMAL EXTREMISM

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 ; "N.W. ranchers fear hers will suffer while wolves thrive." 11/30/97 ; "Wolf reintroduction raises howls of concern in Arizona." 12/2/97...Dallas Morning News

5. "Vandals free minks on fur ranch-Oregon." 6/2/97; "3 women arrested during anima-rights protest-Macy's Department Store." 5/20/96; Dallas Morning News

6. "Hunting contest cancelled after protests, Tucson, AZ." 1/17/98 ; "PETA plans to disrupt fishing contest- Louisiana." 3/24/96; "Construction halted in endangered owl's habitat in Tucson." 12/2/97 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. has 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.

VII. 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. The code enforcement department soon gets into the act. Raids to confiscate purebreds for resale 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 approximate 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. They 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 an unsuspecting public who will be told 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.

The animal activists want all breeders, farmers, and ranchers displayed as cruel uncaring animal abusers. They are using the media to accomplish this. The public is actually being brainwashed. Who would not want to save the animals?

VIII. FBI REPORT

In 1993, the FBI submitted a report regarding animal rights extremism in the United States. 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."

IX. 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 being warned if they displayed business cards on their cages, they did so at their own risk.

The raid on our cattery was mentioned all over Texas in newspapers and many channels. It was planned that way to promote increased 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 the raid on our cattery was mentioned all over Texas in newspapers and many channels. It was planned that way to promote increased 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 against them . 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 terrorize and push their agenda. The pattern is there. Steal the animals and smear the raid victim. Whatever happened to honesty and ethical/moral values on which this county was founded?

"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.

http://www.thedogplace.org/PROJECTS/Federal/Animal-Enterprise-Terrorism_KSnider.asp

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