Media release:

Animal rights activists smash 50 windows in Auckland

Thursday Feb 15th, 2001,

The meat trade is under attack in Auckland. Animal rights activists have smashed dozens of windows at butcher shops and other meat related businesses recently.

The Animal Liberation Front sent a message claiming responsibility for the damage to sympathetic animal rights groups on Thursday. Tens of thousands of dollars in damage has been inflicted on many businesses with the ALF claiming more than 50 seperate attacks in the last two months in Auckland alone.

A Wellington animal rights activist says he understands why the ALF are breaking the law. Mark Eden, from Wellington Animal Action says:

"Millions of animals are suffering in factory farms and millions more are killed in slaughterhouses and the meat industry profits from all this suffering. The Animal Liberation Front believes in economic sabotage. They are aiming to put animal abusers out of business by costing them as much money as possible".

"The meat industry is based on the murder of millions of innocent animals. We dont need to eat meat so this cruelty can and should be stopped".

"Animals are not protected by law at all. Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have signed petitions asking the government to ban factory farming and there has been no change, its no wonder some people feel that more direct action is necessary to save animals".

The Animal Liberation Front has also been active in other centres recently, damaging a slaughterhouse at Ruakura Animal Research lab this week in Hamilton, and smashing up a meat delivery van in Mt Maunganui last week.

The Animal Liberation Front is an international underground movement of people who choose to take direct action against animal abuse industries. These actions include liberating animals from places of abuse, and economic sabotage through property destruction. The ALF adhere to strict guidelines of conduct which state that no injury or death must come to any animal or human in the course of the action.

The ALF have been active in New Zealand since the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's, targeting mainly meat and related businesses.

Wellington Animal Action is independent and separate from the ALF, and is not a participant in illegal activities.

Further Comment: Wellington Animal Action Ph (04) 385-6728

partial list of ALF targets in Auckland:

C-dee's Chicken & European Meats
Hendersen Road
Both of these two shops had all their windows taken out at least twice in the past month.

Ready Roasts
Dominion Road
windows smashed three times in past two months

Ross's Meats
Mt Eden Road

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