LOS ANGELES, California, USA – Animal Liberation Front members identifying themselves as disaffected Los Angeles Department of Animal Services (LADAS) volunteers attacked two vehicles belonging to LADAS Volunteer Coordinator Heidi Hubner on May 24, according to a May 30 North American Animal Liberation Press Office (NAALPO) press release.

 

            “As LAAS [short-form abbreviation for LADAS] volunteers we have been treated with almost as much contempt by Hubner as the companion animals who are killed there,” the communiqué reads (as quoted in the press release), in an apparent reference to the euthanizing of animals that cannot be placed in private homes, a common practice at animal shelters, though some animal services agencies in the United States have adopted “no-kill” policies. “We thought it would be more productive to volunteer with the ALF then [sic] to continue the farce of being volunteers for a department that is so fucked up.”

 

            According to the press release, Francis Battista of the organization Best Friends hired Hubner three years ago.   Hubner succeeded Aram Salmasi as Volunteer Coordinator.   The release further claims that she had no previous experience supervising volunteers and that she had held a position at a failed non-profit pet company.   The release further claims, without naming sources, that some LADAS volunteers have accused Hubner of lacking skill and organization and that volunteers have been terminated for engaging in any public criticism of LADAS, particularly of the alleged mistreatment of animals in its shelters.   The release further accuses Hubner of having failed to put into place volunteer dog walking programs that would have ensured adequate exercise for the dogs in the shelters and of failing to explore certain options for off-site mobile pet adoptions.   The press states that the ALF members “sabotaged” the two vehicles, but gives no specific information as to the nature of the damage.

 

            “Hubner has no business serving as volunteer coordinator; without experience or creativity, she condemns thousands of animals to death by her failure to implement progressive adoption and fostering programs,” an unnamed spokesperson for the Animal Defense League-LA (ADL-LA) is quoted as saying in the NAALPO press release. “There are so many dedicated volunteers standing by to help these animals, waiting only for knowledge guidance and management to save lives.”

 

            An attempt to reach personnel in LADAS’s media relations office for comment was unsuccessful.

 

            Neither the press release nor the communiqué is available online any longer because the NAALPO’s Website, http://www.animalpressoffice.org/ is down.   Repeated attempts to access the Website on June 28 were met with the message, “This account has been suspended. Either the domain has been overused, or the reseller ran out of resources.”   An overview of the ADL-LA’s campaign against LADAS is available as a PDF download at http://stopthekilling.net/.

 

            The ALF, a leaderless, underground organization with cells operating throughout the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom, seizes animals in order to prevent their slaughter and/or exploitation, damages the property of individuals and companies directly or indirectly involved with the killing or exploitation (in the ALF’s view) of animals.   The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) classify the ALF as a domestic terrorist group; however, there is no known instance of an ALF member assaulting or killing anyone or attempting to do so.    The organization lacks a formal membership experience; anyone participating in an animal rescue, property attack, or other direct action and who self-identifies with the ALF is considered an ALF member.   Prior to the suspension of its domain account, the NAALPO issued press releases on its Website and published the communiqués of ALF cells and allied animal liberation activists. General information about the ALF may still be found at http://www.animalliberationfront.com/.

 

 

References:

 

North American Animal Liberation Press Office press release. “Animal Volunteers Change Strategy: Former Rescuers Target LADAS Volunteer Coordinator for Incompetence.” North American Animal Liberation Press Office Website. World Wide Web. Internet. http://www.animalliberationpressoffice.org/press_releases/. May 30, 2007.    (This link is no available; the domain has been suspended as of June 28, 2007.   I retrieved a copy of this press release from my e-mail on June 28, 2007. I had received it via the NAALPO’s media e-mail list on May 30, 2007.)

 

Animal Defense League. WWW.StoptheKilling.Net.    PDF download. StoptheKilling.Net. World Wide Web. Internet.   http://stopthekilling.net.   (This is the most specific URL available. To access this page and download the PDF file, go to http://stopthekilling.net.   On the index page, click on “Overview” on the left.)