'It's just a matter of time before a life is taken,' said Blair Jones, press secretary for Rep.

During a congressional subcommittee hearing last year, lawmakers compared these criminals to Al Qaeda, whose members committed the Sept. When you take this kind of unilateral, anti-social, violent action, it only sets us backward.'Д¬ongress is considering legislation to make arson and vandalism committed in the name of saving the environment a federal offense. 'It's not something we secretly applaud,' Hamilton said.

Referring to recent fires and other 'dramatic and high-profile action,' the writer said, 'There is no question that actions against urban sprawl and SUVs in recent months have raised the level of discussion across America about issues that organizations like the Sierra Club have been trying to get people to talk about for years.'Д«ruce Hamilton, national conservation director of the Sierra Club, said that violence by what he called 'a very small fringe element of anarchists' is turning public opinion against the environmental movement. 'The ELF has absolutely no desire to harm any human or animal life-nor does it have a desire to `terrorize' the general public,' an e-mail response said. But when they cross the line in doing illegal activity, they are considered a terrorist group,' she added. 'That's fine if they like to do it in a legal fashion. 'They are acting on their ideology, and they actually believe this may bring about change. 'We're not going to rank terrorist activity by what's worst,' said Laura Bosley, a spokeswoman at the FBI's field office in Los Angeles. The addition of a political message regarding their actions against property or people constitutes eco-terrorism, according to the FBI. The extremists conduct surveillance of potential targets and employ incendiary devices with crude timers. The ELF modeled itself after the Animal Liberation Front. The group started in Brighton, England, in 1992 with more extremist members from another group, Earth First. The ELF Web site says that an individual or group can form a cell that doesn't communicate with any others. 'Here's my average economy,' North said, pushing a button on his steering wheel to call up digital information on his dashboard, '12.1 miles.' A security camera captured pictures of two suspects. Vandals scribbled 'ELF' and 'I (heart) pollution' on the vehicles. In the California attack last month, 20 H2 Hummers were destroyed and another 20 were damaged at a cost of $2.5 million. Once a curio and now one of the most conspicuous symbols of American consumption, the vehicle has been targeted because it represents 'the worst of American excess and the wastefulness of SUV culture-getting 12 miles to the gallon and basically designed as an urban tank,' the ELF press office said in an e-mail response to a reporter's questions. Such militants are now singling out the Hummer, the civilian version of the military Humvee. The FBI estimates that ELF and ALF are responsible for more than 600 criminal acts since 1996. Many of the freed animals were killed by dogs, died in the heat or were run over by cars.ДЄLF has also been linked to fires at meat and egg processing plants in California. Substance Cartels, and Other Para-State Entities Note: This archived directory of para-state entities is not current or complete.Last month, members of the Animal Liberation Front released 10,000 minks from their pens at a fur farm in Sultan, Wash. Liberation Movements, Terrorist Organizations, Para-States - Liberation Movements, Terrorist Organizations and Others FAS |

Animal liberation front terrorist