Tag: Europe

Iceland Plans to Resume Whaling; Voting Rights Revoked

At the International Whaling Commission meeting in London, Iceland’s voting rights were revoked after that country refused to recognize the 15-year old moratorium on commercial whaling. Before the meeting began, Iceland’s whaling commissioner had said that Iceland would resume commercial whaling of minke and fin whales within that country’s coastal waters.

Iceland’s parliament voted to resume whaling as soon as possible in 1999, and a resumption of whaling has wide support on the island nation of 250,000.

Iceland maintains that the IWC lacks the authority to revoke its voting privileges. This could be an extremely important development since many observers believe that Japan and Norway have finally garnered enough support to overturn the moratorium in commercial whaling. Any decision to overturn the moratorium would require approval by 75 percent of IWC members.

Norway objected to the moratorium and is not bound by it — it kills about 500 minke whales every year.

The moratorium on hunting minke and gray whales is almost certainly going to collapse very soon as both species’ populations have recovered to the point where it is becoming increasingly difficult for the IWC to justify the moratorium on scientific grounds.

Sources:

Iceland set to resume whaling. Richard Middleton, Associated Press, July 21, 2001.

Angry split at whaling meeting. The BBC, July 23, 2001.

German Animal Rights Leader on Trial for Fraud

At the beginning of April the former head of a German animal rights foundation, the German and European Animal Relief Organization, was arrested and charged with embezzling more than $45 million in donations which they allegedly laundered through a series of dummy corporations. The alleged fraud took place from 1994-1999.

Wolfgang Ullrich, 57, fled to Thailand when authorities were on his trail, and was extradited back to Germany in February of this year. He had been imprisoned in Thailand for refusing to pay a $1.8 million fine for illegally importing a yacht into that country.

Source:

Former animal rights foundation head goes on trial for alleged fraud. Associated Press, April 2, 2001.

Belgian Animal Rights Terrorist Convicted

The Frontline Information Service reported that in March two animal rights activists in Belgium were recently found guilty of attempted arson. The two activists apparently tried to firebomb a vehicle owned by a judge who was involved in an animal rights case. Geert Waegemans received four years and jail, and the other activist (who FIS doesn’t name) received a five year sentence.

According to FIS, the two activists are also awaiting sentencing in a series of arsons at McDonald’s and two meat companies as well.

Source:

Two Belgian Activists Found Guilty. Frontline Information Services, Press Release, March 23, 2001.

Animal Rights Initiatives in the 2000 Election

There were about a dozen different animal rights-related initiatives on state ballots around the country last week. Here’s a rundown of some of the more high profile ones:

  • Arizona: A measure that would have required a 2/3 supermajority vote for any initiative relating to wildlife protection failed overwhelmingly (62% opposed the measure).

  • Massachusetts: A measure to ban dog racing and betting on dog racing barely failed 51% to 49%. In this race animal activists circulated heart wrenching pictures of mistreated greyhounds. The tactic backfired when it was revealed that the dogs weren’t from Massachusetts or even the United States, but rather from Italy of all places.

  • Montana: Barely passed a ban on canned hunts, 52% to 48%.

  • Oregon: A measure to ban steel-jawed leghold traps as well as sodium cyanide was voted down 61% to 39%.

  • Virginia: Voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment establishing a “right to hunt, fish, and harvest game.”

  • Washington state: an initiative to ban steel-jawed leghold traps and sodium cyanide passed 54% to 46%.

ALF Activist Receives Two Year Prison Sentence

In September I wrote about the capture of Animal Liberation Front activist Justin Samuel. Samuel was arrested in Belgium after fleeing the United States to avoid federal charges related to the release of animals from fur farms. Upon his return to the United States, Samuel plead guilty to two misdemeanors.

Last week Samuel became the first person sentenced under the federal animal enterprise terrorism law and received a two year sentence in federal prison for his role in the animal releases. He was also ordered to pay more than $360,000 to business he had harmed. The sentence was the maximum allowable for misdemeanor charges under the statute.

In sentencing Samuel, federal magistrate Stephen Crocker told Samuel that, “You have the right to voice an opinion, but you’re not being prosecuted or sentenced for voicing an opinion but for engaging in an act of terrorism.”

Peter D. Young, who allegedly accompanied Samuel on his fur farm raids, also fled after being indicted and remains at large. The duo released about 36,000 mink from Wisconsin farms during October 1997, but were found in the area with a list of mink farms compiled by the ALF as well as equipment designed to carry out raids against fur farms.

Samuel was allowed to plea bargain to misdemeanor charges after agreeing to “make a full, complete, truthful statement regarding his involvement in violations of federal criminal statutes charged in the original Indictment, as well as the involvement of all other individuals known to him regarding the crimes charged in that Indictment. And the defendant agrees to testify fully and truthfully at any trials or hearings.”

Samuel’s decision to cooperate with authorities hasn’t exactly endeared him to the ALF crowed, but here’s hoping his testimony ensure that he’ll soon be joined in prison by other animal rights terrorists.

Source:

Animal rights activist gets two years in prison. The Associated Press, November 3, 2000.

Activist sentenced for letting minks go. Kevin Murphy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 4, 2000.

Five Alleged ALF Terrorists Arrested in Denmark

On September 28, Denmark authorities arrested four men and one woman and charged them with at least 80 counts of ALF-related terrorism.

The five men and women were apparently under police surveillance and were followed to an area near a large farm. After arriving there the five donned gear apparently aimed to allow them to sneak onto the farm and raid it, including radio headsets, shoe coverings, and small lights mounted on their heads.

At that point police stepped in and took the small group into custody. ALF supporters seem particularly upset that, in a delicious irony, the activists were charged with animal cruelty among other things.

Source:

Five arrested in Denmark. Frontline Information Service press release, October 3, 2000.