While many animal rights activists and groups were cheering the bombs set off at Chiron Corp. in August, Friends of Animals did quickly issue a press release condemning both that bombing specifically and extremist actions in general.
Friends of Animals’ said,
On Saturday the 30th of August, an obscure group called the Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility for the two small explosive devices that went off early Thursday morning at the Chiron Corp. buildings in Emeryville, reportedly in protest against the firms’ relationship with animal research group Huntingdon Life Sciences. The blasts did not injure anyone, but a handful of Chiron employees were reportedly in the building.
“Vandalism, arson, explosives, and threats have no place in a movement for animal rights,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals.
“Such irresponsible acts are unacceptable in any movement for the betterment of society, and we categorically denounce them.”
. . .
“Clearly there is a tremendous social value in informing the public about the detriments of cross-species transplantation and other biotech research using animals, and in bringing the urgent and multi-layered ethical problems into the open,” said Priscilla Feral. “But this can only be done by education. It cannot be done through acts of intimidation or the endangerment of works.”
Unfortunately Friends of Animals was apparently in the minority of animal rights opinion about the Chiron bombing (it was the only group, to my knowledge, that bothered to issue a condemnation of the attack).
Source:
Friends of Animals condemns Friday’s pipe bomb attack in the city of Emeryville, California. Friends of Animals, August 2003.