Bold Native: Animal Liberation or Terrorism?

Bold Native, a film about animal liberation, celebrated its world premiere earlier this week in Los Angeles. Four vegan filmmakers came together to make a film that follows the fictional story of Charlie Cranehill, an Animal Liberation Front member, as he tries to unite an animal liberation movement. Charlie is wanted by the government for "domestic terrorism," which likely means causing damage to factory farms. The cast includes an appearance by Dianna Agron (Glee's Quinn Fabray).

I'm looking forward to seeing this fictionalized account of the ALF, even though I don't support the violent actions of individuals who act in the name of ALF. Animal Liberation Front is not an organization, but a group of independently acting individuals who follow the ALF's philosophy of animal rights.

But the ALF is often treated as an organized group by the government and by the media. ALF has been called the "top domestic terrorist priority" by the FBI. And Colorado police are currently investigating whether the "ALF is to blame" for arson at a sheepskin factory in April. The sheepskin factory fire was likely started by the "ALF Lone Wolf," who also claims he is responsible for the fire at a leather factory in Salt Lake City in the first week of June.

Even if the "ALF Lone Wolf" is just one individual (as his name suggests), he is acting in accordance with the ALF philosophy. While the ALF does not support violence towards people or animals, ALF states on its website that "the only destructive action the ALF encourages is the destruction of property used to abuse and torture animals." The ALF also provides information on how to make bombs, although the website says those articles are meant for "entertainment purposes."

I'm extremely curious to see what tactics Bold Native's characters use in their fight against animal oppression. Although the story is fictional, the filmmakers have injected quite a bit of truth into the story. One actor, Peter Young, was once on the FBI's Most Wanted list for releasing mink from a fur farm in Wisconsin. Young served two years for this crime. Real-life attorneys were cast to explain The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which allows animal activists to be prosecuted as terrorists if their actions result in economic damage to animal industries such as factory farms, slaughterhouses, research labs or fur farms. The new law replaced its predecessor, The Animal Enterprise Protection Act of 1992, with the title adjusted for a post-9/11 world.

But is it fair to call the members of the ALF terrorists? Or are their acts of vandalism against the animal industry justified?

On Bold Native's blog, one post directs those who use words such as "terrorism," "violence" and extremism" when describing members of the ALF: "It’s time to redirect these words back to where they belong, the real perpetrators of terrorism and violence and extremism, those very same animal abuse industries. While we may disagree with each others’ methods, let’s not call one another violent. Be specific with language. Call it illegal. Call it criminal. Call it a good tactic or a bad tactic."

But arson is terrorism, as well as being illegal and criminal. While researching this article, I found my article Why Vegetarian Children Will Rule The World on the ALF website. I meant the title to be eye-catching and humorous. Within the context of the ALF's website, alongside photos of black-masked men (even if they are holding rabbits), the title seemed ominous and threatening. Even if I agree with the ALF's cause, I'm not comfortable being associated with the ALF because of the violent actions of individual members. And apparently, neither is PETA. When PETA was accused of giving money to ALF members, PETA released the following statement:

"PETA has no involvement with alleged ALF or ELF [Earth Liberation Front] actions. PETA does not support terrorism. PETA does not support violence. In fact PETA exists to fight the terrorism and violence inflicted on billions of animals annually in the meat, dairy, experimentation, tobacco, fur, leather, and circus industries."

I'm in agreement with PETA on this stance, and I hope Bold Native doesn't promote terrorist acts in the name of animal liberation that endanger the lives of people. As Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Bold Native will be screened tomorrow at The National Animal Rights Conference in D.C.

Photo Credit: www.boldnative.com