What is the Animal Liberation Front?

The ALF carries out direct action against animal abuse by rescuing animals and causing financial loss to animal exploiters, usually through damage and destruction of property. The ALF's short term aim is to save as many animals as possible and directly disrupt animal suffering by forcing companies that abuse animals out of business.

The campaigns are non-violent campaign and activists take all precautions not to harm any animal (human or otherwise). Because ALF actions are against the law, activists work anonymously, either in small groups or individually. There is no centralized organization or coordination. The Front consists of small autonomous groups of people from all over the world, carrying out direct action according to ALF guidelines.

ALF Guidelines
1. To liberate animals from places of abuse (i.e. laboratories, factory farms, fur farms, etc.) and place them in good homes where they may live out their natural lives, free from suffering.

2. To inflict economic damage to those who profit from the misery and exploitation of animals.

3. To reveal the horror and atrocities committed against animals behind locked doors, by performing non-violent direct actions and liberations.

4. To take all necessary precautions against harming any animal, human and non-human.

Vegans or vegetarians who carry out actions according to these ALF guidelines have the right to regard themselves as part of the Animal Liberation Front.

Some additional information.

The Environmental Rangers Biodiversity Defense
103 Dracut Hill Road
Vaughn, MT 59487
Biocentricity is the founding credo of this group dedicated to the preservation of natural Earth, native peoples and their culture. Made up mainly of 'Vietnam era' military Special Forces troops, their goal is to salvage the Northern Rockies as well as other areas. According to their literature, "Rangers oppose the use of force as a means to an end. However, if anyone, any groups, or any agency corrupts and blatantly violates the law, and uses force, rather than dialogue, to achieve a goal of destroying the Earth for profit, then rangers can meet said culprits with force to stop them." Rangers carry guns and are prepared for battle at all times. Thus far, no blood has been shed and E Rangers assured Satya that armed intervention would be a last resort. Founder Ric Valois, told Satya that E Rangers respect other measures taken to protect the earth but are willing to lose their lives in order to protect the earth for others. The Chipko Movement in India

The forests of India are a critical resource for the subsistence of rural peoples throughout the country, but especially in hill and mountain areas. Forests provide food, fuel and fodder and also stabilize soil and water resources. As these forests have been increasingly felled for commerce and industry, Indian villagers have sought to protect their livelihoods through the Gandhian method of satyagraha, non-violent resistance. In the 1970s and 1980s, resistance to the destruction of forests spread throughout India and became organized and known as the Chipko movement. The word chipko means "embrace"; the villagers hug the trees, saving them by interposing their bodies between the trees and contractors' axes.

The first Chipko action took place in 1973. In 1980, the movement achieved a major victory: a 15-year ban on felling in the Himalayan forests by order of India's then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. Since then the movement has stopped clear cutting in many other areas of India. It has also generated pressure for a natural resource policy more sensitive to people's needs and ecological sustainability. The Ruckus Society, 127 East Main Street, #319, Missoula, MT 59802
Tel.: 406-543-5787

The Ruckus Society, founded by Mike Roselle, co-founder of EF!, is a relatively new organization. Founded in October 1995, its purpose is to train peoples in the art of non-violent, direct action: such as how to climb buildings, hang banners and form blockades, as well as guidance in planning an action, communicating with the media, and learning the philosophy of non-violence. Action Camp, as this innovative training is called, has occurred in California, Montana and Georgia. Ruckus promotes non-violent action and claims to be informative and effective as a training camp for other environmental organizations. Dependent primarily on a large volunteer crew and only a handful of staff members, Ruckus is planning an upcoming action camp in Pennsylvania.