Justice Department

The emergence of the Justice Department, a small, extremely violent animal rights group active in England and North America, demonstrated a significant philosophical change within the extreme wing of the animal rights movement. The group went beyond the financial sabotage carried out by groups such [Page 197]as the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) to actually threatening and harming individuals—a tactic similar to that employed by the Unabomber.

Since its inception in October 1993, the England-based Justice Department has specialized in directly targeting individuals involved in industries that use and may abuse animals. Its first act was to mail devices—such as razor-tipped mousetraps—to “blood sport” supporters (i.e., hunters).

The Justice Department seemed to have declared war in 1994. That year the traditional Boxing Day (December 26) hunts in Sussex saw more than 30 bomb attacks against them, including two bomb hoaxes; responsibility for the attacks and hoaxes was claimed ...