Animal Rights Group Takes the Credit for ‘Freeing the Bunnies’

An underground animal rights group claimed Saturday to have “liberated” more than 100 rabbits from a San Bernardino County breeding farm, placing rabbits that would otherwise be sold for scientific research in “safe houses” in time for Easter Sunday.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies confirmed that rabbits were stolen and a barn was vandalized sometime Friday night at a 13-acre farm in Bloomington, northeast of Riverside.

The militant animal rights group, the Animal Liberation Front, left information of the raid at the office of another animal rights group called Last Chance for Animals.

‘Destined to Be Tortured’

In the press release, the Animal Liberation Front stated that it had “liberated 115 rabbits that were destined to be tortured in laboratory research.”

Herbert Washington, owner of Universal Animal Care, said the vandals spray-painted “ALF” and “Free the Bunnies” slogans on barn walls. Although the stolen 100 rabbits make up a small part of his 5,000-rabbit farm, several of his strongest male breeders were taken, he said.

The Animal Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for numerous animal “rescue” raids, including the 1985 break-in at the University of California, Riverside, in which 467 animals were released and damage to equipment and experiments totaled more than $680,000.

Last week the group claimed to have vandalized 17 University of California, Davis, vehicles the morning that a $2.5-million fire destroyed a veterinary medicine building under construction.

Building Vandalized, FBI Says

FBI agents discovered Saturday that the veterinary building had been vandalized shortly before the fire. University officials said evidence was found at the site of the fire linking it to the Animal Liberation Front.

The group claims to have only vandalized the university vehicles, spray-painting “ALF” and “Stop the Torture” on them.