California IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Animal Activists Reportedly Probed

A federal grand jury is reportedly investigating the activities of the militant Animal Liberation Front in California and other states. The underground group has claimed responsibility for breaking into and vandalizing dozens of animal research labs throughout the nation, including an arson fire in April, 1987, that destroyed an unfinished veterinary medicine building at UC Davis. In recent months, the group has also been linked by federal authorities to vandalism and sabotage on ranches throughout the West to discourage human consumption of livestock. The Sacramento Bee said the grand jury has been taking testimony in the case since last summer and perhaps as early as 1987.