Egg Farm Denies Raid by the A.L.F.
Another A.L.F.-targeted facility denies it was raided by activists
When the Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for liberating 72 chickens from a Utah egg farm Friday, the farm’s response wasn’t condemnation, but denial.
Shepherd Egg Farm was raided for the second time by the A.L.F. on the night of April 1st, 2010, and 72 chickens were rescued. When contacted by the media, both the egg farm and police have refused to acknowledge the raid ever took place.
“(The egg farm) cannot verify that any chickens were released,” a Utah County sheriff said.
Of course no chickens – or any other non-native, domesticated species that won’t survive in the wild – is every “released” in an A.L.F. action. They are placed in homes. That aside, it is nothing new for a targeted animal abuser to refuse to acknowledge an A.L.F. raid. In fact, when they think they can get away with it, it is standard protocol.
Public scrutiny and media attention are two things no animal abuse facility benefits from, and it is always in their best interests to deflect both. Two cases come to mind.
After the A.L.F. raid of E-L Labs (March, 1989), in which 40 rabbits were liberated, the lab refused to acknowledge the raid had occurred. Photos of activists with animal liberated from the lab were later published.
The University of Iowa also kept silent about activists raiding the Spence psychology laboratories in 2004 – referring to the break-in as unspecified apolitical vandalism, despite animal liberation slogans being painted on walls. Only when denial became impossible, and an Animal Liberation Front communique surfaced, did the lab admit animals had been taken.
It is possible the farm found no evidence of a break-in, or missing animals. In a farm with tens or hundreds of thousands of birds, not noticing the absence of 72 of them is plausible. Whichever the case, the denial by Shepherd Egg Farm of an A.L.F. raid makes a case for the A.L.F. to release documentation to the media in the form of photos or video. These will both educate the public, and make the raid irrefutable to abusers.
The farm states there is no evidence of a break-in or tampered cages.
Police have said they are stepping up patrols at the farm.
– Peter Young
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