news
BATH, Maine - The international animal rights group that claims to have vandalized three sporting clubs in Maine is planning more strikes in the state, a spokesman said.
^^I think they will continue their activities, but not necessarily against sportsmen^s clubs,^^ said David Barbarash, North American spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front.
^^Sportsmen^s clubs are just one target of many,^^ said Barbarash, who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Police had suspected the ALF because its name was found spray-painted on doors and walls after the break-ins in July and September.
The ALF released a statement Sunday from its Vancouver office, ^^happily^^ claiming responsibility for the attacks.
^^We are not vandals. We know exactly what we are doing and why,^^ the statement said.
Barbarash said the acts against the Phippsburg Sportsmen^s Association, the Wiscasset Rod and Gun Club and the West Gardiner Rod and Gun Club were the group^s first in Maine.
In all three incidents, mounted animals were taken, windows were broken and the organization^s name was spray-painted on walls.
Barbarash, who said he publicizes the group^s activities but never directly communicates with members, said the Maine activists told him they stole the stuffed animals so they could be ^^returned to their natural environment to rest in peace.^^
In Phippsburg, intruders turned on two coffee pots inside the club, left plastic cups on hot burners and turned on a propane gas line. Authorities said the club could have caught on fire or been blown up.
The group said in its recent communique that it targeted the sportsmen^s^ clubs because ^^they are hangouts for killers and must be destroyed,^^ Barbarash said.
Sheriff^s departments, the Maine State Police and sportsmen^s clubs across Maine have been alerted.
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Mark Westrum said the ALF may have mistakenly targeted the Phippsburg club because of an upcoming turkey shoot.
The turkey shoot is a marksmanship contest that uses targets, but does not involve killing, he said.
^^These sportmen^s clubs have nothing to do with killing animals, but everything to do with a way of life in Maine,^^ Westrum said.
The clubs have evolved over the years into places where members and their families gather to socialize, he said.
No arrests have been made in the case, and the investigation was continuing.
Toni Avtges, president of the Portland-based Maine Animal Coalition, criticized the vandalism, saying her organization emphasizes education and research.
^^I would never condone an act of violence,^^ Avtges said. ^^This is a whole new tack. This really sets us back.^^
Uploaded: 10/6/1999
Uploaded: 10/6/1999