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Letter: Activists’ violence is not surprising

Monday, Nov. 8, 1999 | 10:22 a.m.

What is surprising is that the leader of the largest "nonviolent" animal rights organization in the United States should step forward and applaud these latest mailings. Commenting on the razor letters, Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said, "Perhaps the mere idea of receiving a nasty missive will allow animal researchers to empathize with their victims for the first time in their lousy careers."

Many groups encourage acts of extremism to advance the movement's agenda, even while remaining less than outspoken on the issue. These groups maintain their innocence when violence occurs, an unfortunate example of the movement's duplicity -- where one hand washes the other, yet neither comes clean.

As long as members of these groups view violence as an acceptable means to an end, and their more moderate counterparts encourage them, anyone who contributes to an animal rights cause is helping to underwrite terrorism.

FRANKIE L. TRULL President, Foundation for Biomedical Research Washington, D.C.

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