Utilizing tactics such as the destruction of property, intimidation, and including the use of violence, the ARM have sent letter bombs, placed incendiary devices under cars and in buildings, contaminated food products, sent death threats, and desecrated a grave.
Similar to the ALF, activists send anonymous claims of responsibility to Bite Back Magazine, a website supportive of the animal liberation movement and its prisoners.
[8] Philosopher Steven Best has coined the term "extensional self-defense" to describe actions carried out in defense of animals by human beings acting as proxy agents.
He argues that the principle of extensional self-defense mirrors the penal code statutes known as the "necessity defense," which can be invoked when a defendant believes that the illegal act was necessary to avoid imminent and great harm.
[10][11] Best says that "extensional self defense" is already effectively applied in some African countries, where hired armed soldiers occasionally use lethal force against poachers who would kill rhinos, elephants and other endangered animals.
The reason ARM was created is that the ALF has a strict no-violence policy towards any living being, whereas this newfound group can use all means necessary to free animals from places of abuse and torture.
[17] It was later reported that the 8-by-4 inch package filled with gunpowder that exploded evaded Post Office scanners, causing a tightening in mail security at 10 Downing Street.
[18] In an action apparently to protest the annual seal hunt in Newfoundland, Canada, the explosives were delivered to the Canadian High Commission, the then Agriculture minister, a surgeon and a furrier.
[20] Three months later in January, ARM claimed responsibility for placing incendiary devices under cars of four individuals involved in animal research at Huntingdon Life Sciences.
[21] On 1 September, at San Jose Valley Veal & Beef, Santa Clara, California, the ARM claims responsibility for an arson which cost $10,000 in damages.
The cell said they injected 87 of the month-old food bar, the Canadian Cold Buster, with liquid oven cleaner, resulting in the product being pulled from shelves in Alberta, Canada.
The Boots branch burnt for four hours completely destroying the building and the wool clothing store was badly damaged with the entire stock ruined.
[5] On Christmas Day, the ARM then claimed in writing to two of Vancouver's biggest chains, Save-On Foods and Canada Safeway, that they had injected rat poison into turkeys in supermarkets.
It was carried out in protest at the British government's refusal to order a commission of inquiry into animal testing, and ARM threatened to assassinate a number of individuals involved in vivisection should Horne die.
Those threatened were Colin Blakemore, later chief executive of the Medical Research Council; Clive Page of King's College London, a professor of pulmonary pharmacology and chair of the animal science group of the British Biosciences Federation; Mark Matfield of the Research Defence Society; and Christopher Brown, the owner of Hillgrove Farm in Oxfordshire, who was breeding kittens for laboratories.
[30] Following the announced in August that the Hall family were no longer breeding guinea pigs for medical research, the ARM sent letters to the homes of 17 company directors associated with HLS.
It also said that the company conducted a vast amount of research involving human studies and that only a small number of tests were animal based, which did not include dogs, cats or primates.
[37] On 30 August, ARM claimed to have deliberately contaminated 250 tubes of Novartis's widely used antiseptic Savlon in shops including Superdrug, Tesco and Boots The Chemist who all withdrew sales of the cream.
The message is clear and uncompromising Vasella, you must stop killing animals inside Huntingdon Life Sciences or this will only be the beginning of our campaign.The ARM has claimed attacks in Sweden, in what was described in media as a modern wave of crimes against mainly vivisection personnel and fur farm owners.
He was initially charged with conspiracy to murder, which was then revised to a lesser crime and he was re-sentenced to serve three years, for the device that was a bag of cat litter sent via taxi.