Member of Animal Liberation Front claims responsibility for Glendale fire
Tammy Vigil
KDVR Denver
June 15, 2010
DENVER - A member of the Animal Liberation Front claims to have set fire to the Sheepskin Factory in Glendale in April.
A member, calling himself "Lone Wolf", wrote a post on www.directaction.info saying "The arson at the Sheepskin Factory in Denver was done in defense and retaliation for all the innocent animals that have died cruelly at the hands of human oppressors. Be warned that making a living from the use and abuse of animals will not be tolerated."
The anonymous writer also claimed to be responsible for an arson in Salt Lake City, Utah that burned down a Tandy Leather store in June.
While the fire may have been set by an ALF member, local animal activists disagree with committing arson to further the cause.
"We do not want to fight violence with violence," said Dan Hanley. "I know hundreds of animal activists and I don't know anybody who thinks setting a fire will do any good. Folks who own the building will get reimbursed by their insurance company and they'll be up and running, in better working conditions than they had to start with. That's not doing anything for animals that are suffering."
Glendale Police say they were tipped off about the posting and have begun an investigation to try to determine the identity of the online poster.
Glendale Police Chief Victor Ross said that they are unsure in ALF was in fact behind the arson, but that if they were then "the difficulty comes in identifying who within the organization is claiming responsibility for it."
The owner of the building did not have insurance. But that hasn't kept him from resuming business in an empty building right around the corner.
An employee said that work resumed just three days after the fire. "You can't let something like this bring you down. You've got to keep on fighting. Just do it," said Israel Dominguez.
