TED BARLOW THINKS I WAS WRONG to link approvingly yesterday to a story about two PETA activists, one in a cow costume, whose anti-milk protest went sour and resulted in them being drenched in milk by a crowd of schoolchildren until they were rescued by police. I don’t know — Barlow makes it sound as if this were something out of Lord of the Flies, but to me it reads more like something out of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The only injury these guys suffered was to their dignity, which was already suffering from the cow suit. Er, and their involvement with PETA.

And aren’t these the folks who think it’s okay to throw paint on women wearing fur? Didn’t Ingrid Newkirk express the wish that hoof-and-mouth disease would be brought to the United States because it would hurt the meat industry? (And maybe even encourage vegetarianism!) Then there’s this, from an article in HealthSpan dated February 1994 (no link, but it’s on Westlaw):

Another instance labeled as “domestic terrorism” by the FBI and documented in the Report to Congress occurred in 1989 at Texas Tech University’s Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. John Orem’s research on sleeping disorders, including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), was using cats for experimentation. A group of activists from ALF entered the facility and damaged equipment, spray-painted slogans on walls, and stole several research cats.

Orem’s research was then subjected to a campaign of “intense propaganda and harassment,” including a statement from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) justifying what had taken place at the laboratory. Officials later estimated that “after the direct, collateral, and indirect consequences of the incident were considered, the total cost to the targeted institution was estimated as just over $1 million.”

The Justice/Agriculture Department report makes a very cogent statement concerning the indirect effects of violent acts and threats against research facilities: “The loss or diversion of resources inevitably has intangible consequences, especially for the biomedical community and other non-revenue generating industries. These costs often include: the loss, disruption, or delay of ongoing research; higher research costs; scheduled research projects postponed or cancelled; and research grants withheld. Another disruptive, albeit less resource dependent effect of animal rights extremism is the apprehension and fear that this activity can instill in an employee of any victimized animal enterprise.”

So I’m supposed to feel sorry for these guys because they got a (rather mild) taste of their own medicine instead of a debate on the philosophical deficiencies of the animal rights movement? When you choose to operate by a combination of street theater and intimidation, you can’t complain when others respond in the same way. This is like a well-deserved pie in the face.

UPDATE: Hey, you can buy cool t-shirts with statements from PETA people endorsing terrorism, too!

ANOTHER UPDATE: This is good, too. (Warning: big image).