Back to Search ResultsIncident Summary:
08/00/1999: In a 100-letter booby trap letter campaign, animal rights group, The Justice Department claimed responsibility for sending out 100 letters rigged with razor blades to fur ranchers across the United States and Canada. In this particular incident, at least three Oregon ranchers received the letters, though there were no injuries reported among them. In a related incident as part of this campaign, one woman in Pennsylvania was cut by the razor (80099a). Not all of the letters were ever confirmed, reported or found. The Justice Department claimed responsibility for the incident in a communiqué posted to both their website and that of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). This was one of two large-scale booby-trapped letter campaigns allegedly committed by this group; the second, (in October 1999) was to 80, or potentially more, scientists and researchers in the vivisection industry conducting research on primates at centers across the United States (102599a-k).Overview
GTD ID:
199908000003
When:
1999-08-00
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Oregon
City:
Unknown
What
| Target Type: Business | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name of Entity | fur ranches in Oregon | ||
| Specific Description | three Oregon fur ranchers | ||
| Nationality of Target | United States | ||
| Hostages | No |
| Ransom | No |
| Property Damage | No |
How
| Type | Sub-type |
|---|---|
| Other | |
| Weapon Details | |
| letters in envelopes rigged with utility razor blades affixed to index cards | |
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 (more) | Yes |
| Criterion 2 (more) | Yes |
| Criterion 3 (more) | Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) | No |
| Additional Information | This was one in a series of two incidents related to a larger letter campaign of 100 booby-trapped letters rigged with razor blades, that were sent to fur farmers across the United States and Canada, claimed by the animal rights group, The Justice Department. A few months later, the group committed another letter campaign against primate researchers across the U.S. |
Who
| Group Name | Claimed Responsibility |
|---|---|
| The Justice Department | Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Posted to website, blog, etc.) |
| Number of Perpetrators | Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators | Unknown |
| Total Number of Casualties | 0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities | 0 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities | 0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities | 0 |
| Total Number of Injured | 0 |
| Number of U.S. Injured | 0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured | 0 |
Sources
| "Four Oregon researchers included on animal rights hit list," Associated Press State & Local Wire, October 27, 1999. |
| Bryan Denson, "Animal Rightists Send Maiming Mail to Scientists," The Oregonian, October 27, 1999. |
| "Animal Rights Group Mails Razor Blades To Medical Researchers, Says Foundation for Biomedical Research; Group Warns of Wave of Violence If Primate Research Is Not Halted," PR Newswire, October 25, 1999. |
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