''Bite Back'' is a Malaysian-registered website and magazine that promotes the cause of the
animal liberation movement, and specifically the
Animal Liberation Front (ALF).
[Radical animal rights magazine issues 2004 "Direct Action" report]
, ''Law Enforcement Agency Resource Network'', January 25, 2005. According to ''
The Sunday Times'', the name is inspired by an arson campaign targeting the American fur industry throughout the 1990s.
[Unmasked: animal extremist waging war on Oxford]
''The Sunday Times'', February 19, 2006.
Its founder and editor,
Nicolas Atwood
Nicolas Atwood is an American animal rights activist based in West Palm Beach, Florida. He maintains the Malaysia-registered ''Bite Back'' direct-action website, which is associated with the Animal Liberation Front.Walsh, Gareth, and Calvert, ...
, has said that ''Bite Back's'' mission is to "support animal rights
prisoners of conscience and report on current events in the struggle."
[Laville, Sandra & Booth, Robert]
"Scientists to speak out for animal tests"
''The Guardian'', February 24, 2006.
The website also receives
anonymous
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anonym ...
communiques of
political Justice, including those by the
Animal Rights Militia (ARM),
Justice Department and
Animal Liberation Brigade
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in w ...
.
Background
''Bite Back'' was set up in 2001 by Atwood, an animal rights activist in
West Palm Beach, Florida.
[Personal details released as animal rights activists call for direct action]
''The Oxford Student'', February 24, 2006. In March 2005, Atwood set up a Florida-based company, Bite Back Inc, to operate the site and magazine sales.
Magazine
As of February 2021, the magazine's website notes that the magazine is being published on an irregular schedule and no new subscriptions are being accepted.
Forum
''Bite Back'' acts as a forum for ALF activists, and a place they can leave claims of responsibility for
direct action
Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
taken in pursuit of
animal liberation.
[Fickling, David]
Animal rights activist admits firebombing attempts
''The Guardian'', August 17, 2006. In 2006, it was used to encourage attacks against
Oxford University, publishing personal details of academics and calling on supporters to "do whatever it takes" to "blow these fucking monsters off the planet".
[
In 2007, when incendiary devices were found at ]Templeton College, Oxford
Templeton College was one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, England. It was an all-graduate college, concentrating on the recruitment of students in business and management studies. In 2008, the college merged with Green ...
, ''Bite Back'' reported a claim of responsibility on behalf of the Animal Liberation Front: "This latest action is part of an ongoing fight against the University of Oxford and its continued reign of terror over the unseen victims inside its animal labs."[Payne, Stewart]
"Animal activists plant bombs at Oxford college"
''The Daily Telegraph'', February 27, 2007.
The FBI, while reportedly aware of the site, say action against it would breach the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
.
[
In 2005, Bite Back published a "Direct Action Report," listing action carried out by activists on a global scale. It writes that, in 2004, 17,262 animals were liberated, and 554 acts of sabotage, vandalism and ]arson
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
were carried out.
See also
*'' Arkangel Magazine''
*'' No Compromise Magazine''
*'' Resistance: Journal of the Earth Liberation Movement''
Notes
External links
Bite Back website
Bite Back magazine
{{Animal rights, state=uncollapsed, media
2001 establishments in Florida
Animal Liberation Front
Independent magazines
Magazines about animal rights
Magazines established in 2001
Magazines published in Florida
Political magazines published in the United States