Hundreds of emails and internal documents reveal a sustained, covert effort by a significant agricultural trade group to surveil and undermine animal rights organizations over nearly a decade. This initiative included providing confidential intelligence to the FBI, aiming to designate animal rights activists as a "bioterrorism" threat.
The Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA), representing various interests in the food supply chain, forged a strategic partnership with the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD). This involved undercover operatives infiltrating activist meetings to collect evidence against groups like Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), whose nonviolent direct actions include documenting animal cruelty at factory farms.
Zoe Rosenberg, a member of DxE charged for rescuing exploited chickens, highlighted the irony of law enforcement aligning with corporate interests rather than protecting animals. The undercover operations by the AAA extended to various forms of espionage, including attending meetings and providing intelligence on activist protests.
From 2018 onwards, the AAA propelled narratives framing animal rights activists as significant threats, encouraging law enforcement to treat them as such. Internal communications show the AAA discussing the need to strengthen ties with the FBI after requests for information on activist incidents, suggesting a shift to designate activists as potential terrorists.
Despite these endeavors, investigations by intelligence agencies like the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center began questioning these claims, indicating no evidence linking activists to outbreaks of avian disease. In a contrary finding, the NCIRC concluded that activists had taken biosecurity precautions, directly contradicting the narratives pushed by the AAA and the FBI.
Additionally, the AAA used sensational claims to garner law enforcement attention over trivial incidents. For example, they reported a truck driver’s complaint about activists taking photos and feeding pigs, leveraging these allegations to stress a supposed bioterrorism threat.
As the AAA’s collaborative efforts with the FBI intensified, efforts to delay public disclosures about disease outbreaks at farm facilities took precedence. This included internal communications suggesting that information about avian flu at facilities should not be entered into emergency management systems to avoid protestor scrutiny, delaying vital public alerts.
This complex relationship between corporate agriculture and federal law enforcement underscores troubling dynamics, revealing a focus on suppressing dissent at the expense of transparency and public health. Activists argue that these actions reflect a broader strategy to undermine accountability while perpetuating inhumane practices within large-scale animal agriculture.
Key issues revolve around the intersection of animal welfare advocacy and national security, as entrenched interests work to stifle efforts at reform and expose inhumane conditions within the industrial farming system.
