Senate bill puts higher penalties on ecoterrorism

By Sarah Linn
The Associated Press

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"It looked like something out of a horror movie," Roesler told the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, as she described animal-rights activists' Aug. 25 release of about 10,000 mink from her Snohomish County farm.

A Senate bill would impose harsher criminal penalties on so-called ecoterrorists, whose tactics range from spray-painting cars and freeing livestock to torching condominiums. Radical environmental or animal-rights groups have conducted more than 600 attacks nationwide since 1996, according to the FBI.

"I wish we didn't have to worry about these things. I wish 9/11 hadn't happened, but that's where we are," said Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, who sponsored the bill. "There are folks who would use acts of ecoterrorism as a training camp for other crimes."

In the past, ecoterrorist activities typically fell under such categories as vandalism, arson or trespassing. Stevens' bill puts a higher price on illegally taking or damaging property in the form of animals, equipment or natural resources.

Under the measure, property damage of $500 or less would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. Damage exceeding $500 would be a felony, with a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $10,000 fine.

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