The radical "eco-terrorist" animal rights movement : conflicting frames of the Animal Liberation Front

Criminality stemming from radical environmental and animal rights extremism is largely a modern phenomenon of the late twentieth century. This phenomenon has often been labeled the "eco-terrorist" movement. However, is this term truly a validation of the movement’s ideology and actions? The most active radical animal rights group in the United States, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), commits extreme actions to end animal suffering in the multitude of ways that animals are used for human purpose. The actions of the ALF have had widespread implications across many societal institutions and groups, including the political and media sphere. My research uses qualitative content analysis of contemporary ALF communiqués, FBI publications, and news articles to examine how each expresses and presents the ALF organization. By using framing theory and its main components of framing contests and counter-framing, as well as an inspection of ideological perspectives related to environmental concerns of the ALF, I seek to explain how the ALF organization is framed and, more importantly, the reasons as to why.