Ecoterrorism

Ecoterrorism refers to extremist actions taken as part of the animal rights and environmentalist movements. Ecoterrorism origininated in the 1970s, but from the late 1980s through the first decade of the 2000s, radical environmental and animal rights groups claimed responsibility for hundreds of crimes and acts of terrorism, including arson, bombings, vandalism and harassment, causing more than $100 million in damage. The goal of ecoterrorism is to end the exploitation of animals and the destruction of the environment, typically by causing damage to the operations of companies in related industries or terrorizing executives and employees of these and other, associated companies.