NY animal rights activists target ATMs

NEW YORK -- Customers of the Bank of New York got a sticky surprise on June 13 when they tried to withdraw cash from ATMs -- the card slots were jammed with plastic, and the keypads were covered with glue.

Five branches in Nassau and Suffolk counties were vandalized by animal-rights activists who claim the bank does business with Huntingdon Life Science, a European company that tests pharmaceuticals on animals, according to a report in the New York Post.

The most severe damage was found at a branch at the Suffolk County Office Building in Farmingdale, N.Y. There, 25 windows were smashed, and the slogans "ALF" and "ELF" were spray painted on walls outside.

The Animal Liberation Front has close ties to the Earth Liberation Front, a radical underground environmental group.

One ELF member is facing arson charges for fires this year at several Suffolk County construction sites. The fires have caused nearly $37 million in damage.