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Animal activist barred from NZ

Published: 6:59PM Sunday June 03, 2007 Source: One News

The government has banned a British animal rights extremist from travelling to New Zealand due to his significant criminal record.

Keith Mann is a member of the Animal Liberation front in the United Kingdom. The group has caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage rescuing animals from what it calls exploitation.

"We rescue animals from places they're being exploited and sabotage property and equipment...how dangerous can that make us?" says Mann.

Mann has served eight years in prison for a range of offences including arson and planting fire bombs at a battery hen farm, all in the name of animal rights.

"We should be promoting and encouraging people to rescue animals and other people from situations in which they're suffering, not condemning people for it," says Mann.

New Zealand animal rights group Open Rescue wants to bring Mann to New Zealand to spread the word.

"He's spent his whole life fighting for animal rights and he has done years in jail for it. So [of] course I admire people who are willing to put that much effort it," says Open Rescue spokesperson Mark Eden.

But the British and American governments classify the ALF as the second worst terrorist threat after Islamic groups like Al Qaeda. So when Mann attempted to check in at Heathrow for a flight to New Zealand he set off a border alert.

"I suspect they are influenced by the UK government, but I'm there to promote animal welfare issues and governments don't tend to like that," says Mann.

Despite Mann being barred from the country, local animal activists in New Zealand say their fight will go on, and say they are also prepared to break the law for animal rights.

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