LOCAL cells of animal rights extremists have been told to draw up their own hitlist of targets for attack as militants step up their harassment campaign despite yesterday’s government crackdown.

The plan is to stage attacks on an increasing number of homes and businesses to outflank police who are to be given new powers of arrest.

Ringleaders knew this clampdown on their activities was coming and have been drawing up new tactics. They will no longer just concentrate on the 33 names on “Abix”, the index of animal abusers, but will spread their attacks to dozens of local traders.

Organisers know Special Branch detectives have got hold of the Abix list, which gives the private addresses of leading scientists and businessmen, so local extremists have been told to protect the identities of their new targets.

Mark Matfield, of the Research Defence Society, said: “The ringleaders know the law better than the police. For every initiative government makes, the extremists will be one step ahead. These new initiatives will not make these people just go away.”

Regional cells are allegedly identifying scores of local traders such as newsagents, supermarkets and milkmen who supply anyone working in animal research or breeding farms. Cleaners, gardeners, and schools which teach scientists’ children will face violent demonstrations.

Private investigators hired by some of those on the Abix list have uncovered how militants intend to thwart the new Home Office restrictions.

One told The Times last night: “The protesters know that if they appear at an address on the Abix list police can ban them for three months and worse. So instead they stage guerrilla attacks at lots of other places in the neighbourhood, blaming some scientist or pharmaceutical executive for this disruption. It’s a scatter-gun effect to disrupt the whole community”.

Companies have been warned to be careful about allowing people on to their premises as animal rights followers have used guided tours, or applied for part-time jobs so they could collect information on staff. Investigators believe that a hard core of militants who have been previously jailed for violent offences are behind this increasingly violent campaign.

“While some of those jailed run the main animal rights groups and have renounced violence, others got out of jail and dropped out of sight. Our evidence is that some of these figures are the real hard men,” the investigator said. “They put together small hit teams to attack each target.”

The Home Office announced yesterday that a leading policeman, Assistant Chief Constable Anton Setchell, will co-ordinate investigations.

A priority will be to track down the group behind the Abix campaign as no group claims responsibility and the list of names is mailed to handpicked militants on a secret mailing list. Police admit they do not know how many receive this list — nor how many it is passed on to.

Militants are schooled in using pay-as-you-go mobiles and public telephone boxes to bombard their targets’ home numbers, promising: “We will become your worst nightmare come true”. They damage targets’ credit ratings, falsely accuse them of crimes like being child sex offenders and send unsolicited goods like fridges and three-piece suites to their homes using their credit cards.

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