New Zealand `bioterrorist' makes threat of infection

[dArKeR]

The prime minister yesterday branded an extortionist's claim to have infected a New Zealand island with a livestock disease as "bioterrorism," while police revealed that the extortionist threatened to release the virus on the mainland later this week.

Officials have not confirmed that any livestock have been infected with the deadly foot-and-mouth disease as alleged and stress that they believe the claims made in a letter Tuesday to Prime Minister Helen Clark are a hoax.

But they consider it an emergency that potentially could devastate the country's agriculture-dependent economy. The EU and Japan already have asked that livestock from the island be blocked from their markets.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/05/12/2003254335

Bush has really brought the world together!

[mike_c]

1. real or not...

...it was only a matter of time before this happened. 24 monkeys.

[bennywhale]

2. This kind of thing used to just be called

extortion. Threatening to poison food supplies of supermarkets for money..

Every crime no matter what its nature is now being prefixed with terror or terrorism.

Kids smashing windows are terrorizing their communities.

Armed robbers are "terror gangs"

Here in Britain, animal rights activists who picket scientists houses and smash up labs are described as "urban terrorists"

Peace protesters at an arms convention in London were detained under the Anti-Terrorism legislation. There were people from the Sudan, Indonesia, China ordering tanks and missiles and the protesters were arrested for terrorism.

It would be funny if it wasn't so serious