WolfPack Kills 5, Injures 27 in Puppy Mill Attack

Bristol, Europa, Earth -- 7 Mar. 2057:  The extremist canine-rights group WolfPack is claiming responsibility for an attack that took several lives today.  An explosion on the premises of DogGone Pet Breeders and Cloners resulted in 5 people's deaths, several hundred micro-credits' worth of property damage, and the release of over 600 live-born and decanted canines.

A press release posted to a fire-and-forget hyperlayer page, attributed to WolfPack's 'Founder and Alpha', Spike Fido Beagle, claims that "these innocent pups have been freed from the leash of Homo Sapiens tyranny and can now run free.  Sapient and quasi-sapient alike, all canines suffer under the enslavement of the humanist Armstrong Law.  Classifying any dog as human property, to be raped, cloned, or killed as their owner sees fit, is a crime against nature; it is our duty as intelligent dogs and allies of dogs to fight for their liberation.  While we regret the necessary loss of human lives, it is of little importance compared to the torture, murder and indignity suffered by canines of many degrees of sapience in these disgusting facilities every day."

Information released by the Bristol Department of Public Safety indicates that the detonation was caused by a hypertoluene micrograin of uncertain origin.  It is believed that the attackers used the recent ion storm, which kept both civilians and police off the streets and reduced the effectiveness of the facility's security system, as cover for their activities.  The tracks of about a dozen full-grown canines of various breeds and several humans and other primates, as well as at least one large cephalopod, were found leading to and from the scene.  Bristol police are asking that anyone with information on the crime, the perpetrators, or the activities or whereabouts of the WolfPack step forward to assist them with their inquiries.

In a series of tweets, the president of DogGone, Errico Malphesius, defended himself and his company from accusations of maltreatment of the dogs under his care.  "DogGone runs a clean shop, with the highest standards of care and treatment ... We absolutely do not trade in sapient dogs, not now, not ever ... These terrorists have unfairly targeted us to advance their anti-human agenda ... The only victims here are Pamla Feeney, Linder Taskhouse, Tariq Armaghan, Seth Vilbert, Princess Pomeranian, and the other humans AND DOGS hurt in this cowardly attack."

But according to Diesel Pug, communications director for the local canine charity British Bulldog, the breeding house has been plagued by rumours of trading in sapient pets.  "There is a lot of demand out there for house dogs that can be taught rather than just trained," Mr. Pug claimed in a webcam interview.  "We get hundreds of reports a year of enslavement of intelligent canines, and a whole lot of 'em end up leading back to DogGone.  It's kind of an open secret in the dog community here that they're the go-to for black-market dealers who trade in dogflesh.  We just keep comin' short of anything you could take to the law."  However, Mr. Pug declined to endorse the tactics employed by WolfPack.  "Some days, right, I feel like I could blow up a puppy mill or two.  But where does that lead?  Last thing most dogs want is an inter-species war.  Seriously, we loves you blokes -- at least when you respect us, anyhow.  Spike and his crew ought to take their beefs up with the Armstrong court like everyone else."

WolfPack is rumoured to have split off from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in the late 20s, along with other violent, radical nonhuman-rights groups such as the Killer Whales and the Silverbacks, due to disagreements over movement aims and tactics.  WolfPack has previously been linked with a number of similar incidents throughout Europa, Trans-Arctica, Caucasia, and Australasia.  Most recently, several dogs thought to be members of WolfPack were convicted in the mauling death of an alleged black-market pet trader in Greater Saskatoon.  WolfPack cells have also been implicated in drug and weapons markets in the 'stray-dog' ghettos which exist in many cities.

Statistics released by the Bureau of Civil Liberties indicate that approximately 12000 cases of sentient dog manumission are handled by the Armstrong Courts annually, with the vast majority of these occurring on Earth.  However, our contact at the bureau, Stalahn Mig Philigazy, believes that many cases of dog enslavement slip under the radar.  "Dogs were deliberately bred for centuries to be docile and obedient," Mre. Philigazy explained.  "Uplifted dogs have been working to remove some of that conditioning, but if they're reared as pets, it can seem completely natural for an intelligent dog to love and obey their owner; many of them, even once they are manumitted, happily return to be a companion even to abusive humans."  Mre. Philigazy also stated that the involuntary interbreeding of sapient and ancestral dog breeds has led to cases of owners unknowingly receiving sapient dogs as pets.  "In several cases I have personally handled, the owner was sincerely surprised, even horrified, to learn that their pet was in fact entitled to the rights of full persons.  In my own opinion, the pet industry has severely dropped the ball on this.  I've come to believe that the only realistic solution is for the entire canine species to be brought to fully sapient status.  The genie is out of the bottle."

In response to inquiries, Mre. Philigazy stated that, though it is extremely rare, zie had also encountered a number of cases in which a human attempted to enslave an intelligent cat.  "I don't believe any of the people who tried this has ever been found alive."

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