Search warrants served to Jerry Vlasak and other animal activists in LA, Orange, Ventura

Search warrants were served at the homes of animal rights activists in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, Santa Monica police confirmed Thursday.

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Dr. Jerry Vlasak, an emergency room doctor who also serves as a spokesman for the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, which often releases details of attacks by animal rights activists on those perceived as treating animals cruelly, said his home in Santa Monica was searched at 1 a.m. Tuesday.

The Santa Monica home of another animal rights activist, Linda Greene, was also searched about the same time, Vlasak said.

"Neither occupant was at home," he said. Vlasak said that in 2004, Santa Monica police raided the home of Goldfinger lead guitarist John Feldman in Bel Air. No arrests were made, and the city of Santa Monica paid Feldman $75,000 for the raid last year.

"Apparently the Santa Monica police are fond of rummaging through the belongings of innocent people who advocate for animals," Vlasak said. "My wife's underwear drawer seemed to be of special interest to them, although the Press Office premises themselves have not been touched as yet."

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"The Press Office must be doing something right to incur such wrath from those who support animal exploitation and abuse," Greene said.

Although several computers were taken during the raids, backup data was kept at other locations and the office was back in operation within hours, the activists said.

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Recent posts to the organization's Web site include information on actions taken against UCLA researchers and Los Angeles Animal Services.