My first exposure to PETA was when a sub-branch, the ALF, broke into the animal care facility at my University and stole all the antibody rabbits and all the hamsters that had been bred to have unusual sleep cycles. One of my friends lost his antibody rabbit, which set his research back a couple of months. The guy with the hamsters--as far as I know they put an end to his research career; all his grants were based on those hamsters.

PETA praised the break-in and said that the animals had been examined by a vet and adopted to good homes.

Four of the (white) antibody rabbits were found in a blinking huddle in the desert south of Roseburg, Oregon. Well, technically five rabbits, but the fifth one died before they could be rescued. They couldn't be used for research anymore, but at least they were saved.