the animal industry." In the United States, courts have often sided with prosecutors in the suppression of evidence of animal cruelty exposed by animal rights activists in cases involving animal liberation and open rescues, as it makes it easier for the defendants to be prosecuted as thieves and terrorists under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act. According to The Intercept's Natasha Lennard, this is one of the legacies of the Green Scare, when the government, at the behest of pharmaceutical and agricultural corporations, aggressively prosecuted animal rights activists as so-called "eco-terrorists". Arguments for open rescue Open rescue "puts a face on animal liberation". By being open, proponents claim that they get a more positive response from the media and the general population, and that by not wearing masks they reduce the distance between themselves and the public, they become a normal everyday person whom the public can identify with and not an abstract masked "terrorist". Being open removes or tones down the militant edge of direct actions. Open rescue proponents also claim that their method of operation is conducive to their compassion for the rescued animals. One of the things reportedly shown by the video comparison at the aforementioned United Poultry Concern's forum on Direct Actions was that the open rescue activist displayed more compassion and care for the animals compared to the clandestine activists (which is not to say that the clandestine activists did not display compassion and care). Whether this is due to that the operations are unmasked, that the operations are open or some other quality is still open for argument. Criticism One can divide the criticism against open rescue into two general categories: Criticism against open rescue as a method of direct action, which often comes from other practitioners of direct action, and criticism of the use of direct action, which can come both from other animal rights activists and from outside the animal rights movements. Criticism against open rescue as a method of direct action It has been argued that because open rescue virtually guarantees that the activists will be found and convicted due to the publication of their identities, open rescue can be construed as a more resource-demanding method compared to clandestine methods. According to this, open rescue would allegedly require more money, as the resulting convictions following the actions means that fines have to be paid and damages have to be compensated. In addition,