An eco-activism group known as the Tyre Extinguishers has gone on a tire-deflating spree in Europe in recent weeks in a bid to deter the use of sports utility vehicles (SUVs), according to the group’s website and social media accounts.
Tyre Extinguishers let the air out of tires on 46 SUVs in London on Friday night, and then did the same to 75 SUVs in upscale neighborhoods of Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday night, the group claimed on social media. The decentralized group, which has been active in the U.S. in the past, targets SUVs in middle- and upper-class neighborhoods to deter their use because the group considers the vehicles to be detrimental to the environment, according to its website.
“SUVs are the private jets of the road, a luxury vehicle, socially unequal and unfair,” the group wrote on social media after the actions in Zurich. “They must disappear NOW. We keep going until we see real change.” (RELATED: ‘Rationing’: Enviros Push Radical Lifestyle Changes Amid Energy Crisis)
“If I buy an SUV will it be vandalised by climate protesters?”
Yes. Yes it will.
The @Telegraph tells its readers not to buy SUVs in case we target them.
Our campaign is working. We will make it impossible to own an SUV in the world’s urban areas. But only if you join in! pic.twitter.com/IfYnJ2I1rB
— The Tyre Extinguishers (@T_Extinguishers) April 4, 2022
Prior to the Zurich and London deflations, the group also commended a new cell in Australia for targeting 50 SUVs outside of Melbourne on Wednesday, and similarly issued a Sept. 24 congratulations to a German cell that had “disarmed” 300 SUVs in the preceding days in the Berlin area. The Berlin disruptions were done “in solidarity” with Last Generation, according to the Twitter post announcing the actions.
Last Generation is a climate activism organization that the German authorities have investigated for potentially being an organized criminal enterprise, and the organization also has received funding from a group bankrolled by wealthy American liberals. In July, Last Generation activists glued themselves to the tarmac of an airport in Hamburg, Germany, to protest against fossil fuels, a stunt which led to numerous flight cancellations and delays.
Interestingly, the group also tells its members that electric vehicles(EV) and hybrids are “fair game” for vandalism, according to its website. “We cannot electrify our way out of the climate crisis – there are not enough rare earth metals to replace everyone’s car and the mining of these metals causes suffering,” the group’s website says.
Tyre Extinguishers’ website provides a step-by-step guide for sympathizers and members to follow if they want to target SUVs: their website links to a YouTube video that demonstrates how to deflate a tire using a lentil, provides tips for identifying SUVs on the road, instructs vandals to operate at night and provides a printable flyer to leave on the windshield of a victim’s car. The group’s website also tells vandals to send an encrypted email to local press describing what they have done, and also to send in a report to the group’s encrypted email address.
“Bigger and bigger cars are dominating our towns and cities, and all so a privileged few can flaunt their wealth,” the group says on its website. “Because governments and politicians have failed to protect us from this danger, we must protect ourselves. We want to make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4×4 in the world’s urban areas.”
Tyre Extinguishers did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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