The four-leged and feathered people may not be a minority, but they can certainly be considered defenseless. They're as able to experience pain, fear and suffering as we humans are but are considered fair game for whatever form of exploitation we choose to impose on them.
I'd have no objection if someone sneaked into a burn lab and snatched all their beagles.
Neither would I. However, I think that Linwood means the things that are more dangerous than that. Take, for example, the time they cut the brakes on a truck containing pigs going to slaughter. They did leave a note in the car, saying that the brakes were cut, but, if the man driving missed the note? A horrible accident could have ocurred. Indeed, however, there I have no moral qualms about them sneaking into a place where non-humans are harmed (Vivisection, Fur, etc.), and taking the animals. Doesn't bother me in the least. Perhaps it's just because I've seen videos of places like that that I feel that way, but I think, or rather, hope, that when people see a fox who has chewed his leg off, literally, out of a combination of boredom, fear, and hunger/thirst, they see evil.