Posted on 10/06/2005 8:04:36 AM PDT by SmithL
MADISON, Wis. - An animal rights activist who faces a potential two-year prison term for freeing thousands of mink from Midwest fur farms says he has no regrets.
Peter Daniel Young, 28, told The Associated Press during a jailhouse interview that serving time will be nothing compared to what caged animals suffer.
"As bad as it could get, it will never be as bad as it was for those mink," Young said. "I would do it all over again."
Prosecutors believe Young and an accomplice were acting on behalf of the Animal Liberation Front when they broke onto mink farms in Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin in 1997 and freed about 7,000 mink. The FBI considers groups like ALF among the nation's top domestic terrorist threats.
Young, 28, scoffed at the comparison.
"If saving thousands of lives makes a terrorist, then I certainly embrace the label," Young said. "I would have been just as fast to act if those cages had been filled with human beings."
But Teresa Platt, executive director of Fur Commission USA, a national association of fur farmers, called Young's philosophy nonsense, saying he has "been fed a steady string of propaganda for 10 years."
Alex Ott, owner of a fur farm Young raided in Tomahawk, said he treats his mink well and has every right to make a living. He said such activists "attack and they terrorize."
Young and accomplice Justin Samuel were indicted in 1998 but disappeared soon after. Samuel was captured in Belgium in 1999, while Young eluded authorities until his arrest in March for shoplifting CDs from a Starbucks in San Jose, Calif.
Young pleaded guilty to animal enterprise terrorism and faces up to two years in prison. Sentencing was set for Nov. 8.
Samuel pleaded guilty in 2000 and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Young said he and Samuel targeted Midwest fur farms because authorities in the Northwest were putting too much heat on them. Wisconsin also had the largest concentration of mink farms in the nation, he said.
He gets 10 letters a day, he said, and activists from around the country show up for his court appearances. Someone is selling T-shirts emblazoned with Young's face online.
"Most people are just appalled I'd be put in prison for freeing the animals," he said. "I wish nothing short of the end of the entire (fur) industry ... they kill for what they do."
Platt said Young represents a disconnect between urban and rural America. City dwellers don't realize how much people depend on animals, she said.
"One hundred years ago when we all lived on the farm, we would have laughed Peter Young out of the room," she said.
haha! these people crack me up. DOnt forget, its hunting season and the 'animal rights' wackos go off the deep end this time of year! I see a few hunting protests by local college campuses each fall. i cant wait to get a frezer full of venison in a few weeks!!! KABOOM!!
" serving time will be nothing compared to what caged animals suffer.
"As bad as it could get, it will never be as bad as it was for those mink,""
Do caged minks have Bubba for a "boyfriend" too?
I agree that this terd is stupid and deserves what he received, but does everything need to be refered to as terrorism these days? The article made no mention of terrorizing the owners or making bomb threats. The article only stated that the perp released the animals. This is a simple case of vandalism.
Apparently the ALF has pulled this in Norway, Italy and Spain, too.
I live in Florida, but it almost makes me want to get a fur coat.
I'm sure that the mink are properly appreciative, and will come visit him in prison.
I might be wrong, but isn't this the same clown that let the mink free, whereupon they promptly ran across a local highway and mostly were turned into bumper stickers?
Too damn bad they don't put this pervert in a cell with a couple of mink........nasty little critters....would be fun to listen to, but not fun to watch.
He should serve his sentence and monetarily compensate those who lost their livestock.
I'm a bit confused however. What does prison rape have to do with conservative ideals? I see those comments a lot on FR. I can understand the death penalty for murder, child molesters, etc. But why do some freepers seem to get a perverse pleasure out of wishing prison rape on some of these other idiots?
Doesn't seem Christian or conservative to me. Suppose President Hildabeast bans private ownership of firearms, and Joe-Family-Man gets sent to the pokey (pun intended). Will we be hoping for prison rape in his situation? Ok, done ranting now. Have a nice day.
Right there with ya. Was just trying to make a point.
Right there with ya. Was just trying to make a point.
Well just double-tap.... sorry.
prison rape ...conservative ideals
You obviously don't understand business. These animals provided money in the bank for these families and others down the economic line. This money goes for land payments, taxes, college savings, taxes, licensing, taxes, groceries, taxes, etc.
By destroying a livelihood for selfish ideals he destroyed a means of income. He 'raped' these families, taking away livelihoods, animals lives, and other peoples income as well.
I get sick and tired of people picking on farm families. Notice he said he left the NW because it got toooo difficult. poooooooor baby.
This is a simple case of vandalism.
That is TOTAL BULL$HIT!! These jerks disrupted commerce, killed innocent life themselves (they did not insure the animals could fend for themselves) and destroyed income and livelihood. That most certainly is TERRORISM!
I understand business. And I own land and cattle, thanks for assuming. Hell, give the idiot 20 yrs in prison, fine by me. I hold the enviro-whacko left responsible for a lot of problems in this country.
My point is more specific. Jeez, we are generally opposed to homosexual behavior on this forum, but apparently root for it in our prison system. Just seems a bit out of place to me. Maybe folks just figure sentences are typically light, so they're rooting for other, "non-sanctioned" punishment? (maybe I just answered my own question).
Oh well, need to go. Take care. -HW
definition: Terrorism: political violence; violence or the threat of violence, especially bombing, kidnapping, and assassination, carried out for political purposes.
definition: Terrorism: political violence; violence or the threat of violence, especially bombing, kidnapping, and assassination, carried out for political purposes.
Weasels, not rodents.
Still, I don't think mink are native to that part of the world, although some similar long weasels probably are. They could become a pest if they have no natural enemies, but more likely is that they'll not be suited to the environment and slowly, one by one, die of starvation and disease. Yeah, much kinder fate for them.
>These minks were born and breed in captivity. They did not last that long.<
My guess is many of them fought each other to the death. They're not pack animals, and they are voracious carnivores.
Yep, let's give this maroon a standing ovation for freeing the cute little furry animals, pining to cavort in the wild.
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