Man Sets Himself on Fire at Portland Fur Store
Serious news.
A man set himself on fire Wednesday outside Ungar Furs in Portland, Oregon. After dousing himself with gasoline, he attempted to enter the store, shouting “There are animals dying! Animals dying!” After police extinguished the flames, he was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital where he later died.
The man was identified as 26-year-old Daniel Shaull from Kansas. Among the local activists I have spoken to, none are familiar with Shaull by name, nor recognized him as being a part of the active, long-running campaign against Ungar Furs. Yet the location and witness reports strongly indicate this man sacrificed himself to bring attention to the horrific treatment of animals on fur farms.
A news report, which aired prior to Shaull being announced dead, can be viewed here.
Ungar Furs is a retail fur store in Portland which has been the target of a prolific campaign by local activists. Ungar became a target after frequent protests successfully closed another Portland fur store, Schumacher Furs. The owners of Schumacher Furs gave animal rights activists full credit for shutting them down in 2007.
Amidst a range of speculation as to the man’s true motives, I think it is important to assume this is a genuine action by a person driven to make the ultimate sacrifice by the severity of animal suffering. When every legal channel to affect change is closed, people will increasingly be driven to actions which bring both attention to the plight of animals, and a disruptive effect to those who kill them.
Shaull is not the first to give his life in the U.S. animal liberation struggle. This is a time to remember William Rodgers, who took his life in an Arizona jail in 2005 while being held for numerous Animal Liberation Front actions. It is also a time to remember Alex Slack, who took his life while awaiting trial for the A.L.F. bombing of the Utah Fur Breeder’s Agricultural Cooperative in 1999.
If anyone knows Daniel Shaull, please contact Animal Liberation Front-line, so that we can make the full story of this action known.
To those who claim the animal rights movement is “violent”, this action should be yet another reminder that every casualty to date has fallen on our side. Daniel Shaull is just the latest victim.
“If this is what the world has made of us, then let it live with the consequences”.
-Peter Young
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Schumacher’s were a mess already, sibling rivalry. While I would love to think that the activists were entirely responsible for their demise, they were not.
Daniel was not one of the usual Portland protestors. Portland radio is reporting that his father said his son was suicidal and took a bus from Kansas to Portland five days ago.
I’d just like to chime in and say it’s too early to know the details, and really not the time to be making a martyr out of the guy. Nobody here knows his history or knows of any involvement in the AR movement. I’d just hope we all show a bit of restraint and not cheerlead this as some kind of win for the animals. And all respectfully mourn for a few minutes the death of somebody who may very well been suffering from mental illness.
Not that IndyMedia is always a good credible source of info, but here’s something just posted on there:
“I personally talked to someone who witnessed this and she said it just sounded like he was yelling for help, not that he was yelling about animals. The person who said he was yelling about animals also gave some untrue information to mainstream media reporters about past activities of the protesters at Ungar Furs.”
And there is this from OregonLive.com:
“Though Shaull set himself on fire near Nicholas Ungar Furs at 1137
S.W. Yamhill St. – the site of numerous anti-fur protests – Warren
Shaull said his son’s act was not political.
“He was mentally ill,” Warren Shaull said. “He was tired of living.”
That is tragic 🙁 incredibly brave and noble, but…gosh 🙁
Great blog Peter…thank you for all the amazing work you’re doing, and for being a compassionate and evolved soul.
You should know that new information has come to light to indicate that Mr. Shaull was mentally ill when he committed this act.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-man-on-fire,0,3411771.story
Also, you should know there is a conversation happening on Reddit questioning the ethics of this article.
http://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/comments/av7w2/what_man_sets_himself_on_fire_at_portland_fur/
http://www.katu.com/news/local/82986637.html
Another interview with the father indicates that Daniel moved to the area because of the “large number of vegetarians” and often spoke of “violence in the world and (frustration) with the world’s social ills and the apparent inability to solve them.” This information combined with the location of the incident (Ungar Furs) and the testimony of at least one witness claiming that Daniel was screaming “There are animals dying! Animals dying!”; seems to point heavily in the direction of a political motive.
I’d also like to interject the point that just because this individual was apparently mentally unstable and suicidal doesn’t automatically discredit him and certainly doesn’t mean we should just write him off as “just some crazy.”
A victim? He willingly killed himself and tried to make himself a martyr. I don’t like how this article condones what he did, which was really stupid. He could have been useful to the animal rights movements in so many other ways.
If somebody is already suicidal, I have to thank them for committing the act in front of an outlet for slaughterhouse products. At least that gets a little media attention on the fact that millions of others are suffering death against their will, a phenomenon the media habitually ignores.
I must say that I really don’t know how to feel about this. On one hand I feel as if there were many other ways he could have helped animals, and therefore his dedication and potential have gone to waste. On the other hand I completely understand his frustration and “madness”. How many of us at some point have felt completely hopeless and wanted to die? I’ve certainly “cracked” a few times, usually after seeing or reading about something absolutely horrendous. It’s hard to contain yourself and manage stress when you care about animals as much as we do. Moreover, I do think that there is a place for self immolation. I just don’t think this turned out to be one of them, judging from the media’s coverage. It’s fairly hit or miss. Usually cases of self immolation go unnoticed, and the few sources that do cover it tend to write the people of as “mentally ill” rather than passionate.
We also must consider that he may have never intended to die. The cop admitted to spraying him with pepper spray, which undoubtedly made the situation worse. I would like to know if he was wearing flame retardant clothes. Or perhaps he thought that once he got in the fur store, people would throw coats on him to extinguish the fire. I don’t know. Hopefully, more details come out.
Here is an article and discussion about it going on in the city in which it happened: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/01/396940.shtml?discuss
It looks pretty obvious that this man did intend for this to be a sacrifice on behalf of the animals, and whether he was mentally ill or not, this should be respected.
What a great man for the animals to have as a saver… how terribly sad he suffered and died.His death is the fault of those who wear fur!
Daniel Shaull and I have been friends since we were in 3rd grade.
His death was not a sacrifice, it was a tragedy of the failings of the mental health system in this nation. Those who were animal fur and leather are not responsible for his death. Mental illness caused by years of crystal meth left him with no impulse control and an extreme sense of paranoia.
He is not a hero to your cause. He died in a manner that is beyond horrific for anything living.
I don’t wear real fur myself but I am not an activist and I am not a vegetarian. But I did grow up side by side with your most recent “disposable martyr.”
Those of you who keep quoting the article have got to wonder what is his mother saying. Unlike his father whom I personally try to limit my contact with, his mother is a quiet woman who cared dearly for Daniel and tried to let him live his life while still keeping a watchful eye…until he moved out of town. Daniel is also proceeded by his younger brother and sister.
Leave this one alone. I am begging you. The man has family and they are grieving. They need time to get through this.
I feel so very sorry for him, fur industry is blind, so this seemed to be the last alternative. If you see how man is to animals, you really only want to die.
My sorrow is so deep and my regrets go to his family and his friends. I really do feel for you. Sorry about my bad english.
lots of love, Iris
One thing that really bothers me about this whole situation is that people are too quick to call him a “crazy” because he had a mental illness. Some of the most famous people with mental illness were geniuses. Abraham Lincoln, Vincent Van Gogh, Mozart, Charles Dickens and Ernest Hemingway to name just a few.
It is obvious that this act had something to do with animals. He sought out other vegetarians. He was desperate and alone. He could not think of another way to stop the suffering, whether it was his own or the animals. He felt utter desolation and he was powerless. I just hope that now he is no longer suffering from the torment he must have felt. If we find out that he was protesting for animals, then at least he died for what he believed in. RIP Daniel, I hope your suffering has ceased.
That man was a hero. Fur is an evil industry and must be stopped.
An hero.
Matthew:
Daniel was a vegetarian, he expressed concern and despair for the violence and injustice in the world – according to his father’s statement – and he protested against fur. And light himself outside the shop. The connections are clear, even if he was mentally ill. I’m not sure who’s most insane, those that are comfortable in our violent society or those that despair.
It’s more comfortable to blame drugs or faults in the medical system that to blame the the normalized violence against animals that most people and you yourself participate in.
I’m sorry for the family, but the pain of Daniel and the cause of this pain – that he reacted against the oppression of animals – should also be respected. And the suffering of animals far exceeds all that. “Peace in the family” will not get us anywhere.
LMAO!!! I think everyone in the ALF should set themselves on fire it would be a great message! WE’RE ALL CRAZIER THAN SHITHOUSE RATS!!!