New ALF guide puts fur farmers on alert

Posted by Peter | 7 comments

A how-to guide on raiding farms, The Final Nail #4 receives national news coverage as fur farmers react.

In June, the Animal Liberation Front announced the release of the new Final Nail, the anonymously-authored guide to raiding fur farms. This fourth volume of the publication contains the standby Final Nail material (fur farm addresses + how-to instruction), as well new info not seen in previous editions.

The Final Nail #4, which has been posted numerous places online, includes:

• State-by-state directory of mink, fox, and bobcat farms
• A guide to security on fur farms
• How to avoid getting caught
• Fur farm photos
• A recent history of fur farm raids
• A “most wanted” list of important targets
• An analysis of weak links in the US fur industry
• A history of “the fur farm list”

A guide that inspires action – every time

Upon their release, each of the past three volumes of The Final Nail have set off a wave of fur farm raids. The first edition in 1996 saw 16 ALF raids in the six months after publication. Prior to it’s release, there had only been five in U.S. history.

The last edition- The Final Nail #3 – saw limited circulation, and enjoyed only a brief appearance online before seemingly vanishing into a print-only version, which would occasionally be seen distributed at animal rights events. Much of the content from #3 is retained in #4, along with a significant amount of new material.

The media picks up the story

What made the release of this Final Nail different was the media attention. At least six media outlets picked up the story nationwide, covering the release of the guide and the response from fur farmers.

The takeaway from the articles in total is that fur farmers are very concerned about the fourth Final Nail, because they know what has followed the release of the last three: a wave of farm break-ins.

The most recent article, from a Stoughton, Wisconsin newspaper, focuses on the local North American Fur Auctions pelt processing plant being named on the ALF’s “most wanted” list.

Nancy Daigneault, director of communication for NAFA in Toronto, said the company takes the ALF’s threat seriously.

“It’s something that you have to be vigilant about,” Daigneault told the Hub in a telephone interview. “The Animal Liberation Front are extremists. Their whole purpose in life is to destroy the industry. They encourage criminal acts. They encourage people to break into farms.”

A Caldwell, Idaho newspaper published a follow-up on a fur business that was set on fire by the ALF in 2011, and mentions the recent release of The Final Nail #4.

Another Idaho paper also ran a story, mentioning the listing of Idaho State University fur farm industry researcher Jack Rose:

“In addition to local fur farms, the hit list includes Jack Rose, a physiology professor at Idaho State University. Rose occasionally conducts medical research on minks at his lab at the university’s Department of Biological Sciences in Pocatello.

The Final Nail is not new, Rose noted. “It’s been a problem for many years.”

He said he hadn’t known he was listed in the new directory of targets. But shutting down animal lab research would “set medicine back 100 years.”

The largest news site in Utah (which is the second-largest mink farming state), KSL.com, ran this story: “Animal rights group releases anti-fur guide, threatens Utah farms.” The site described the finer points of The Final Nail:

“In addition to the list of addresses and contact information, the group’s publication provides detailed descriptions and photographs of fur farm locations, a “most wanted” list, as well as a guide on “How to Raid a Fur Farm.” It describes what equipment to bring, where to park, and how to avoid getting caught.”

The paper for a past Animal Liberation Front target – Washington State University – ran this story (PDF) on the new Final Nail, claiming the university no longer has mink “on campus.” It is unclear if the mink are held off campus, if the university has stopped fur industry research altogether, or if the statement is simply a lie to deter future raids.

Six mink, seven coyotes, and ten mice were liberated from the research farm in 1991.

A local TV station in Utah ran a report, which showed a reporter waving a copy of The Final Nail #4 in front of the Provo skyline, and warning viewers of the threat posed by a guide that instructed activists on how to destroy Utah’s fur industry. The story also featured an interview with a local fur farmer, who would no identify himself. Unfortunately, the video of the story is no longer posted on the KUTV website (please send a copy to Animal Liberation Frontline if you have one).

The calm before the storm?

The ALF’s statement on it’s new Final Nail read, in part:

“June 1st has come to be known as the launch of ‘fur farm raiding season”, when mink born on fur farms begin to reach maturity and can be released into the wild. The authors intend this latest Final Nail to set off fur farm raiding season by inspiring a new wave of liberations.”

The past two years have been the lowest in ALF fur farm-related activity since the mid-1990s, with only one fur farm liberation taking place in the last 12 months (the release of 12 foxes from a farm in Virginia).

As of this writing, it’s wait-and-see as to whether The Final Nail #4 continues its tradition of inspiring another wave of fur farm raids.