Activists mass-mail ALF guide to 100 neighbors of proposed mink farm

Posted by Peter | 5 comments

The Fur Farm Intelligence Unit sends The Final Nail #4 to everyone within half a mile of upcoming fur farm.

In a communique received by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, the Fur Farm Intelligence Unit announced it had mailed a copy of the Animal Liberation Front guide The Final Nail #4 to every address within 0.5 miles of a proposed Idaho mink farm.

A surge of fur farm raids follow every time a new volume of the guide is released, and since 1996 The Final Nail has been the source of much fear among the fur industry.

The proposed fur farm

In mid-January, local media reported construction was to begin on a mink farm at the intersection of 800 East and Hwy 91 in Preston, Idaho. Despite neighborhood opposition, the City Council failed to intervene and the new mink farm appears to be on the fast track to opening.

The situation is similar to one faced by the community of Craig, Colorado last fall. When the County Council opted to postpone a decision to block expansion of a small mink farm, anonymous activists raided it within a week and shut it down.

Before this week, the distribution of an ALF “how to” guide to recruit the local community had never been attempted.

Local media covers the mass-mailing

In an article covering the Fur Farm Intelligence Unit’s mass-mailing (“Animal rights activists targeting Preston mink farm“), the Herald-Journal disputes the FFIU’s claim that the City Council failed to act, stating the proposed farm falls outside city jurisdiction, with final approval falling on the Franklin County Commission.

What is the “Fur Farm Intelligence Unit”?

The mass-mailing is the latest move for what (in all likelihood) is a nebulous group called the Fur Farm Intelligence Unit. They have taken credit for the release of sensitive fur industry information such as fur farm addresses and dates fur farmers are out of town.

A look at the data released by the FFIU to date:

August, 2009: Released a list of attendees at the Canadian Mink Breeder’s Association, and the dates several fur farmers were booked at nearby hotels (and consequently would not be home to protect their farms from the ALF.)

December, 2009: Released the address of an unknown Oregon mink farm.

October, 2010: Released the addresses of three unknown mink farms, a new feed supplier, and a new fur industry researcher.

July, 2012: Released a list of 92 unlisted fox farms.

Their message to local residents

Part of the FFIU’s message, included with each copy of The Final Nail #4, read:

“The instructions in this manual may represent your last hope in ridding this fur factory farm from your neighborhood. This guide offers the quickest solution to shut down a fur farm and drive it from your neighborhood forever. Since 1996, over 100 mink and fox farms have been raided using the step-by-step techniques in this guide.”

Preston is a previous ALF target

The town was visited by the Animal Liberation Front in 1997, when 5,000 mink were released from the Palmer Mink Farm.

The communique and letter to Preston residents reads, in full:

“Animal rights group floods Preston mailboxes with guide to raiding mink farms
Group urges raid on proposed fur farm if allowed to open

Preston, Idaho – After the City Council failed to block a proposed mink farm in Preston, this week the “Fur Farm Intelligence Unit” mailed a copy of The Final Nail #4 to every home within half a mile of the proposed farm. The guide was delivered to 95 homes in total. The manual contains a step-by-step, “proven method” for raiding a fur farm and shutting it down.

Recently, the community of Craig, Colorado was faced with the same dilemma, with the County Council failing to act swiftly to block an unwanted mink farm from expanding, despite neighborhood opposition. Anonymous individuals then applied the simple methods in The Final Nail #4, raided the farm overnight, and shut it down permanently.

The note to Preston residents included in the packages reads, in part:

“The instructions in this manual may represent your last hope in ridding this fur factory farm from your neighborhood. This guide offers the quickest solution to shut down a fur farm and drive it from your neighborhood forever. Since 1996, over 100 mink and fox farms have been raided using the step-by-step techniques in this guide.”

The guide, sent free of charge to everyone within half a mile of the proposed farm, contains instruction on:

• How to bypass farm security.
• How to remove fencing.
• How to maximize economic damage and chances of closure.

It also includes addresses for every fur farm in Idaho.

The communique urges a raid on the farm if it is allowed to open. In their statement, the “Fur Farm Intelligence Unit” stated:

“We hope you can defeat this farm legally. And that if your sworn representatives fail to represent you, that you apply the methods in this guide and shut the proposed mink farm down forever.”

This mass-mailing follows a raid of another Idaho mink farm in August, in which 2,500 to 5,000 mink were released, with damages estimated in excess of $1 million.

Idahoans For Animal Liberation

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Addendum

Every copy of The Final Nail #4 sent to Preston residents included the following note:

Enclosed, you will find The Final Nail #4, a proven method for shutting down fur farms. This how-to guide is accompanied by a list of every fur farm in Idaho.

You are being sent this because, as you may be aware, a mink farm is scheduled to open with a half-mile of you, at 800 East and Hwy 91.

You may also be aware that everywhere mink farms have opened, from Utah to Wisconsin, property values have plummeted, groundwater has been contaminated, and the smell has made many homeowners unable to remain on their property.

You may also be aware that the Preston City Council recently ignored pleas from residents, and paved the way for this mink farm to open in your neighborhood.

The instructions in this manual may represent your last hope in ridding this fur factory farm from your neighborhood. This guide offers the quickest solution to shut down a fur farm and drive it from your neighborhood forever. Since 1996, over 100 mink and fox farms have been raided using the step-by-step techniques in this guide. And as a result, many have had to shut down.

We are presenting this guide free of charge so you may protect your community from the threat to animals and your health posed by fur farms. And we hope that when you shut down this soon-to-open mink farm, you move on to drive from your community all chicken farms, pig farms, egg farms, and other prisons where animals are confined.

In November, the community of Craig, Colorado was in a similar situation to the one you face, with a mink farm poised to expand and the County Council failing to act. Facing the potential of living with a large mink farm indefinitely, individuals took it upon themselves to take action, raiding the farm overnight. The farm was forced to shut down.

We hope you can defeat this farm legally. And that if your sworn representatives fail to represent you, that you apply the methods in this guide and shut the proposed mink farm down forever.

Fur Farm Intelligence Unit
January 24th, 2014

The farm is not scheduled to open until 2016. There are four other mink farms in Preston which can be raided in the meantime.”