Fur Website Hacked, Decorated with ALF Message

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Animal Liberation Frontline obtains confidential “security alert” detailing the hacking of the Fur Commission USA website.

For over 8 hours on Thursday night / Friday morning, the website for the Fur Commission USA went nearly blank, and the main page was replaced with the message “Destroying the Fur Industry Piece by Piece – A.L.F.”

(click to enlarge)

There has been no claim of responsibility, but the website hack was confirmed in a “security alert” sent by the Fur Commission USA to its members yesterday. Animal Liberation Frontline has obtained the bulletin, not intended to be read by the general public, which gives the following insights into the hack:

*The FCUSA claims the website was hacked from 3am to before 10am. This is a deliberate lie by the FCUSA. As this time-stamped screenshot shows, the site was hacked at least as early as 11pm CST / 9pm PST, a full six hours earlier than the email claims. Presumably, the time the site was hacked was cut in half (or more) to mitigate embarrassment it is suffering over the incident.

*Quote: “NO SENSITIVE INDUSTRY OR PERSONAL DATA has ever been stored on the website, and member section materials were never accessed by the intruders”.

*Quote: “What is evident is, that our opponents monitor our sites constantly and when a vulnerability is discovered, attack immediately.”

*Quote: “The perpetrators, when discovered, can and will be prosecuted under the AETA (Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act).”

The bulletin reads, in full:

“Security Alert
FCUSA website hacked
August 11, 2012

As you may know by now, the Fur Commission USA website (www.furcommission.com) was hacked the morning of August 10 by the ‘ALF’ . It was down for approximately 6 hours (Accessed sometime after 3:00 AM PST and restored before 10:00 AM). I’ve been told by our programmers that the hackers used a 3rd party script (facebook, twitter, paypal for example) to detour people to an alternate site, unlike a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) where malware is loaded into the code to crash the site. The vulnerability has been patched and updated firewalls have been installed. This process took our programmers less than 10 minutes. At no time did the intruders have access to edit or delete furcommission.com content. NO SENSITIVE INDUSTRY OR PERSONAL DATA has ever been stored on the website, and member section materials were never accessed by the intruders. The programmers are now tracing the source of the attack and are forwarding information to the FBI in Washington DC. What is evident is, that our opponents monitor our sites constantly and when a vulnerability is discovered, attack immediately. This is called a 0-day attack. The perpetrators, when discovered, can and will be prosecuted under the AETA. (Often, challenges become opportunities…..)

Distributed by,
Michael Whelan
Fur Commission USA
541-595-8568”

Two ALF-Raided Fur Farms Shut Down

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Years after being visited by the ALF, fur farms in Minnesota and Maryland are confirmed closed.

I am happy to pass along that the Gunnink Fox Farm (Chandler, MN) and Parsons Mink Ranch (Salisbury, MD) have both been confirmed as closed.

Each one was raided twice by anonymous activists, and at least two of the actions were claimed by the Animal Liberation Front.

The report states that the remaining sheds at Parsons Mink Ranch are being used for storage, and that Calvin Gunnink has moved to Odessa, MN. The previous property (where the fox farm was located) is in foreclosure under new owners.

News of the closures comes over a decade after the ALF raids. It is not known at what point during this time the farms closed, and there is no evidence to suggests the closures are directly related to the ALF actions. If anything, it at least brings “closure” to the bloody legacy of two of this country’s remaining fur farms.

Some background from the ALF Complete Diary of Actions:

The Gunnink Fox Farm raids

September 12th, 1999
Calvin Gunnink Fur Farm
Chandler, Minnesota
100 fox liberated

October 25th, 1999
Calvin Gunnink Fur Farm
Chandler, Minnesota
5 lynx liberated

Parsons Mink Ranch raids

May 11th, 1997
Parsons Mink Ranch
Salisbury, Maryland
500 mink liberated

August 14th, 1999
Parsons Mink Ranch
Salisbury, Maryland
20 mink liberated

Approximately 270 mink farms remain in the US.

Fire Sweeps Through Indiana Mink Farm

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A barn at a previously unknown fur farm is destroyed by fire.

A rural Indiana newspaper is reporting that embers from a trash can fire set off a blaze that destroyed a barn at a Nottingham, Indiana fur farm. Smoke from the burning building at 9555 S 250 E was said to be visible for miles.

The fire occurred in a mink shed that did not house any animals. According to reports, an “adjacent” building is said to house mink.

News coverage revealed the location of the mink farm, which was previously unknown. The location is said to be a former dairy farm, which converted over to housing mink sometime after 2000. The farm has not been listed in the two primary fur farm address sources: www.finalnail.com or The Blueprint: Fur Farm Intelligence Project Report. It is owned by Lion Farms Indiana LLC of Keystone, Indiana.

View an aerial image of the mink farm here.

In an odd coincidence, the fire occurred three hours west off the same highway as three additional farm fires that occurred a month earlier in Sanbury, Ohio. The second set of fires all occurred on the same night, and all have been ruled arson. One of the targeted businesses was a dairy farm. There has been no public speculation by police of an animal liberation motive.

New Photos of Burned Fur Farm Supplier Show Building is a “Total Loss”

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Animal Liberation Frontline receives new photos of burned fur feed supplier revealing building is totally out of commission.

In December, what may be the largest mink feed supplier in the country went up in flames. While the Utah Fur Breeder’s Agricultural Co-op (outside Salt Lake City) has been targeted by the Animal Liberation Front in two past arson attacks, this fire was ruled “accidental”. The fire was said to have been caused by sparks from a welder’s torch.

There have been no reports until now about how extensive the fire was, or what effect it would have on the building. New photos received by Animal Liberation Frontline reveal the fire has completely shut down the Fur Breeder’s Agricultural Co-op.

The media reported heavily on the fire, but there were no follow up reports on the extent of the damage. These photos show the damage was greater than originally reported. One sign on the door of building described the building as a “total loss”.

This information is significant for the future of the fur farming industry in Utah (the country’s second-largest fur farming state) because of this business’s importance. Mink farms in the past have been forced to close down after the plant cut them from their delivery route. With the Fur Breeder’s Cooperative out of commission, it raises the question: What will this mean for the fur industry in Utah?

Posted below are the 14 photos received by Animal Liberation Frontline. They show, among other things:

*Large portions of the building demolished, with only the foundation remaining

*A sign declaring the building has been deemed unsafe for entry

*A sign describing the building as a “total loss”

*Images of the gutted interior

*Images of the exterior charred by smoke

Portion of the burned building

Charred portions of the building

View of a burned out office

Office door

View from the north

View of the FBAC from across the street

Building a “total loss”

Another view of building’s demolished core

Dumpster of debrit

Main portion of the building gone

Sign on office door

View from the north

Founder of Recently-Raided Iowa Fur Farm Dies

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Mink and fox farmer Palmer Erickson dead at 83.

Palmer Erickson lived to see something that was long overdue:  in his final days, anonymous liberators opened cages and released 1,500 mink from his fur farm. Erickson died of esophageal cancer this week, shortly after this action.

Since at least the 1950s, Palmer Erickson and his sons have imprisoned and killed thousands of mink and fox every year on their farm in Jewel, Iowa. After 60+ years, Erickson passed away on January 1st.

Fur farmers should take note: you may persist unimpeded for years, even decades, but there is a good chance the ALF will find you eventually.

No claim of responsibility was made for the October raid, but the action bore the mark of the Animal Liberation Front: cages opened and animals freed in an overnight action. The incident followed the model of 80+ other fur farm raids over the past 15 years. It was the fourth clandestine action carried out (or appearing to be carried out) by animal liberators in Jewell or the surrounding areas since 1999. The Hawkeye Mink Cooperative, Scott Nelson mink farm, and Isebrands fur farm (owned by relatives of Erickson’s) have all been targeted.

His obituary read, in part:

“On June 12, 1955, he was united in marriage to Marilyn Weih of Tipton, Iowa. Palmer and Marilyn resided outside of Jewell on a farm their entire married life, where Palmer established the Erickson Mink Ranch.”

Erickson narrowly escaped not living to see animal liberators deliver a small amount of justice for his victims. He died having experienced first hand in some of his final days what compassionate raiders are willing to do to bring freedom to 1,500 of the animals he held captive.

– Peter Young

Images of the Utah Fur Breeders Agricultural Co-op Fire

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Images of the recent fire at the Utah Fur Breeders Agricultural Co-op.

On December 19th, one of the most important businesses in the US fur industry went up in flames. The Fur Breeders Agricultural Cooperative caught fire and suffered major damage after a welder’s torch ignited the roof. The building has been an ALF target multiple times, including one Animal Liberation Front-claimed arson attack that destroyed most of the building in 1997.

Last month’s fire was ruled an accident, but was no less devastating to this essential component of the fur trade in the second largest fur farming state. Enjoy this photo gallery of images from the blaze.

Largest Fur Feed Supplier in the Country Goes Up in Flames

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Utah Fur Breeders Co-op burns down for the second time.

Fire guts the country's biggest fur feed supplier

A fire broke out at the country’s largest fur feed supplier around 10:30 AM Monday. The fire raged out of control until 2pm and was not fully extinguished for many hours. The building was reported as “heavily damaged”.

The fire has tentatively been ruled accidental. This is the second time the Utah Fur Breeder’s Cooperative in suburban Salt Lake City has burned down. In the first, the Animal Liberation Front took credit in 1997 for planting explosives and incendiary devices in the building and doing over $1,000,000 damages.

There has been no damage estimate, though photos of the building show a large portion of the building to be destroyed.

The business is reportedly out of commission for the moment, leaving Utah farmers desperate to formulate feed that will maintain a quality of pelt needed to stay in business.

Significant target

The feed supplier is among the most significant lynchpins in the US fur industry. Last year I turned up a 2001 newspaper article in the Salt Lake City library, illustrating how important this supplier is to the survival of the country’s second largest fur farming state. The article covered a lawsuit brought by two mink farmers, who claimed that the feed supplier was so crucial to their business, when it stopped delivering to their town, both farms were forced to close.

After initial suspicions the fire was the work of the ALF, it has been blamed on a welder working in the roof.

Experimental fur farm closed?

One interesting item came out in the news reports: the feed supplier (again, reportedly) no longer has an experimental fur farm on site. For decades, the business has had an on-site farm lab where new feed formulations were tested. The farm portion itself was twice targeted by the ALF in the mid-1990s. However, news reports state that there were no animals on the property at the time of the fire.

Frequent ALF target

Because of its significance, the Fur Breeders Cooperative has been targeted numerous times by the Animal Liberation Front. In addition to the 1997 bombing, there have been two mink liberations from the experimental fur farm, and one attempted arson. In Dean Kuiper’s book “Operation Bite Back“, he gives a detailed account of the attempted arson by Rod Coronado, who attempted to burn the building down by himself in 1991 after entering through the roof. The incendiary device failed to ignite.

Most recently, activists in Salt Lake City staged a protest at the building in spring of 2010. Local police were sued after they gave the activists an unlawful order to disperse, and were ordered to pay protesters and lawyers over $30,000.

Later this week I will be posting a photo gallery of images from the fire.

– Peter Young

Security System Fails Oregon Mink Farm

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It is unknown if security cameras at a Lebanon, Oregon mink farm have deterred the release of mink by the A.L.F. However this week, they failed to prevent the theft of the cameras themselves.

Police reported this week that two of an Oregon mink farm’s night vision security cameras had been stolen.

According to The Blueprint, the 32000 block of Fur Road is the home of three consolidated mink farms: Slack Farms, Masog Mink Ranch, and the Arnold Krull fur farm.

In addition to cameras, activists report that the farm at one time employed another curious security feature: a prominent scarecrow erected outside a mink shed, adorned with a sign: “A.L.F. Stay Away”.

None of the farm’s security devices deterred activists in 1997, when 80 mink were released in an overnight raid.

Losses from the video camera theft (and the additional theft of a gas can) were placed at $545.

– Peter Young

Fur Farmer Meeting Backfires: New Mink Farm Exposed

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Fur farmers attending a county council meeting to support a Morgan, Utah anti-fur farm protest ordinance hadn’t considered one thing: by being present, their names were now public record. As an unintended consequence, one previously unknown fur farm unknowingly exposed its location to the world: 1340 Island Road, Morgan, Utah.

15 mink farms are known to be operating in Morgan, the largest fur farming town in the country. Yet available fur farm lists only identified the addresses of 14. As shown in information provided to Animal Liberation Front-Line, the County Council meeting minutes have made public the location of the last unknown Morgan mink farm.

Activists obtained the meeting minutes for the Country Council meeting, attended by many mink farmers upset by the upcoming Fur Free Saturday march past their farms. The minutes were made public. At the bottom of the document was a list of everyone in attendance, including known fur farmers such as Smoky Dillree and Bryan Boyce. Also on the list were many unrecognized names.

This week I received the results of a cross-referencing of the list of attendees against existing fur farm address lists. The result: One of the names brought to light a previously unknown mink farm, just north of downtown Morgan at 1340 Island Road.  By the short-sightedness of fur farmers, the animal rights movement now has one more farm to protest on November 28th. (more…)

The Belly of the Beast: Nationwide Convergence on Fur Farm Capital

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Activists will from across the country will be converging on Morgan, Utah for Fur Free Saturday (November 28th). Morgan is the largest fur farming town in the country, with 15 active mink farms. In the spirit of the march to Birmingham in 1965, this convergence will climax in a one mile march through the heart of fur farm country, past two of Morgan’s mink farms.

Just the threat of this event is already generating immense media coverage in Utah. Through this coverage, it is clear it is not a peaceful protest they fear, but the power of crowds, and militant intervention of protesters who may escalate the protest. Farmers are fearful the event will result in daylight raids of their farms, citing past protests in West Jordan and West Haven which resulted in the daytime release of animals.

The next chapter came when the Morgan County Council amended their protesting ordinances specifically in fear of the convergence, requiring protesters to stay 1000 feet from all mink farms. In a town of 13 mink farms, it effectively makes the entire town of Morgan a “protest-free zone”. Almost. The head of the Morgan P.D. contacted local activists this week to inform them their city engineers had identified one location not within 1000 feet of a fur farm: The sidewalk in front of the police station. Protesting anywhere else, he said, would result in arrest.

For local mink farmers, their attendance at the ordinance meeting had an unknown consequence. The meeting minutes, obtained by activists, reveal the names of all in attendance, many of whom are mink farmers. This list contains the name of the owner of at least one previously unknown mink farm. While farmers work to conceal their names and addresses from activists, they made a clumsy error by allowing their names to be recorded on the county meeting minutes, and become public record.  A future post will cover what was learned from the list of names.

The flagrant stifling of protest activity lead the local Ogden, Utah paper to publish an editorial condemning Morgan officials for their anti-free-speech ordinance.

Morgan is clearly a town contemptuous of the constitution and steeped in the tradition of murder. Two lawsuits and numerous news headlines later, activists remain committed to march on Morgan November 28th, and are calling on activists nationwide to join them.

This event is likely to be legend.

More info at The Fur Free utah Website.

-Peter Young