Fire destroys empty chicken barn at a USDA research lab in Maryland and site of 1987 raid. Cause remains under investigation.
Empty chicken barn goes up in flames at USDA research center
A fire is under investigation at a large USDA agricultural research center in Beltsville, Maryland. A multi-story chicken barn went up in flames at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center on March 14th. No animals were in the building at the time of the fire, and no animals were harmed.
There has been no public speculation by investigators as to the fire’s cause, and the fire remains under investigation.
Lab was target of 1980s raid
The research center was the target of a raid claimed by the Band of Mercy, who broke into the facility in 1987, rescuing 36 cats and 7 pigs.
The facility, run by the USDA, conducts animal research to benefit various animal and non-animal industries, including the meat industry.
Second mysterious fire at the lab in 15 years
The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center was the site of another unsolved fire in 1999. In that incident, an under-renovation research building was destroyed by an overnight fire. 100 firefighters with 35 pieces of equipment battled the blaze, which destroyed the building and caused $4 million in damages. Again, investigators would not speculate as to a cause.
Read a 2011 report of a mysterious fire set at a Sheboygan mink farm.
A reader alerted me to this interesting post on Twitter from 2011: A report of a fire started at mink farm, set by “trespassers” of an unspecified nature.
(Click to enlarge)
This Twitter account appears to be operated by someone who follows Sheboygan County (Wisconsin) police chatter via a scanner, and tweets synopses of various police calls.
This could be purposeless vandalism. It could also, possibly, be an unclaimed ALF sabotage action. We may never know.
According to Final Nail, The targeted farm appears to be:
Dittrich Mink Ranch
N7446 County Road LS
Mosel, WI 53083
Contact: Gene D. Dittrich, Christel Sanders
Notes: Mink farm. Christel Sanders is President of the Kettle Moraine Mink Breeders Association.
As noted in a previous article on Frontline, there have been an unusual number of fires at mink farms across the country since 2011, with no officially ruled cause being reported (see: “Curious Fires Hit Four Key Fur Industry Targets Since 2011“). One of these fires occurred just down the road at the Zimbal Minkery in Oosburg, the largest mink farm in the country, which is also in Sheboygan County.
There is no further indication (that I could find) as to whether the fire spread, if there were any arrests, what the outcome of this police call was, or if the farmer did in fact “take his handgun out.”
A look at four fires at key fur industry targets in a 22-month period.
In an industry as small as the fur industry, four “accidental” fires at key targets could be seen as statistically curious.
While there was preliminary (non-arson) explanations for each fire, four things make these incidents worthy of a closer look:
There were four large fires in under two years, in an industry with a supply-side number of approximately 350 targets.
Each fire hit a significant target, including the largest mink farm and largest mink feed supplier.
Each had a preliminary cause classified as “accidental,” however final determinations were never reported.
Two of the fires occurred in same area and at the same time as several other fur farm raids.
The four fires
Utah Fur Breeder’s Cooperative, December 2011
A fire broke out at the plant just south of Salt Lake City around 10:30 am. This facility is believed to be the largest mink feed supplier in the country. Of the four fires, the preliminary explanation seems the most credible, with the likely cause reported as sparks from a welder’s torch. The building was a total loss, and was condemned by building inspectors after the fire.
Lion Farms, Nottingham IN, May 2012
Fire swept through an empty mink shed at this rural Indiana fur farm in May, 2012. Most curious about this incident is that evidence indicates this farm had only opened just prior to the fire. In fact, the farm may not have been fully operational, and was probably still in the process of being filled with animals (the company literally flew mink from the Netherlands to Indiana to populate the farm). Other sheds on the property were reported to have held animals, while the burned shed did not.
Lion Farms is owned by a Dutch firm, who opened two fur farms (that are known of) in the US after a fur farm ban in their home country. The fire appeared to happen very early in their migration to the US. Any attack to head off their foothold in the US market could be considered very strategic.
Since this fire, Lion Farms opened a second farm in Ohio. Curiously, this farm was also raided by activists in September, when 300 mink were released.
The fire was suspected to have been started by embers from a trash can fire.
Sonnenberg Mink Farm, Detroit Lakes MN, October 2013
A spark from an incinerator was speculated to have set off a fire at this large mink farm last month. The fire occurred just a few days after 250 mink were released from another Minnesota fur farm. The building was a total loss, and damages were estimated at over $1 million.
While it is uncertain, at 50,000 mink this farm is likely to be the largest fur farm in Minnesota. Comparing satellite images of Minnesota farms also lends probability to this being the largest.
Zimbal Minkery, Oostburg WI, October 2013
Just over two weeks ago, a fire broke out in storage building at the Zimbal Minkery. This is the largest fur farm in the country, with over 200,000 mink.
2,000 mink were released from another Wisconsin farm the same month.
A storage barn at the Zimbal Minkery is reportedly on fire as of noon, Monday. This story is still breaking, but here’s what is known:
A pole barn is currently on fire at the farm, located at 6438 Abraham Court in Oostburg, WI; just outside of Sheboygan.
This farm is the largest fur farm in the country, with over 200,000 mink.
Early reports say it is a sawdust fire that has caused an estimated $2,000 damage to one of the barn walls and about $20,000 to $30,000 in damage to equipment.
This is the second large mink farm in a two-state area to go up in flames in the past two weeks. On October 12th, a processing building at the Sonnenberg Mink Farm in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota went up in flames. No animals were hurt. It is believed the farm is the largest fur farm in Minnesota. The cause of the fire is unknown, but was speculated to be “accidental”.
This story will be updated as more information comes in.
Iowa sheriff tells media “all” police departments must report animal releases to the FBI.
A quote in a follow-up article on the mink release in Keota, Iowa revealed one interesting (but unsurprising) note: That all police departments are “required” to report any animal release to the FBI.
The police log states that sometime overnight on Aug. 30, about 100 mink were released from cages in the 1100 block of 190th Street in Keota. The sheriff says that as of Thursday, “some” of the animals were still missing.
Presumably, crimes the most powerful investigative agency in the country is not interested in investigating include robbery, home invasion, assault, murder, and any arson and property damage that is not intended to save animals.
Police say they continue to investigate the release as a “prank”, but that their investigator and the FBI have been in frequent contact.
20 coyotes released in a second, unclaimed action at a USDA predator research facility in 1999.
Occasionally an Animal Liberation Front action (or one that bears its mark) will go both unclaimed and unnoticed by nearly everyone. An attempted arson and release of 20 coyotes at the USDA Predatory Research Facility in Millville, Utah was just such an action.
On August 1st, 1999; persons unknown cut their way into locked coyote pens and released 20 coyotes. Subsequently, a fire was set near a building, but failed to do damage.
An employee at the facility bluntly explained how the liberators got through the perimeter fencing:
“They pretty much cut their way through”
The only known mention came in a small Logan, Utah newspaper, which reported the incident. There was no claim of responsibility, and to my knowledge, the action was never reported in any animal rights media source.
The USDA coyote research facility near the Utah State University campus.
Similar to previous raid at the coyote lab
The USDA Predatory Research Facility was put on the map seven years earlier in 1992 in a very similar action, when the Animal Liberation Front released dozens of coyotes and set fire to two buildings there. The action was part of the ALF’s “Operation Bite Back,” which targeted a half-dozen wildlife (primarily fur) operations in the early-1990s.
The attack temporarily halted research at the facility, and 33 coyotes were never recovered.
Coyote research facility continues to this day
The coyote research lab continues to operate to this day, imprisoning over 100 coyotes for experiments to benefit the trapping and livestock industries. The facility covers 164 acres and lies at the base of a mountain range just south of the Utah State University campus in Millville, Utah. It is the country’s only coyote research facility financed by the government.
Over 100 coyotes are imprisoned at the lab
Much history goes unwritten
The brief media report is all that we may ever know about this action.
If you come across reports of other unpublicized actions that bear the mark of the ALF, please submit to Animal Liberation Frontline so this history can be documented.
Fearing an arson attack, police maintain presence outside an upcoming slaughterhouse in Iowa.
Keokuk County sheriffs have positioned themselves outside an upcoming horse slaughterhouse this week over fears it will be set on fire by the Animal Liberation Front.
The concern comes after the only other horse slaughterhouse in the US was set on fire last week, temporarily delaying its opening.
Fire, and other good news
In another positive turn, a judge Friday blocked the opening of both horse slaughterhouses. The two plants were to be the first in the country to open after a recent move by the Obama administration to reverse a 2008 congressional move that ended the practice. The order is only temporary, and is pending the outcome of an ongoing lawsuit.
Police stakeout continues
According to media reports, the proposed horse-slaughtering plant owned by “Responsible Transportation LLC” in Iowa remains under the close eye of local police, who consider the building to be squarely in the crosshairs of the Animal Liberation Front.
Despite an arson that damaged five air compressors “beyond repair” last week, an upcoming New Mexico horse slaughterhouse now says it will open on schedule. The company had previously stated the arson would “delay” Monday’s opening.
Refrigeration units at the Valley Meat Co. in Roswell., N.M., lit up in flames on Tuesday, in what was speculated to be an arson by animal rights activists. Neither the Animal Liberation Front nor other group has yet taken responsibility.
The plant was to be the first horse slaughterhouse in the nation, after changes at the USDA closed the last remaining three in 2007.
The slaughterhouse has been under tremendous pressure since announcing it would be first in the country to open after the Obama administration recently allowed horse slaughter in the US to resume. The plant faces a federal lawsuit from the Humane Society of the United States and other plaintiffs.
This slaughterhouse was also put on the map in March, when one of its workers shot a horse in the head on camera, and said, “All you animal activists, fuck you.”
The sentiment was returned Tuesday, when (presumed) animal activists set the building on fire.
The opening of the nation’s only horse slaughterhouse is stalled after the building is set on fire.
An arson attack Saturday has halted the opening of a horse slaughterhouse in Roswell, New Mexico. The Valley Meat Company was in the process of converting from a cow slaughterhouse to a horse slaughterhouse, and was scheduled to open this week. Federal courts shut down the last three horse slaughterhouses in 2007. When opened, the Roswell plant would have been the only horse slaughterhouse in the US. That opening has now been halted.
The owner stated that on Saturday night someone apparently jumped the fence, then poured accelerant over the compressors to the slaughterhouse’s refrigeration unit.
Valley Meat Co. owner Rick De Los Santo said:
“They tried to burn the place down.”
The slaughterhouse was to begin killing horses on Monday. Without a functioning refrigeration unit, the plant is now unable to operate, and the opening has been delayed.
The arson has not (yet) been claimed by the Animal Liberation Front, or other clandestine group.
Valley Meat Company horse slaughterhouse
More information will be posted as it is available.
Unclaimed mink liberation reported in FBI document from ALF legal case.
One of the many documents made pubic in the Alex Hall and William Viehl case revealed a previously unknown action that was apparently the work of animal liberators: Sometime in August, 2008, persons unknown opened 15 pens and released 114 mink from a mink farm in South Jordan, Utah. This action was unclaimed, and was never reported on in the media. Until, this action was not known outside of the fur farming community.
The quote from the FBI document reads:
“McMullin stated that several days before the vandalism at his farm occurred, Hunter Groves Mink Farm may have been targeted by animal rights extremists. McMullin added that about 15 pens had been opened up and about 114 mink had been released.”
“McMullin” refers to Lindsey McMullin, the owner of the farm where Alex Hall and William Viehl released 650 mink in August 2008, an action they were subsequently arrested and served prison time for. The McMullin fur farm is a short distance north of the (former) Groves fur farm.
The Hunter Groves Mink Farm is one that is known to area activists: for many years it was an active mink farm in South Jordan, Utah, located in a (relatively) densely populated area on a major road. At a protest there in 2010, members of SLAAM (Salt Lake Animal Advocacy Movement) were given a tour of the farm by caretakers, and shown that the farm was empty. The caretakers stated the farm had moved to Benjamin, Utah. The new address of that farm has not yet been released, and it is not known if the raid influenced that move.
ALF spraypaint left on mink shed at McMullin Fur Farm in 2008
Fifth Midwest barn fire in one month destroys rodeo equipment and training arena.
A massive fire destroyed a barn used by a rodeo in southern Illinois last night. The fire consumed the entire building and its contents, which included “expensive” equipment used for an annual rodeo. The was no word from investigators about a possible cause.
The fire destroyed a facility east of St Louis used by “Optimist Rodeo”. The organization holds an annual rodeo, which was scheduled to be held in June. There is no word on if the rodeo will be cancelled, or how the fire will affect the event.
I posted last week about four other recent farm fires in the Midwest, including three on the same night in which arson was ruled “probable”. One of these fires destroyed a barn at a dairy farm.
Investigators are calling the rodeo fire “suspicious”, however they note there have been other arsons in the area recently and there is no immediate evidence that activists are responsible.
Mysterious fires break out at three Ohio farms on the same night.
In the early morning of April 5th in rural Ohio, fires were set at three nearby farms. All three targeted buildings were completely destroyed. Investigators ruled one of the fires arson, while arson was ruled the “probable” cause of the other two. One of the targeted farms was a dairy farm.
All three buildings were considered a “complete loss,” with destruction of farm equipment, hay and straw. Media coverage pointed out that no animals were hurt, and that none of the targeted buildings housed animals.
One farmer had this to say:
“What people don’t understand is that for a farmer, that barn is sometimes more important than your house,” Skinner said. “Thank God we didn’t have any animals in the barn, thank God!”
The fires occurred at these addresses:
15253 Woodtown Rd., in Sunbury, at 6:08 a.m.
1915 state Route 605, in Sunbury, at 6:26 a.m.
4855 Miller-Paul Rd., in Westerville, at 6:52 a.m.
Although all the fires targeted only buildings where no animals were housed, there was nothing to immediately indicate they were the work of someone with an animal liberation motive.
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