Kellie Marshall sentenced to 60 days in attempt to release mink from Iowa fur farm.
After her arrest at the Circle K Fur Farm on October 10th, Kellie Marshall finally resolved her case March 13th and received unexpectedly short sentence of 60 days. She pleaded guilty to releasing an animal from an animal facility and attempted third-degree burglary.
Although no animal escaped the perimeter fencing, some reports state that a cage was opened and a single animal released within the fence.Victor and Kellie were arrested after tripping alarms at the farm, and being apprehended in the property behind the farm after a foot chase.
This is the second time there was an action at the Circle K Fur Farm. The first occurred in 1997, when 5,000 mink and 100 foxes were released.
Kellie is expected to be released in late-April. Her six month sentence may be considered a favorable outcome, after her co-defendant Victor VanOrden received a sentence of 5 years for the same incident.
VanOrden is eligible to apply for parole in May. At that point, the judge may review his sentence. The judge made statements in court that a revision of the five year sentence is a “possibility”.
Please read the many updates at the Support Kellie and Victor website, including how to email Victor, mail rules for both prisoners, how to donate to their commissary fund, Victor’s Amazon wish list, and more.
Write both of them a letter of support: Victor VanOrden #6916264A
North Central Correctional Facility
313 Lanedale
Rockwell City, IA 50579
Kellie VanOrden
c/o Woodbury County Jail
PO Box 3083
Sioux City, IA 51101
The Animal Ethics Conferenceis this week at Utah Valley University. I’ll have the good fortune of joining some accomplished activists, attorneys, and academics for this event, taking place Thursday, April 5th and Friday, April 6th.
(Rumor is a speaker from HSUS cancelled after being unwilling (either personally or at the direction of his employers) to share a speaking roster with people discussing illegal tactics.)
The full schedule is as follows:
Thursday, April 5
10–11:15 | Animal Law: In the Real World – In Education
Pamela Frasch, J.D.
Assistant Dean, Animal Law Program
Exe. Dir. of the CALS, Lewis and Clark Law School
11:30–12:45 | Muzzling a Movement
Dara Lovitz, J.D.
Author, Muzzling a Movement
1–2:15 | Speaker’s Lunch
4:00–5:15 | Learning from Difficult Cases: Tillikum v. Sea World
Kathy Hessler, J.D., LL.M.
Clinical Professor and Director, Animal Law Clinic
CALS, Lewis and Clark Law School
5:30–6:15 | Roundtable Discussion
Friday, April 6
10–10:50 | Animal Liberation Above the Law: In Defense of the Animal Liberation Front
In 1990, a little-known bill passed in Utah making it a Class A misdemeanor to release mink from fur farms. I’m posting an article about the law that ran in the Salt Lake Tribune.
The bill is interesting in that it predated the first recorded mink liberation in the US, making it puzzling what could have inspired the law. The only theory that makes sense is that Utah fur farmers were concerned about mink releases they had read about in Europe, and wished to head off the trend crossing the ocean – by making mink liberations a misdemeanor.
Most interesting, a Utah Senator voiced opposition, stating she “didn’t believe others should be punished for acting according to the dictates of their conscience”.
Punctuating the futility of such laws, shortly after this passed, the most intense ALF offensive ever carried out against the fur industry began. Dubbed “Operation Bite Back”, the multi-state ALF arson campaign would see two actions in Utah: The attempted arson of the Utah Fur Breeder’s Co-op in Sandy, and an arson and coyote liberation at the Utah State University / Animal Damage Control labs.
The full article reads:
Some folks believe raising animals for their pelts is morally wrong. But if that belief should prompt animal-rights advocates to release animals from Utah fur farms, they could face criminal penalities.
The House voted Thursday to make it a Class A misdemeanor to release any fur-bearing animal from fur farms.Rep. Joanne Milner, D-Salt Lake, protested the bill, saying she “didn’t feel comfortable” with the idea of mink coats and didn’t believe others should be punished for acting according to the dictates of their conscience.
But that prompted Rep. Donald LeBaron, R-Highland, to burst out, “Heavens! Let’s pass the bill. That would be terrible for anyone with a kitty or doggie. Those mink are mean.”
California senate proposes tougher penalties for ALF arsons at stockyards.
After the Animal Liberation Front set 14 trucks on fire at the Harris Ranch stockyards in January, Senator Anthony Cannella introduced Senate Bill 1302, which would give prosecutors the power to file aggravated arson charges — rather than simple arson — for arsons of animal abuser’s property.
Damages in the January arson was estimated at $2 million. In a communique, the Animal Liberation Front took credit.
Under existing state law, a person is guilty of aggravated arson if they intentionally set a fire with the intent to hurt or kill somebody, or that causes losses in excess of $6.5 million. Although the ALF adheres to a strict code of not injuring human or non-human life, the law would put Animal Liberation Front actions in the same legal category as those who set fires with the intent to kill.
This continues the post-9-11 trend of characterizing activists who damage property or rescue animals as terrorists, and assigning false motives to those whose only intention is to save animals.
The legislation was reportedly introduced at the request of the dairy industry.
The proposed law specifically targets fires which are set at stockyards. In passed, any fire set “with the intent to disrupt the commercial operations of a feedlot or livestock salesyard,” and causes in excess of $100,000 in damage, will qualify as aggravated arson.
The difference between arson and aggravated arson are the prison sentences for anyone arrested. Someone convicted of aggravated arson can face a possible sentence of 10 years to life. Simple arson involving property has a range of prison time between 16 months and three years.
The bill comes in response to the January arson in which incendiary devices were placed under 14 trucks at Harris Ranch, a large stockyard located on I-5 in the California central valley.
In undefeatable logic, the senator who authored the bill stated this about the Animal Liberation Front:
“They purposely act to try to disrupt the flow of food to these animals, which is animal cruelty.”
After years on the run, Justin Solondz pleads guilty to role in Washington ELF arson.
On March 16th, Justin Solondz was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for his role in the 2001 ELF arson at the University of Washington. The action targeted the UW Urban Horticulture building, which the ELF stated in their communique was the site of genetic engineering work on trees.
Solondz is also charged with a role in the 2001 arson of a Bureau of Land Management wild horse corral in Susanville, California. The action was claimed by the Animal Liberation Front. It was not immediately clear if last month’s guilty plea also resolved that charge.
Solondz was indicted in 2006, and spent two years as a fugitive before being arrested on marijuana possession charges in China in 2008. His attorney stated in court documents that Solondz’s imprisonment in China included being “chained naked in a glass-enclosed cell” by Chinese authorities. For much of his nearly three years in Chinese custody, he was forced to shell peas all day, and would not be fed unless he met a quota.
Solondz was extradited to the US in 2011 and taken into US custody. Shortly after, his codefendant and former girlfriend Brianna Waters agreed to cooperate against him in exchange for a lighter sentence.
ALF takes credit for cutting fences and releasing 75 to 100 birds in Oregon.
In the latest of a string of ALF actions in Oregon over the past several years, the Animal Liberation Front stripped away 200 feet of fencing from an aviary at a pheasant breeder in Scio the night of March 14th. Between 75 and 150 pheasants were released into the wild.
The target was a breeding farm, where birds were bred to be sold to canned hunting operations.
Owner Gary Bochsler confirmed that his farm had been raided and 75 pheasants released. He said his farm was nearly empty at the time of the raid, because it was near the conclusion of the hunting season and most of the animals had already been sold to be killed by fake hunters in canned hunting operations.
Scio was the site of another ALF action in 2008. The S&N Mink Farm was targeted in that action, and pproximately 150 mink were released. An investigation of the farm shortly after in 2009 revealed it to be empty, and most likely closed.
In the most colorful way possible, Bochsler expressed concern over his ability to prevent the Animal Liberation Front from returning:
“The problem is now I’ve got to stop it somehow… I’ll have to put up lighting and booby traps: Try to catch them just like I catch the varmints, like I catch the skunks.”
The full ALF communique reads:
“Last night, the night of March 14th, we infiltrated the property Queener Ridge Pheasant Company (40485 Queener Drive, Scio, OR) which breeds ringneck pheasants primarily to be murdered in commercial canned hunts. After jumping a barbed wire fence, we made our way to the main breeding facility where we dismantled a huge section of an aviary that held between 75-150 pheasants; liberating them into the night sky. Although the number of animals freed represented only a tiny fraction of the thousands more still held captive on this farm, we feel that every life saved–no matter how few–is a victory.
Ringneck pheasants are a naturalized species to this region and are specifically bred to retain their wild characteristics and instincts, so we have no doubt that these animals can survive in the wild upon release. Otherwise doomed to a life of confinement and brutality these sentient animals now have a fighting chance at survival.
For an industry whose only purpose is the infliction of violence against sentient animals for entertainment and pleasure, the only ethical choice we can make is to set your animals free.
Damages at Colorado State University Equine Research lab estimated at $12 million, cause is “undetermined”.
As reported on Animal Liberation Frontline over the summer, a mysterious fire broke out overnight on July 26th at one of the country’s premier horse genetics labs in Colorado, completely destroying the facility. The “Equine Reproduction Laboratory” at Colorado State University did research to benefit the horse racing and horse breeding industries.
While investigators usually release the cause of the fire within days, there was no word on a cause of the CSU fire for six months. Finally, this month investigators announced the cause of the fire has been ruled “undetermined”.
There is no indication of an animal liberation motive behind the fire. However the fire broke out overnight, and the significance of the lab would make it a strategic target.
175 horse breeders stored sometimes priceless and irreplaceable genetic material at the lab. One breeder estimated the genetic material she had stored at the lab was worth $200,000, and said – “That’s nothing compared to what others have in there.”
The university has announced they will rebuild an even larger lab at the same location.
Overnight on January 8th, news broke on the “Portland Meat Collective” websitethat somewhere between 18 and 23 rabbits had disappeared from the backyard of one of their “instructors” the day before they were to be killed as part of a “how to” self-butchery class. Nearly a week passed without any further news or claim of responsibility.
Then, in a tragic development Friday, January 13th, news came that the rabbits had been located and returned to the school to be killed.
The story so far…
At 4am on January 8th, the same night rabbits vanished from the meat school, 17 rabbits were dropped off anonymously at the doorstep of a rabbit rescue called “Rabbit Advocates”.
The rescue had no knowledge that the rabbits may have been liberated from the Portland Meat Collective. Over the next few days, every rabbit was found a home.
What happened next is not clear, but somewhere along the way, one of the parties involved (either Rabbit Advocates, the PDX Meat Collective, or one of the guardians of the rehomed rabbits) made the connection between the missing meat-school rabbits, and the rabbits dropped off at Rabbit Advocates.
News that the rescued rabbits had been given to Rabbit Advocates reached the butchery school. Lawyers got involved, and the negotiation process with Rabbit Advocates began, to have all 17 rabbits returned to the Portland Meat Collective to be killed in their self-butchery meat classes.
On Saturday, January 13th, at noon, members of the Portland Meat Collective went to the office of the lawyer for Rabbit Advocates to pick up the 17 rabbits and return them to the school. According to the Portland Meat Collective website, others also showed up at the lawyers office: including a police detective assigned to the case, a reporter from the channel 2 news, and 8 people who took in the rabbits to protest the rabbits’ return.
Butchers respond
The Portland Meat Collective made this statement (to fully appreciate how sick and schizophrenic this is, keep in mind as you read – they operate a school that will kill these rabbits in classes to train people how to kill animals for food):
We appreciate that the Rabbit Advocates were willing to return the animals to their rightful owner. We also appreciate that the Rabbit Advocates members, so far as we can tell, very much took care of the rabbits while they were gone from Levi’s property…. We also appreciate their concern for the rabbits, and want to assure them that while their owners raise them for different purposes than Rabbit Advocate foster homes do, they always have been and will be very well cared for.
The good news
The only good news to come from this development is that one of the rabbits has not been returned to the school. The person the rabbit was re-homed to is, so far, refusing to return the rabbit.
In either a public-relations move, or just something akin to a serial killer taunting and humiliating a kidnapped victim before death, the Portland Meat Collective has named the rabbit “Roger”.
The person who is currently in custody of the rabbit has a lawyer, and is in discussions with the PDX Meat Collective.
Hipster-ism gone mad: the self-butchery meat trend
Backyard self-butchering is a growing trend among neuvo-bohemian “progressives” of the Michael Pollan school, who wish to cultivate an image of being “sustainable” in the most amoral and pretentious way possible. This is one of several species-oppressive fashions that come to mind which originated in anarchist-based subcultures, before percolating up to mainline liberals and the leisure class.
The school says they have moved the reclaimed rabbits to “an undisclosed location”.
The hope for a re-liberation
While there has been no claim of responsibility made by the ALF or anyone else, there is a precedent for the Animal Liberation Front locating and re-liberating animals that have been returned to their abusers after rescues.
In 1985, rabbits liberated from the City of Hope were found by police and placed temporarily in an animal shelter while they awaited return to the lab. The ALF broke in shortly after and re-liberated the rabbits.
And in 2001, after a mink farmer boasted he had recaptured most of the mink released from his farm, the Animal Liberation Front returned to they farm they had raided 5 nights prior, and re-liberated every recaptured mink. The farm shut down.
We can only hope rescuers locate the new location of the rabbits, and deliver them to freedom for the second time.
Update, 1-11-12 @ 10.50am: The original post mistakenly credited this action to the Animal Liberation Front. In fact the ALF did not take credit for the fire. This action was claimed by anonymous activists who chose to not claim the arson under any title. There could be serious reasons for such decisions, and it is important these actions are represented with accuracy. – Peter Young
In an anonymous statement sent to the Animal Liberation Press Office, anonymous animal rights activists took credit for setting fire to 14 trucks at Harris Ranch, one of the country’s largest feedlots, located in Coalinga, California.
According to reports, the arson occurred in a fenced-off area early Sunday. A communique took credit for the fire Monday, and the feedlot confirmed that 14 trucks were burned.
Also known as “Cowschwitz”, Harris Ranch (also called Harris Farms) sends up to 250,000 cows to slaughter annually.
Details of the fire
The fire started just before 4 a.m. in the truck storage area at Highway 145 and Interstate 5. Several tractor-trailer rigs were said to be in flames when fire trucks arrived. It took firefighters about 45 minutes to put out the blaze.
The dollar amount of damage is still being assessed.
Activists describe the action
Another burned truck at Harris Ranch
The communique describes how they carried out the arson:
“containers of accelerant were placed beneath a row of 14 trucks with four digital timers used to light four of the containers and kerosene-soaked rope carrying the fire to the other 10. … We were extremely pleased to see that all 14 trucks ‘were a total loss.”
And they highlighted the weaknesses in even the most secure targets –
“…despite guards, a constant worker presence, and razorwire fence, the enemy is still vulnerable.”
Harris Ranch responds
Harris Ranch CEO John Harris issued a statement which read, in part:
“I had suspected Animal Liberation Front may have been involved and now they are in fact claiming responsibility for it with multiple details… They are clearly a terrorist group intent on stopping American agriculture from producing the world’s safest food supply. This attack has not at all impacted our company’s operations and has only reinforced our commitment to produce high quality beef.
We must live in a society that is safe for all and no one can tolerate violence such as this. ALF and similar terrorist groups pose a real threat and I am confident that the many law enforcement agencies working on this case will bring them to justice soon.”
This is one of the largest and boldest underground animal liberation actions in recent memory. Anyone who has pulled off I-5 to look at Harris Ranch will know it is a heavily fortified complex. Many who have stopped to look at the feedlot have reported being confronted threatened with arrest by the farm’s private security.
The communique concluded with an implied promise of future actions:
“Until next time…”
*****
The entire communique reads in full:
Third burned truck at Harris Ranch
“at about 3:40 am on sunday, january 8th, 14 cattle trucks caught fire at the harris feeding company in coalinga, ca. containers of accelerant were placed beneath a row of 14 trucks with 4 digital timers used to light 4 of the containers and kerosene-soaked rope carrying the fire to the other 10 (a tactic adapted from Home Alone 2 [if you’re going to try this make sure to use kerosene, gasoline dries to quickly]). we weren’t sure how well this was going to work, so we waited until there was news reports before writing this. we were extremely pleased to see that all 14 trucks “were a total loss” with some being “completely melted to the ground.we’re not going to use this space to expound upon the horrors and injustices of factory farming. there is more than enough armchair-activists and those of passive politics who are more than willing to do that (anything to keep from getting their hands dirty). we, the unsilent minority (the 1%, if you will), choose a more direct form of action.we’re not delusional enough to believe that this action will shut down the harris feeding company, let alone have any effect on factory farming as a whole. but we maintain that this type of action still has worth, if not solely for the participant’s peace of mind, then to show that despite guards, a constant worker presence, and razorwire fence, the enemy is still vulnerable.finally, to all those who fantasize and romanticize about direct action yet remain on the fence: there is a lot of stuff that needs to be destroyed and we can’t count on spontaneous combustion and careless welders to do all the work.until next time…”
Jordan Halliday taken into custody early for giving an interview.
Exact details are unknown, but yesterday Jordan Halliday was taken into custody on an apparent bail violation for conducting an interview with vegan and straight edge clothing company Motive. Halliday’s bail conditions require he “not associate with ELF, ALF, or vegan straightedge animal liberation groups or members” (that is not an error or an exaggeration: In effect, Halliday was barred from contact with vegans who do not use drugs). Rather than turn himself in at a future date to begin serving his 10-month sentence, he must begin the sentence now.
Halliday was sentenced to 10-months for Criminal Contempt after refusing to give testimony to a grand jury investigating the release of mink from two fur farms in Utah. The raids were claimed by the Animal Liberation Front. Recently, Halliday lost his appeal and was ordered to serve 10-months in federal prison.
Calls to jail needed
Please call 801-451-4200, option 0 – ask he get vegan food and use the information below to send him your letters of support
To write to Jordan Halliday:
Address is:
Jordan Halliday #201200256
Davis County Correctional Facility
PO Box 130
Farmington, UT 84025
General prison mail rules
1) No writing in marker, no glitter, stickers, staples, paper clips, etc.
2) This jail only accepts cards and letters – don’t put anything extra in an envelope (no stamps, pictures, etc). Always include your return address on the outside of the envelope as well as on the letter itself (Jordan may not get the envelope).
3) Postcards: Write small but DO include your return address somewhere on it. Mail may be rejected without a return address.
4) Don’t talk about anything illegal. Don’t talk about Jordan’s case. Everything you write to Jordan is going to be read and scanned in by jail officials.
Letters are a crucial lifeline for animal liberation prisoners. Please write Jordan a letter of support.
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.
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.
Read the rare ALF communique copied from the University of Oregon’s files
Building raided by the Animal Liberation Front in 1986
Recently I had the good fortune of getting access to a rare ALF document retrieved from the University of Oregon’s internal files. Someone had found the original typed communique sent to the school by the Animal Liberation Front after their raid of the U of O’s labs in 1986, and offered it for publication here – to be read in full, maybe for the first time since the 1980s.
Over 200 animals were rescued in the raid, equipment destroyed, and photos confiscated. The ALF issued this communique in response to misinformation about the raid spread by the university.
The person who found the communique scanned the original document, which I am posting here. To my knowledge, this communique has not been published in full for 25 years – if ever.
October 26th, 1986
Eugene, OR
University of Oregon raided. Overnight
break-in at two buildings. 264 animals
(12 hamsters, 28 cats, 24 rabbits, 100
rats and pigeons) liberated. $120,000 in
damage to the labs.
A.L.F. Unit #5, Pacific Northwest
The only person to admit to a role in this raid is Jonathan Paul, recently released from prison after serving 4 years for another ALF action: burning down the Cavel West horse slaughterhouse in Redmond, Oregon. As part of his (non-cooperating) plea agreement in that case, Paul admitted to a role in a host of other Animal Liberation Front actions, including the raid of the University of Oregon labs.
Take inspiration from this well-written, powerful, and little-seen ALF document.
What is your favorite food ever?
Kellie: I’d have to say my favorite food would be the delicious food our wonderful friends at The Vegan Yacht make. The Leftovers Sandwich in particular – warm field roast, tomato, lettuce, and cranberry sauce on olive ciabatta bread. So good!
What turned you vegan?
Kellie: I went vegan three years ago after being a vegetarian for a long time. There was nothing out of the ordinary that made me go vegan, it just felt right. I felt it was something I was supposed to do. I never transitioned into it, I did it as soon as I decided. After that I got curious about it and realized the horrors of the dairy and egg industry. I will never stop being vegan, it’s much more than a dietary choice to me, it’s a way of life and a call to action.
How did you get into activism?
Kellie: I got active in animal rights a year or so after going vegan. I would watch lectures and read various literature on the subject of animal rights and ethics. My principles became more clearly defined. I realized how important it was to make people aware of animal suffering because the animals couldn’t do it themselves.
What was your experience with the vegan food in the Iowa jail?
*****
Read the rest of the interview Kellie’s interview, and the full interview with Victor, here.
And buy one (or many) of their new support shirts, to raise money for their legal case.
received unexpectedly short sentence of 60 days. She pleaded guilty to releasing an animal from an animal facility and attempted third-degree burglary.
