How a media stunt got covered on some of the biggest websites in the world, and ended with hundreds of thousands of people getting their first glimpse inside a slaughterhouse.
On July 3rd I woke up on the floor of a friend’s house in Louisville, Kentucky. I looked at my phone, then my email, and knew something big was happening.
In a few minutes I was on the phone with an IT guy monitoring the server hosting a certain website – one that was getting some staggering traffic.
“I’ve never seen anything like this…” he said.
“Where’s the traffic coming from?” I asked.
“It’s coming from…. everywhere. At this rate, you could hit half-a-million visitors by midnight.”
It started out as a late night joke. It evolved into a rough plan to bait the non-vegan blogosphere into watching slaughterhouse footage. And it turned into something much, much bigger.
In the end, it became the best vegan education effort I’ve ever been a part of. The results say it all: Redirecting over 200,000 visitors of mainstream news sites to a video of graphic slaughterhouse footage, and in the process creating an untold number of vegans and vegetarians.
Here’s the story.
Disclaimer in the interest of accuracy: My role in ExVegans.com was a supporting one, and I can’t take credit for site design or content. The opinions here may or may not represent those of all the parties involved.
The plan
The idea came late one night in a discussion about the online vitriol caused by author Alex Jamieson announcing she was no longer vegan. The tremendous buzz from this ho-hum development indicated there was a huge amount of pent-up animosity towards ex-vegans. The amateur trend-spotter in me saw potential for a viral phenomenon.
The concept was a user-submitted site of former vegans called “The Vegan Sellout List.” Users of the site filled out a form describing a former vegan (including their city, years they’d been vegan, and the story behind their rise and fall from veganism), and submitted the entry for approval.
Approved entries were added to the site. The front page displayed a rollover map where viewers could click on a state and view all the ex-vegans in that state who had been added to the list. You could call it an online directory of former-vegans,or just a vegan gossip site. As a concept, it was fairly simple.
(This idea is not new. There have been two previous attempts at such a site that I’m aware of. Both got little traction and came and went quickly.)
“The Vegan Sellout List” was offensive. It was provocative. It was shameless. It was impossible not to have an opinion on. And it would be impossible for the blogosphere to ignore.
The inspiration
To understand the strategy behind the site, you have to understand the work of a man named Ryan Holiday. A self-identified “media manipulator”, Holiday gets paid huge retainers by celebrities and companies to manufacture totally staged controversy, then provoke the media into covering it, which in turn generates massive publicity for his clients.
I read Holiday’s book Trust Me I’m Lying, and immediately saw the massive potential to apply Holiday’s approach (using contrived controversy to generate huge media) to my work for animals. I insisted several friends read the book, and the response was always the same: Why isn’t the animal rights movement doing this?
In its most basic form, Holiday’s model involves what he calls “chaining”: Creating fake & contoversial news, provoking small blogs into covering it, which is in turn covered by larger blogs, moving “up the chain” until it becomes mainstream news.
My lips are sealed as to what happened next, but immediately after reading his book a couple of us used Holiday’s blueprint to generate coverage for animals in a major media market, bringing a spotlight on an urgent issue that impacts millions of animals. (Again, I’m being intentionally vague.)
We were hooked. And we decided to follow this stunt up with a more ambitious project: ExVegans.com.
Taking it viral
Taken straight from the Trust Me I’m Lying playbook, this was the blueprint:
Get the vegan community talking about ExVegans.com.
Parlay the buzz into coverage in the non-vegan blogosphere (provoked via anonymous emails, a provocative press release, etc.)
Exploit the controversy to move it “up the chain” to bigger sites until we hit something that generated serious traffic from the non-vegan demographic.
Pull a “bait and switch” and put slaughterhouse and factory farm footage front-and-center on the site, making it impossible not to watch.
There was never a question that something this controversial would generate major buzz. The trick was whether it was provocative enough to get mainstream coverage.
From the beginning, we agreed to call it a success if we got covered by Gawker. That was the prize. This kind of sensationalism is exactly the kind of thing Gawker loves.
We never anticipated it would get even bigger than that.
The calm before the storm
The site had barely gone up when, on June 10th, the online water-cooler for ex-vegetarians & vegans – LetThemEatMeat.com – did an article on ExVegans.com. The piece was (of course) critical but (impressively) non-hostile, and drove traffic to the site from a few dozen unique hits a day to over 1,000.
…and then came the storm
From Let Them Eat Meat, everything followed the Ryan Holiday trajectory to the letter, moving up the chain to bigger and bigger blogs, before blowing up into mainstream news. The exact chronology is a little fuzzy, because I wasn’t directly involved in site maintenance and hadn’t monitored traffic or incoming links in almost 2 weeks. So I really don’t know where it started.
All I know is, the site went from 5,000 unique views a day to several hundred thousand (or more) in 72 hours.
Once sites like Jezebel and Boing Boing picked it up, the traffic tidal-wave began crashing the site. We weren’t prepared for the media onslaught. At points, the server was showing nearly a thousand unique views each minute.
Some of the biggest websites in the world were linking directly to ExVegans.com.
As an animal advocate, what do you do if you have a massive mainstream audience willing to give you a few seconds of their time?
Pull a bait-and-switch and show them slaughterhouse footage.
The bait-and-switch
I took all the traffic, visitors estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and redirected them right to a video called “Meet Your Meat.”
Cows strung up and having their throats slit. Chickens packed six to a cage in egg farms. Pigs wasting away in small metal crates. It was exactly the kind of images animal advocates spend our lives working to force into the eyes and minds of the public.
I redirected the URL, and in a moment I had some of the biggest websites in the world linking directly to graphic footage of slaughterhouses and factory farms.
A simple (and offensive) site had succeeded in bringing the slaughterhouse to America’s living room.
The critics
I’ll admit I haven’t monitored online chatter about ExVegans.com from within the vegan sphere, but after 19 years in these circles I have no doubt there was massive condemnation, and that a ton of people were groaning the ExVegans.com stunt “made us look bad.”
I’m not going to spend more than a few words defending the site, for two reasons:
It is vindicated by the results it achieved.
You either get it or you don’t.
Most vitriol the site received was probably predicated on a false assumption: That ExVegans.com was somehow intended to promote veganism through public shaming. It should be obvious, but for those who don’t have a clue, I’ll spell it out: That wasn’t the point.
I will not defend the concept of ExVegans.com. In and of itself it offered nothing positive to the world. It didn’t even pretend to.
What I will defend (and I doubt many critics will argue with) is the outcome: Hundreds of thousands of people baited into watching horrific footage of the suffering behind their “food”.
This massive outreach victory, to me, is all that matters.
What could have been done better
First, being prepared for the traffic before it happened. Getting “Meet Your Meat” onto the front page of the site would have generated more views (and less confusion) than redirecting to a third-party site. In the end, the traffic brought down the server and a URL-redirect was the only option.
Maintaining full oversight over the content. While I had an editorial role, I wasn’t behind updating the site. Some of the entries submitted were a little too offensive and really shouldn’t have been posted. Same for the “Mission Statement” (the most highly-trafficked page on the site), which should have been better worded to resonate with a mainstream audience. (It could also be argued the over-the-top language was responsible for the media coverage, so this may have been for the best.)
Stricter fact-checking. Some of the ex-vegan submissions had errors, either through a deliberate effort at misinformation by the (anonymous) submitters, or honest mistakes. Either way, allowing inaccurate information on the site was inexcusable.
In the end, all of this was trumped by the results: At least 200,000 mainstream omnivores baiting into viewing slaughterhouse and factory farm footage.
The future of ExVegans.com
The media-storm has passed, and I consider the entire stunt to be “mission accomplished.” Best to walk away from things while they’re still on a high note.
The site is still getting serious traffic, and all of it is redirecting to “Meet Your Meat.” That’s where it will remain… for now.
Ultimately, where it goes is not entirely in my hands. There is some conflicting discussion, and those who designed the site are not bound by my input. If it is ever brought back, I asked that the webmasters do it transparently and in their name to avoid any confusion as to my role.
That’s where my part ends. I’m bowing out of this while the animals are still ahead.
-Peter Young
Endnote: Overselling my point
And if you’re a vegan who is still upset the coverage made you “look bad,” I’ll put money on one thing: Before last week, you believed the temperature in Hell would have to hit 32 degrees before FoxNews.com would ever link to this:
A case study and timeline of events on the 2004 Animal Liberation Front raid of the University of Iowa.
One morning in November 2004, researchers arrived at the psychology building at the University of Iowa to find 401 animals gone and over $450,000 in damaged equipment. It was the largest and most well-executed lab raid in years.
The raid brought about both a media firestorm and renewed empowerment of activists who were reminded once again: It’s still possible to carry out large-scale lab raids.
Another major lesson from the action was how much powerful media can the ALF can generate. Too often the dominant belief is that the ALF generates “bad media”. I believe this timeline of events following the raid shows otherwise.
This is borrowed from a North American Animal Liberation Press Office newsletter in 2005. The authors combed through the events that followed the action, and show that the attention brought on the plight of lab animals by the raid was both positive, and unlikely to have been obtained through legal means.
Although written in timeline form (versus a narrative format), I find that it reads like a story, and the story is extremely compelling. I hope it will be both educational and inspirational, and show that there are two sides to every ALF action: Liberation, and education.
“Case History: How One Raid by the ALF at the University of Iowa Made a Difference
“This month’s newsletter features a highly instructive summary of and commentary on the amazing events that have unfolded at University of Iowa since the bold ALF raid on the laboratories of the Psychology Department in November 2004.
As documented by a witness with direct knowledge of the ongoing scientific fraud and duplicity at UI, this is an edifying case study in how “researchers” distort the actions of the ALF to the press and public, cloak themselves in a veil of secrecy, seek shelter in the long arms of the state when their lies are exposed, and run from debate when challenged by credible opponents.
It is yet further documentation about the immoral treachery and scientific fraud of vivisection, and why the ALF feels compelled to take the extraordinary actions it does. By liberating animals, destroying nearly a half million dollars worth of property used to torture and exploit animals, by taking video footage documenting extreme animal abuse that was released to national media, and precipitating a productive ongoing critical debate over animal torture and fraud at UI and vivisection in general, this was by all means a highly significant and successful strike by the ALF.
November 14th, 2004In the late Saturday night or early Sunday morning hours of November 14, 2004, the ALF carried out one of the most daring raids this country has seen in many years. The ALF broke into the third floor psychology laboratory on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, IA and liberated 401 animals–88 mice and 313 rats.
November 14th, 2004UI seals off Seashore Hall and calls in a Haz-Mat team to address the damage. The building is closed to all students, faculty and staff indefinitely. Researchers began to float the lie in the media that the ALF created a dangerous chemical spill. This whopper allowed them to keep independent witnesses away from the scene and to demonize the ALF as hooligans or terrorists rather than taking brave and risky action to liberate animals from conditions of severe abuse.
November 14th, 2004 Mid-afternoon: Reporters begin contacting local animal rights activists for information about a possible theft of laboratory animals from Spence Labs in Seashore Hall. The reporters are operating on limited information from the police scanner and from interviewing personnel who discovered the scene. The reporters state that hundreds of animals are missing, that chemicals have been spilled and that slogans have been spray painted on the walls. Referring to his notes, one reporter says, “The letters A-L-F were spray painted on the wall.” He then asks a local animal rights activist, “Do you know what that stands for?”
November 15th, 2004 News of the liberation breaks. It is the lead story on every news station and makes the front page of all the local papers. The UI makes concerted attempts to downplay the possible role of the ALF and refuses to acknowledge the missing animals. The UI consistently portrays the event as a chemical spill and suggests that chemicals were spilled randomly throughout the building.
November 16th, 2004Noted for his Cartesian dinosaur-like qualities and pompous egomania, extreme vivisector Mark Blumberg is quoted in a news article saying “What they did to the animals was worse that what they could accuse us of doing. There were animals that drowned because of this. It was horrible. How they think that they’re doing something that is for the benefit of animal rights is beyond me.”
Similar statements were made by the head of the Psychology Department, Greg Oden, who deceptively stated that some animals who were left behind after the raid died because support equipment malfunctioned as a direct result of the raid.
These claims, especially Blumberg’s, are dubious. First, check the source: this is a man who co-authored a paper titled “Do Infant Rats Cry?” Blumberg’s idea of humane care apparently consists of taking baby rats away from their mothers, subjecting them to cold temperatures, and then measuring their cries. Blumberg suggests that these cries are really more like “sneezes” or “grunts” and are just the rat pup’s physiologic response to being cold. He assures himself and anyone who bothers to read his useless research that the cries of baby rats are not signs of distress.
Second, Blumberg, who for public relations purposes appears to be seized with sudden concern for the well-being of the animals he tortures and kills, is contradicted by the November 18, 2004 meeting minutes of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) regarding the break-in at Spence, which state:
“Chemicals were spilled in some office and laboratory areas of the buildings with vials broken, computers smashed and several pieces of equipment destroyed or damaged. The animal housing areas were mainly trashed with just litter. Some animals were left behind and they appear to be fine. Office of Animal Resources (OAR) caretakers were allowed into the building to check on the animals and make sure they were fine.”
Thus, according to the IACUC, which UI officials have repeatedly assured the public provides zealous oversight and humane care for all animals killed at UI, the animals that were not liberated were unharmed.
Blumberg’s suggestion that animals were harmed by the ALF is a common tactic that animal abusers use in the wake of a direct action. In order to cover up their role as active participants and instigators of animal abuse, vested interests always suggest that the animals are worse off after a visit by the ALF. This of course ignores the fact that in the hands of someone like Blumberg, an animal would be hard pressed to be much worse off.
As IACUC meeting minutes from October 24, 2002 reveal, following a site visit by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC), the IACUC determined that “a new position of Animal Research Compliance Monitor is necessary to assure regulatory compliance in all animal research facilities and laboratories on the University of Iowa campus.”
Apparently, a recent visit by AAALAC revealed some serious compliance problems at UI:
“The site visitors found one lab performing a 2nd survival surgery that was not approved on the protocol. This was in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Blumberg. Dr. Sjolund informed the lab personnel that all surgical procedures (or any other unauthorized procedures) were to ‘cease and desist’ in this lab until further notice. Dr. Sjolund and Dr. Cooper subsequently met with Dr. Blumberg and permitted his lab to resume surgeries on neonatal rats, but the restriction remained in effect for adult rat surgical procedures.”
The IACUC imposed several conditions on Blumberg before his full rat torturing privileges could be reinstated and admonished Dr. Blumberg (who was present at the meeting) with the following feather slap on the wrist:
“The IACUC will also inform Dr. Blumberg that this situation is considered a major violation of animal welfare regulations and subsequent violations could result in additional sanctions including the withdrawal of IACUC approval for his laboratory to conduct animal research.”
Another common misconception perpetuated by media was the suggestion that the liberated animals were “released.” They are probably referring to the fact that the animals were taken from their cages, but the public thinks this means either (1) animals were released inside the building, or, (2) animals were released away from the site — either in an open field or some other terrain that would conceivably be strange or unfamiliar to the animal. Opponents then latch on to this information, particularly the latter suggestion, citing the fate of the animals (in this case domesticated rodents) who are ostensibly left to fend for themselves in a strange and frightening world.
Even though this was clarified in the ALF communiqué sent out following the raid, this distorted detail was something opponents capitalized on as a way to denigrate the freedom bestowed on these animals following the break-in.
November 18th, 2004 UI President David Skorton responds to the ALF communiqué claiming responsibility for the liberation. Droning on and on, Skorton recites the familiar denunciation that all University officials are required to read in response to direct action which exposes the institutionalized violence that takes place within the confines of its walls. His response reads like a page from the American Medical Association’s playbook, which implores extreme vivisectors to continue manipulating the general public’s fears about health in order to assuage moral and ethical objections to animal research.
He receives an email from Dr. Steven Best, taking him to task for claiming that there is “no possible intellectual defense for ALF actions.” Best reminds him of the noble history of property destruction and civil disobedience in the US, and suggests he curl up with Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? Reflections on the Liberation of Animals for some good intellectual defenses of animal liberation.
November 23rd, 2004 The ALF releases a videotape of the break-in. The footage is shown on all local news stations and is the lead story. This is the first time that the UI has even had to acknowledge the hideous experiments being conducted on its campus.
This is also the first time the public has been able to see the real victims at the heart of this story. Many animals can be seen with electrodes protruding from their skulls, and many of the animals are grossly disfigured by the researchers’ hideous delusions about the nature of “research” that allegedly is medically important and scientifically necessary and progressive. The video footage is a sharp contrast to the UI’s version of events because it shows a well-planned, well-executed animal liberation plan.
The footage makes it clear that the raid was no random act of violence or a chaotic chemical spill, but rather a carefully orchestrated and daring nonviolent act of liberation.
December 3rd, 2004 Two students publish opinion pieces in The Daily Iowan that challenge the University’s ongoing attempt to portray it as an innocent victim subjected to an unfair and undeserved attack. Both opinion pieces address the philosophical motivations that drive activists to carry out direct action and question the legitimacy of a belief system that can characterize property destruction as violent without even addressing, much less condemning the unprincipled destruction of animal lives.
One student, well-intentioned but naïve about the repressive nature of federal law enforcement officials hell-bent on defending animal exploitation industries, agrees to answer limited questions in the presence of her attorney. Following that meeting she feels certain, based on particular and repeated lines of questioning, that the FBI has been monitoring her email. She refused to provide agents with names of any other activists she knew and made it clear to them that she would only answer limited questions that pertained to her own participation in legal activities related to animal rights.
This activist made the mistake of assuming that FBI agents are reasonable human beings who can be made to understand that animal rights activists are just trying to get people to quit torturing and killing animals for profit and sadistic pleasure. Having learned from her experience the importance of refusing to answer any questions from law enforcement officials, she quickly contacted other area activists and provided them with information from the National Lawyer’s Guild about the right to refuse to participate in these law enforcement fishing expeditions.
This makes something clear — in the aftermath of a direct action, law enforcement officials always contact local AR activists. It is thus imperative that members of the ALF have absolutely no contact with local activists through any medium whatsoever. The importance of this fact cannot be overemphasized. In the wake of a direct action, well-intentioned but uniformed local activists may find themselves suddenly faced with the pressures that law enforcement officials bring to bear. It is imperative for everyone involved that these activists are not in possession of any information that can be of use to law enforcement officials. It has also been determined that the FBI is taking the trash from local activists’ homes hoping to find clues about the raid.
The second student was prepared when the FBI showed up on her door step early one morning. She told them she was under no obligation to answer their questions, assured them she had no knowledge about the break-in, and said she did not want to answer additional questions. Interestingly, one of the agents told her that they were interested in some of her email “posts” and then quickly corrected himself saying he meant “opinions.” Whether intentional or not, this comment left the activist with the impression that her activities and internet posts were being monitored on the web, an illegal tactic certainly not novel for the FBI who brought this country great things favored by the Constitution like COINTELPRO.
December 9th, 2004 UI administrators take out a full page ad in The Daily Iowan to condemn the student opinions that ran on 12/3. The UI also emails all faculty, students and staff a copy of the “Open Letter the University Community” wherein UI officials claimed they were “disturbed and disappointed” by student editorials that attempted to justify the raid.
December 13th, 2004 Newspapers report that Seashore was broken into and vandalized for the second time in less than a month. No group claims responsibility for the action and officials do not believe there is any connection between the two break-ins.
December 27th, 2004 Two UI student groups send an open letter to the UI inviting it to participate in an open public debate on the scientific merits of animal research with Dr. Ray Greek. Despite repeated invitations to UI researchers and national pro-vivisection organizations, not one single proponent of animal research was willing to appear.
January 10th, 2004 The Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences (FBPCS) sends a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller whining about the UI break-in and passing off their vested interest propaganda claiming that killing animals is necessary in order for vivisectors to keep getting paid. In their letter they employ the familiar self-serving doublespeak — they claim to be afraid when it suits them and feign courage in the form of a furious defense of their status quo. They stridently claim that they will continue in their heartless pursuit of killing animals and publishing worthless pseudoscience babble.
http://www.thefederationonline.org/FBI.pdf.
The FBPCS also sends a suck-up letter to the NIH thanking it for pouring funding into the coffers of animal killers at the UI.
http://www.thefederationonline.org/NIH.pdf.
January 20th, 2005 Dr. Steven Best, Chair of the Philosophy Department at University of Texas, El Paso, presents a lecture titled “The New Abolitionism: Civil Rights, Animal Liberation and Moral Progress” (for the text of this talk, see: http://www.drstevebest.org/papers/vegenvani/new_abolitionism.htm). The event is well-attended by students, faculty, press, researchers, UI administrators, and plainclothes law enforcement officials. The crowd is too large for the planned venue and has to be moved to a ballroom that can accommodate the 130+ crowd. Dr. Best’s talk was extremely well-received, even by numerous UI researchers who had come with claws drawn to attack every word.
A couple of researcher extremists and terrorists, however, including one that looked like Jerry Garcia on too much Cherry Garcia, verbally accosted Best after the lecture, acting like a demented quivering, incoherent, squealing, babbling madman in desperate need of a straightjacket and padded room.
Following the lecture, Mark Blumberg approached one of the event’s organizers wherein the following exchange was overheard. When Blumberg was asked how many animals he had killed during the course of his career, he glibly stated “Oh, hundreds and hundreds.” And then he smiled, apparently relishing the memory of all those baby rats crying out for the warmth and comfort of their mother’s nests and the countless deaths he has meted out over the years. When asked “And how many humans have you saved?” Blumberg contemptuously huffed “None. I am not trying to save humans. And that just goes to show how little you know about what we are trying to do.” Thus, in his own words, Blumberg admits that his research has not benefited humans, nor is it intended to.
February 2nd, 2005 In an article published in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Gazette, a reporter attempts to discredit the ALF’s claims about animal research at UI. The article (“Animal treatment claims against UI lab examined,” 1A February 02, 2005) said that following the break-in, the ALF “alleged professor Amy Poremba was doing research on eight rhesus monkeys kept on the fourth floor of Spence Labs.”
According to this news article,
“Her research proposal says the only animal she is using in research is the Norwegian rat. Poremba declined to comment for this article, but UI spokesman Steve Parrott said no primate research was going on at Spence Labs when the ALF break-in happened.”
Once again UI officials were attempting to mislead the public by implying that Poremba does not use primates in experimentation. But Poremba is clearly involved in primate experimentation as evidenced by her recent publication in Nature entitled “Species-specific calls evoke asymmetric activity in the monkey’s temporal poles” (listed on the website of UI’s Psychology Department).
Further, documents filed by the University of Iowa with the United States Department of Agriculture unequivocally indicate that the University uses primates in experimentation. Whether primates were being experimented upon during the time when the ALF broke into Spence Labs or whether the primates were housed in that building is not the issue. Clearly, UI would say almost anything to divert public attention from the truth.
February 11th, 2005 An Ohio-based national watchdog group, Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN), holds a news conference in front of Spence Labs to announce an official investigation into the treatment of primates at UI. SAEN issued a statement that read in part:
“The careers of these scientists reveal a tragic irony: Under the guise of alleviating mental suffering in humans they induce distress, injure and kill animals who are intentionally bred to be docile. In order to learn the truth about the use of primates at the University of Iowa, Stop Animal Exploitation Now has launched an investigation. Our goal is to provide the people of Iowa with the truth about the animal experimentation underway at this University. It is clear that through the use of half-truths, misleading and false statements UI officials have tried to obscure the truth. We will not allow this to continue unopposed.”
FBI agents videotape the news conference and UI sends out armed personnel from the Department of Public Safety to close off the sidewalk and guard the building against the representative who stands calmly in front of the building reading a prepared statement and answering questions from the media.
February 12th, 2005 In news coverage following SAEN’s press conference, UI researcher Gary Van Hoesen attempts to divert public attention away from his research with evasive vituperation:
“Calling out supposed NIH-funded animal experiments, Stormont targeted researcher Gary Van Hoesen, a UI professor of anatomy, cell biology and neurology, for his research on macaque monkeys.
‘This is not about science,’ she said about research she called a ‘senseless waste of lives and tax dollars. This is about money — attracting hundreds of thousands of dollars to UI’s coffers.’
However, Van Hoesen said he has not used monkeys since 1982. He now conducts research on the human brain related to Alzheimer’s disease. He called Stormont’s comments about money and science ‘shortsighted.’”
(UI target of animal rights group. Kristen Schorsch, Iowa City Press-Citizen, February 11, 2005. Available at http://www.all-creatures.org/saen/media-20050211-4.html)
By suggesting that SAEN’s criticism was unfounded, Van Hoesen deliberately misled the public about the true nature of his research. Van Hoesen has received funding from the National Institutes of Health for research involving nonhuman primates since 1979. His most recent abstract states:
“This renewal for years 21-25 describes experiments aimed at understanding the structural organization of the mesocortices that form the limbic lobe of the human and non-human primate brain.”
But Van Hoesen’s lies and extremist rhetoric are perhaps best illustrated by an article he recently co-authored which describes in chilling detail his most recent act of violent vivisection:
“A total of 10 hemispheres (from seven brains) from adult macaque (both Macaca mulatta and M. fascicularis) monkeys were studied. Four were contralateral to hemispheres injected with tracers outside the isthmus region for other investigations. The remaining six hemispheres were from normal monkeys. The animals were anesthetized with Nembutal (75 mg/kg) and perfused transcardially, in sequence, with 0.9% saline and 0.5% sodium nitrite, 4% paraformaldehyde in chilled 0.1 M phosphate buffer (PB, pH 7.2). The brain was then placed in 10, 20, and 30% sucrose in 0.1 M PB (pH 7.2) until it sank. Killing and surgery were performed according to The University of Iowa institutional review standards informed and enforced by US Department of Agriculture guidelines.”
(Ding, S.L., Morecraft, R.J. and Van Hoesen, G.W. The topography, cytoarchitecture and cellular phenotypes of cortical areas that form the cingulo-parahippocampal isthmus and adjoining retrocalcarine areas of the monkey. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 456:184-201.2003.)
As is often the case, the media deferred to the supposed ‘learned scholar’ and neglected to independently fact check Van Hoesen’s patently false claims. Perhaps Van Hoesen ought to conduct an experiment on himself to determine why some primates feel the need to lie and falsify information in order to cover-up the fact that they earn their living by killing primates.
Of course, AR critics latched on to this story, claiming it was emblematic of the alleged tendency among AR activists to falsify or exaggerate facts in order to garner media attention or public sympathy about the plight of animals in laboratories. Unfortunately, what vivisectors do to animals in the name of research is, by itself, so hideous and morally repugnant that AR activists don’t need to exaggerate the truth in order to convey those facts.
However, at least one AR opponent was forced to concede that the only false information that was being disseminated was being proffered by Van Hoesen himself:
SAEN: Animal Research? Must Be The Money!
Brian Carnell
Update/Correction: Thanks to Rick Bogle for pointing out that there are serious problems with the Press-Citizen’s reporting above that Van Hoesen has not done any research on monkeys since 1982. Van Hoesen is, in fact, listed as the last author on a number of studies that involve research on monkeys in recent years. Van Hoesen is probably correct that he hasn’t personally done any research on monkeys, and his name is probably being add [sic] as the last author due to convention of adding senior researchers and program heads on research that comes out of their department (Van Hoesen is the director of the Alzheimer’s disease program at the University of Iowa). But Stormont was being completely reasonable, in my opinion, in assuming that Van Hoesen was conducting research on monkeys since his name was attached to a number of such studies, and the Press-Citizen and/or Van Hoesen was being grossly unfair and deceptive in depicting Stormont as being ignorant or relying on outdated information. AnimalRights.Net regrets reproducing the Press-Citizen’s deceptive characterization of Stormont.
http://www.animalrights.net/replyform$80870.
Note to vivisectors: this is why AR activists find it impossible to accept your claims about the so-called “humane treatment” of laboratory animals at face value. Bold lies such as the one outlined above can only lead AR activists, and the public at large, to wonder what else you are lying about.
March 18th, 2005 UI officials estimate that the break-in caused $450,000 in economic damages. UI also stated that the figure could increase.
UI reports that insurance will not cover the damages.
March 23rd, 2005 In an opinion piece in The Daily Iowan, a student chastises UI for refusing to participate in a debate with Dr. Ray Greek on the merits of vivisection. The student justly accuses the UI of being hypocritical — claiming it stands behind its research, but refusing to hand over records or allow anyone to see what is going on inside of the labs.
March 24th, 2005 Dr. Ray Greek presents a lecture on the UI campus dealing with the scientific merits of the animal model. Plain clothes law enforcement personnel conduct surveillance, photographing and videotaping audience members and the speaker throughout the lecture.
That morning a letter is printed in The Daily Iowan that personifies the misleading nature of the rhetoric of extreme vivisectors and their public relations campaigns which predictably trot out the tired claims that they are saving babies and curing cancer:
“I do not need to see a laboratory animal dying of cancer to know that I’d trade the lives of a hundred for the knowledge that will save my friend, a 31-year-old woman fighting breast cancer, the same disease that took her mother’s life 20 years ago.
I do not need to see a hypertensive pregnant mouse to know that I’d trade the comfort and the lives of a thousand for the knowledge that would have predicted my preeclampsia and allowed my doctors to treat it before it became life-threatening and forced the delivery of my first child at 24 weeks of gestation.
I have seen pain and suffering. I have seen the death of an innocent being. I choose to value human life and accept the sacrifice of rats, pigeons, rabbits, guinea pigs and others, whose death means life for our families and friends.”
March 25th, 2005 On the heels of Greek’s lecture, a letter appears in The Daily Iowan attempting to explain the failure of the animal model as a valid paradigm for studying human disease:
“Without a thorough grasp of how pervasive species differences are, researchers cannot tout the similarities as a basis for human medicine. Therefore, it is disingenuous to conflate the specter of human pain and suffering with the promise of relief from the sacrificed lives of lab animals. They will never predict our conditions accurately. Those who believe they do are choosing to ignore the very science their careers are based upon.”
Yet another letter states responds to the reader who would so willingly sacrifice the lives of thousands of sentient beings to save her own:
“And should one be motivated by an active conscience rather than solely by what is inaccurately perceived as necessary, it will suffice to consider the arrogance that informs Kenyon’s use of the word “sacrifice.
“The animals humans brutalize each day in the name of scientific objectivity no more wish to relinquish their lives than the murdered peasants of My Lai or Fallujah. Though the word “sacrifice” does not necessarily imply that they go willingly to their deaths, it is unpardonably loaded with arrogance.”
March 28th, 2005 Linda Maxson, Dean of the UI College of Liberal Arts & Sciences responds to the student op-ed on 3/23 and claims that “[the student’s] insistence on debate rather than inquiry is emblematic of the intellectual failure of those who oppose animal research.”
Strangely, she also states that “Most laboratory animals are bred specifically for the purpose of animal research. They are not – nor were they ever intended to be – pets.”
Apparently for Dean Maxson, it is morally acceptable to torture animals if they are not someone’s “pets”! But that never stopped vivisectors anyway, as they acquire many of their “research” animals by stealing cats and dogs from peoples’ homes.
It is also important to note that Maxson embraces a common public relations tactic that UI has employed in virtually every statement it has issued that deals with the issue of animal research. In a cunning act of rhetorical conflation emblematic of this PR strategy, Maxson repeatedly refers to the actions of the campus organization and then states “Those who wage an illegal and unethical campaign of intimidation and destruction do not advance the cause of animal safety or human welfare.”
At every opportunity, the UI has attempted to conflate the actions of campus AR groups with those of the ALF. This is a useful strategy. The UI has consistently portrayed the ALF as a violent terrorist organization, so when they conflate campus AR groups with the ALF they attempt to suggest that all AR activists are misanthropic lawbreakers. This allows the UI to reflexively deflect criticism and avoid the inquiries posed by the campus groups.
March 30th, 2005 The first of several letters appears in The Daily Iowan responding to the Dean’s incredulous claims peremptorily dismissing any debate on the merits of animal research and her unprincipled defense of vivisection:
“Maxson stated that “insist[ing] on debate rather than inquiry is emblematic of the intellectual failure of those who oppose animal research,” that “debates are not forums for communicating information or achieving understanding,” and that “skilled debaters can ‘demonstrate’ that the Earth is flat by suppressing factual evidence to the contrary.”
Those are remarkable assertions. We have long used courtroom trials as forums for litigants to debate the gravest of issues and for juries to then render their verdicts. Political candidates at all levels ordinarily must face their opponents in a debate, and any candidate who refuses to do so justifiably faces an uphill battle on election day. Wanting to debate is not emblematic of intellectual failure. It is disappointing to see one of our campus leaders argue to the contrary.”
March 31st, 2005 In response to the Dean’s outrageous and poorly reasoned op-ed, several letters are printed. One letter states:
“Obviously, Maxson has great confidence that the public would fully support the research that is going on if people know what is truly happening. If that is the case, then she should invite [the student] to make an unexpected visit to as many labs at the UI as she wants, take as many pictures and videos as she pleases, and then hold a press conference to inform the members of the public on how their tax dollars are being spent.”
Another letter derides Maxson’s revisionist version of history, stating
“I was shocked by Maxson’s apparent poor mastery of the facts surrounding animal research in the United States. Reports from whistleblowers, undercover investigations, and evidence gathered during lab break-ins have been the primary motivating evidence behind every regulation now in place. At every step, the industry and its supporters have rallied in opposition and defended the most heinous examples of abuse and the scientists involved.”
As of this writing, the University of Iowa has not opened its laboratory doors to the norms of transparency fundamental to science and ethics. What more could they be hiding?”
After a six-month hiatus, Animal Liberation Frontline is back.
Regrettably, the site took a hiatus while I shifted focus to a big project (one that will be announced in time).
In a way, the timing could not have been better: With the focus of Animal Liberation Frontline being the work of the ALF, there has been very little to report. The liberation of 10 rabbits from a breeder in California is the only (reported) major action in the time the site has been inactive.
Despite the lack of ALF activity, I’ve amassed a huge amount of material that I will be posting over the coming weeks.
Also regrettably, the hiatus began before completing a 30-day series on the Animal Liberation Front’s fur farm campaign, which was to run through the month of December. I will be posting the remaining 10 articles in the series over the next several weeks.
The memos fur farmers woke up to the morning after five Animal Liberation Front actions.
Part twenty in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. One article a day will be posted the month of December.
Every time a fur farmer sees a strange vehicle, chases off an intruder, or gets a suspicious phone call, the Fur Commission sends out a “Security Alert” to its members. These alerts are intended to be read by fur farmers only, but several dozen have been obtained by Animal Liberation Frontline.
I’m posting a collection of alerts sent out about the last five Animal Liberation Front actions against the fur industry. While most other alerts document indicators of possible future ALF actions, those here cover actual ALF actions.
For those who follow these actions closely, there are a few pieces of new, inside information embedded throughout: the number of animals not recaptured, a reference to evidence found at a “crime scene,” and other suspicious activity detected around the time of the ALF actions.
In this alert, the Fur Commission speculates this fox liberation is related to the nearby Animal Rights Conference 2012, and that myself and others at the conference “incited” others to commit crimes. (Note: I have redacted speculation about the owner of the Coalition Against Fur Farms site.)
“Fur Commission USA
Security Alert OH, PA, IN, IL
August 6, 2012
Early yesterday morning animal rights extremists broke into D&S Fox Farm near Elkton Virginia, and released all 13 silver foxes on the farm. They also claim to have destroyed farm equipment during the raid.
At the time, the National Animal Rights Convention in Alexandria VA was coming to a close, where known “liberationist” and convicted felon Peter Young, among others, were speaking. Young, naive activists likely were incited at the conference to commit crimes against family farms.
On July 16, Coalition Against Fur Farms listed the address and owner of D&S Fox Farm as a “new discovery” on their website. It is generally agreed that the website is owned by [REDACTED].
The attackers may be heading west on the road home from the Conference, so resource providers in OH, IN, IL and possibly Southern PA are urged to be on high alert over the next few days. Please report any unknown vehicles or persons near your facility to Fur Commission USA and your local law enforcement agency.
Distributed by,
Michael Whelan
Fur Commission USA”
Miller Mink Farm alert #1
In this bulletin, the Fur Commission announces the release of 1,100 mink from a farm in northeastern Washington state, and alludes to a connection to a suspicious vehicle seen (presumably) near the Roessler Brothers mink farm near Startup, WA.
“Fur Commission USA
Security Alert –Iowa, Pacific Northwest
October 12, 2011
Early this morning Gina and Mike Miller arose to find that animal rights extremists had broke into their farm in Gifford WA, and released approximately 1,100 mink. The Miller family, with help from their friends and neighbors, are presently re-capturing the animals and the FBI in both Seattle and Spokane have been alerted. More information will be sent as it becomes available.
On Saturday, an {redacted} was seen outside an abandoned pelting shed near Startup WA. A [description and age redacted] old was spotted taking photos of the shed with a high powered lens. The vehicle was occupied by several other persons. When approached the car sped away. No other information is available.”
Miller Mink Farm alert #2
In this memo, the Fur Commission gives an update and reveals that 100 mink remain free the day after the liberation at Miller Mink Farm.
While the Fur Commission generally claim fur farm raids are the work of one cell traveling the country, after two raids in two days over a thousand miles apart, they are forced to state: “It has become apparent that more than one cell is at work in these attacks.”
“Fur Commission USA
Security Update
October 13, 2011
Status of Farm Raids, Investigations
An anonymous claim of guilt has been posted on the internet regarding the attack on the Miller Mink Farm in Gifford WA. It can be found on www.directaction.info. In light of this we will be posting a press release outlining the recent actions targeting US farms, that will be posted on www.furcommission.com within the next hour. If you are contacted by a reporter, please do not comment, and forward any requests for comment to Fur Commission at 541-595-8568 or mw@furcommission.com. Also, do not let anyone but law enforcement onto your farm.
As of last night, the Millers had recaptured all but about 100 of the 1,100 released mink, and had set traps to try and collect the remaining animals. Agents from the FBI Spokane office were on the scene within hours of the attack
Also as of last night, the two people arrested in the attack on Steve Krege’s farm are still in custody and are being questioned by the FBI. I will send out updates as they become available.
It has become apparent that more than one cell is at work in these attacks. Please be extremely vigilant concerning strangers around your farm. Take photos of vehicles, or persons of interest. Record license plates and physical descriptions. Make sure your neighbors are aware of the recent raids, and that they too are alert to suspicious activity. Contact your local Sheriff’s Dept or PD and let them know what is happening around the country. Sometimes the smallest bit of information from Minnesota can result in the arrest of extremists in Utah.
Activists use satellite imagery (Google Maps) to research entry and exit points on the farms, as well as routes to and from your immediate area. Be aware of any nearby parking areas that are in walking distance to the back of your farm. If possible, hire a night watchman for a couple weeks.
Hopefully, as we harden the targets these attacks will subside and/or the perpetrators will be caught. Please contact Fur Commission with any information you obtain that can help law enforcement keep our farms safe.
Michael Whelan
Fur Commission USA
541-595-8568”
Palmer Erickson mink farm raid
The Fur Commission states here that the fur farm raiders left behind several “incriminating” pieces of evidence, which was collected by the FBI.
This memo also reveals that the raid was discovered in the pre-dawn hours because of a barking dog.
“Fur Commission USA
SECURITY ALERT – Midwest US
October 7, 2011
Mink Release in Iowa
Early this morning animal rights extremists broke into Palmer Erickson’s fur farm in Jewell IA and released approximately 1,600 mink. The attack was discovered when the family dogs started barking in the pre-dawn hours. The assailants opened pens in 4 sheds on the perimeter of the farm. Local sheriffs and the Des Moines FBI have gathered promising evidence, as the perpetrators left behind several incriminating items.
Neighbors and friends immediately came to the Erickson’s aide, and have recaptured most of the mink. The farm is adjacent to several large corn fields, so they expect to continue collecting the remaining animals for several days.
No claims of responsibility have surfaced yet. Farmers and resource providers in adjacent counties and states are urged to check their security systems and be extra vigilant in the coming weeks. This is the third attack related to fur production in the past 10 days, and more incidents may occur. Any suspicious activity should be immediately reported to law enforcement and Fur Commission USA.
Michael Whelan
Fur Commission USA”
Arson at Rocky Mountain Fireworks & Fur alert
The damage is described as “minimal”, yet the Fur Commission believes the fire “marks a significant escalation of tactics by violent animal rights extremists against the US fur industry.”
“Fur Commission USA
Security Alert
September 27, 2011
Arson Attack on Idaho Fur Store
Early Monday morning animal rights terrorists attacked Rocky Mountain Fireworks & Fur in Caldwell Idaho, using multiple incendiary devices. Firefighters from six different agencies battled the blaze that closed down Idaho Highway 30. An anonymous communiqué delivered to the Bite Back website claimed the crime was committed by “The Arson Unit” and marks a significant escalation of tactics by violent animal rights extremists against the US fur industry. Federal agents from the ATF in Boise, as well as the FBI in Salt Lake City and Seattle are investigating the attack.
There were no injuries and the fire was contained without significant damage to the fireworks or fur articles, said fire official Marty Ogan. “It was stopped relatively quickly, overall, there was a minimal amount of damage.” In addition to selling fireworks, the business buys wild fur pelts and sells trapping supplies.
Resource providers in Southern Idaho and Northern Utah should review their security precautions and immediately report any suspicious persons, vehicles or activity to law enforcement and Fur Commission USA.
Distributed by
Fur Commission USA
www.furcommission.com”
Astoria mink liberation alert
According to this memo, 40 of the 300 animals released had not been recaptured at the time it was distributed.
“Pacific Northwest
SECURITY ALERT
September 25, 2011
Mink farm attacked in Oregon
At approximately 1:30 AM this morning, unknown animal rights terrorists broke into a mink farm near Astoria Oregon, releasing approximately 300 animals. The farmer, with help from his friends and neighbors successfully recaptured all but about 40 of the animals within the first few hours. They continue to search for the remaining mink.
On Thursday a suspicious woman, about [REDACTED] yrs old, [REDACTED] lbs was seen near the Roesler Bros. farm. When approached she covered her face and drove away in a late model [REDACTED].
All farmers and other resource providers are urged to take extra security precautions and report any unknown persons near their animal facilities.
Please contact the FBI, your local police and Fur Commission USA if you suspect you may be targeted for attack.
Michael Whelan
Fur Commission USA
541-595-8568”
This is the 20th of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Internal fur industry document on all suspicious activity reported by fur farmers in 1998.
Part nineteen in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
Sometime in the early 2000s, a document quietly began to circulate among activists who had done anti-fur work in the 1990s: a detailed timeline distributed to fur farmers by the Fur Commission listing every suspicious incident reported for the years 1998 and 1999. (I was never told how it was obtained, and I never asked.)
I’ve held onto this document for over ten years, and have decided to post it in full in two parts. The first is below.
What is the “Incidents Report”?
As part of it’s work to prevent Animal Liberation Front attacks, the Fur Commission encourages all its members to report any suspicious activity at their farms for inclusion in the “Incident Report.” The document is updated annually and distributed to both farmers and law enforcement.
The Incidents Report began in mid-1998 in response to an incredible 21 ALF fur farm raids the previous year. In an effort to build communication among farmers, detect patterns, and provide law enforcement with detailed data on possible fur farm raiders, the “Incidents Report” was born.
What is a “suspicious incident”?
Reading this document, it appears that when you’re a fur farmer, even the mailman is “suspicious.”
Most entries in this document fall into these categories:
Suspicious vehicles
The majority of reports describe vehicles seen near fur farms. The Fur Commission runs license plates, and lists the registered owners of the vehicles in most instances (I have redacted this information to protect people’s privacy.)
Of note is the number of “suspicious” vehicles that were found to have stolen plates. It is hard to know if this is just more fur farmer paranoia manipulating the data, or if there were people scouting farms with stolen license plates to conceal their identity.
Planes
You can’t make this up. Somehow, fur farmers adopted the belief that the ALF uses airplanes to surveil fur farms. This is absurd on a few levels, chief among them that there is nothing you could see from the air that couldn’t be determined more accurately from the ground. As though navigating a row of backyard sheds required such elaborate surveillance. More than anything, this belief in “surveillance by airplane” highlights how hopelessly out of touch fur farmers are, even at the senior level of the Fur Commission (Teresa Platt was a propagator of the “plane theory”).
Phone calls & emails
Even prank calls and emails are given clout as “security threats” in the Incident Report. Emails and instant messages are copied in full.
A couple of items from this category are mildly interesting, such as what appears to be a social engineering attempt to determine the address of a Central City, Nebraska mink farm by using a 911 dispatcher pretext.
Attempted raids
These include tripped alarms, and trespassers chased from farms. Most of the incidents listed were not reported outside this document, and include security guards chasing trespassers from farms. In one case, an armed guard actually fired shots into the air to scare off intruders. (One note: Guards are extremely rare, and are only encouraged by the Fur Commission during pelting season).
Actual raids
1998 saw 11 fur farm actions, all of which are reported in this document. While fur farmers appear to be vigilant enough to take down tail numbers off low flying planes, they seem to fail at actually detecting ALF raiders in their backyards.
The entries mentions some small details about ALF actions that I don’t believe were made public, such as one ferret that went uncaptured after a raid at United Vaccines in Wisconsin.
A rare glimpse into the fur farming world, uncensored
This document should be appreciated on a few levels, one being that this is a raw look at fur farmers “talking amongst themselves,” in a document they never thought would be seen outside their circle. The reports of planes, passing cars full of “straight edge types,” and more all paint a picture of very ignorant, disconnected people staring down their impending demise by way of a threat they can’t see or understand.
Next week, I will post the second installment: The “Incident Report” for 1999.
This is the nineteenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Original ALF communique taking credit for the largest ever mink release.
Part eighteen in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
In September 2001, the Animal Liberation Front broke all records, releasing 14,000 mink from the Drewelow & Son’s Mink Farm in New Hampton, Iowa. This action holds the record as the largest fur farm raid in US history.
Although ever cage at the farm was opened, and losses were estimated at over $400,000, all evidence is that the raid did not shut down this farm. There is some evidence this farm remained open as of the mid-2000s, however there has not been any verifiable information as to the farm’s status in recent years.
The night after this raid, 215 pigeons were liberated from a vivisection breeder across the state, in Glenwood, Iowa.
The action also came a week after 179 birds were liberated from a toxicology lab in Wellington, Colorado.
The communique reads, in full:
“The Animal Liberation Front is claiming responsibility for the largest liberation of animals in history – the release of 14,000 mink from the Earl Drewelow & Son’s Mink Farm, 2477 239th St, New Hampton IA; during the early morning hours of September 7th, 2000.
Handheld cutting tools were used to strip away two entire sides of the farm’s fencing, giving the mink an escape route. Inside the sheds we found a horrific scene – thousands of mink crammed 2-3 to a tiny wire cage, waiting to die in a mess of waste and cobwebs. Any attempt by the fur industry to dismiss the Drewelow & Son’s Fur Farm as an isolated example should be considered a lie. The A.L.F. know from experience these conditions to be the industry standard. Ever cage was opened and 14,000 mink released to freedom.
The fur industry will be quick to respond to this beautiful act of compassion with baseless cookie-cutter form responses, in an attempt to discredit our actions and divert attention away from their sadistic industry. These standard lies from the mouths of murderers will be preemptively rebutted here:
Lie #1: “The mink will be hit by cars” – The absurdity of this statement is that before liberation, death was 100% certain. Every animal on the farm was bred to die. While it is true a small number may be hit by cars, most will not, and if nothing else they have been given a chance a freedom.
Lie #2: Mink are domestic and cannot survive in the wild” – Mink are in fact only one or two generation removed from their wild cousins and have not yet had their wild instincts bred out. The “Mink Rehabilitation Project” led by convicted A.L.F. liberator Rod Coronado proved this a decade ago. Mink legally purchased from a fur farm were released into the wild and shown through observation to retain natural survival instincts and thrive in the wild after a lifetime in a cage.
Lie #3: “Most of the mink were recaptured” – Mink travel several miles a day. Most mink had disperesed into the surrounding fields before the liberation was complete. A few may be recaptured, but only a handful. Our hearts go out to those few recaptured who were given a shot at life and now have only suffering ahead.
Lie #4: “The A.L.F. are terrorists” – Every action carried out by the Animal Liberation Front is an act of compassion, with the only intent to save the lives of sentient creatures. These actions are carried out with no benefit to ourselves, except peace of mind knowing we have done all we can to rescue animals from the torture chambers and concentration camps of the meat, dairy, egg, fur and animal research industries. Their freedom is our victory.
We break the law in adherence to a higher law – one which states animals are not commodities, not objects, but sentient creatures with a right to live. We will fight for the lives of these animals as if they were our own.
Animal murderers beware – the A.L.F. is watching and there is no place to hide…”
This is the eighteenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
The travel zine written by my former co-defendant while he was a fugitive in Europe.
It is with some hesitancy I publish this document: The zine written in 1999 by my former friend and co-defendant Justin Samuel, documenting the experiences leading up to his arrest. To my knowledge, the existence of this was never publicized until now.
Some details: This zine was authored by the fugitive mink liberator and covers roughly the period of November 1997 (just after we went on the run) to November 1998. For obvious reasons, he authored it anonymously. He was arrested in Belgium about 10 months later.
The zine
The zine is titled “World Within”, and covers Justin Samuel’s European and Middle Eastern travels while a fugitive. He was 20 years old. He writes about his experiences riding bikes, hitchhiking, and generally living nomadically and with little money through several countries, including Syria, Israel, Belgium, England, Jordan, and more.
The fact that he is a fugitive on the run from federal charges is not mentioned, for obvious reasons.
It is a small miracle this document has survived the passing of 13 years. So the story goes, there were only a handful of photocopied hard copies ever printed. A person (who apparently had no idea who the author was) came across a copy in Israel, felt it deserved a wider audience, transcribed the entire zine, and posted it online. The original website has remained live for the last 12 years, with no indication as to who its anonymous author was.
It is vastly more interesting when read with the knowledge that the anonymous author is an American on the run from the law. For example, this quote, on his decision to travel:
“My new lifestyle allowed me almost no contact with my family and friends, and I didn’t see that as negative. I was free from all ties I had to the old me.”
The original layout has been lost to time, but a text version (with some graphics) has been preserved, and is posted below.
Some background
In 1997, Samuel and I released thousands of mink from fur farms in several states before being pulled over by police near the Zimbal Minkery in Oostburg, Wisconsin. After our vehicle was searched, we went on the run, knowing charges were imminent.
Samuel was arrested in Belgium in September 1999, after an ID check following an anti-nuclear weapons rally revealed his warrants in the US. He was extradited and quickly entered into a plea deal in which he agreed to implicate me and others in exchange for a reduced sentence. He was released in 2001.
Justin Samuel, post-felony road trip
By the time I last saw Samuel, he had undergone significant changes from the person I visited fur farms with. He had taken a sharp left turn towards an odd fusion of anarchism and Buddhism (evident in this zine), which included retracting support for many ALF tactics. At the time, I did not see this as the alarming harbinger I perhaps should have, still believing that his anti-authoritarian politics would carry over into jail, should he get arrested first and be in a position to implicate me.
As history showed, I was wrong.
My dilemma about publishing this
I’ve been sitting on this for some time, often considering posting but always refraining. While it is perhaps of some historical interest (albeit to a small number of people), my hesitancy comes in a couple forms.
One: Because of Samuel’s testimony, I have a natural aversion to publishing anything that might humanize him or showcase his work. His zine, while not profound, is not entirely uninteresting. Were it not tarnished by some corrupt authorship, many would find it a good read.
Second, I fail to see it having any movement-level value. It does not provide any insight or lessons to draw from. It is merely an introspective travel zine that is of interest on a voyeuristic level alone.
There may be one lesson here…
If there is something of value to be extracted from this, it is an important lesson I don’t see often acknowledged: There is absolutely no relationship between how “radical” one’s ostensible politics, and the true makeup of their character. One’s convictions are spoken entirely through their actions, and have no relationship to their words.
In this zine we see Samuel cover the entire checklist of “revolutionary” politics – from capitalism to overconsumption. Yet within months of writing this, he was groveling for mercy at the feet of FBI agents and selling out his friends (myself and others) for a marginally reduced prison sentence.
In another leaked security bulletin, the Fur Commission warns fur farmers about suspicious cars seen near fur farms.
Part sixteen in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
Two suspicious vehicles are seen acting suspiciously near mink farms in Utah and Wisconsin, as described in one of dozens of security alerts obtained by Animal Liberation Frontline.
Note: I have redacted information that could be potentially compromising for the vehicle’s owners.
This memo was distributed to all 400 or so of the Fur Commission’s members after three Animal Liberation Front (and unclaimed) raids of fur farms had occurred in the previous 30 days.
The first farm mentioned, owned by Ryan Holt in South Jordan, Utah, had 3,000 mink released by the Animal Liberation Front in 1996.
Unclaimed action?
Interestingly, the security alert references four fur farm “attacks” in the month preceding the memo. However, only three are known. If there was a fourth raid, it was not claimed or reported by the media.
The memo could be referring to the arson at Rocky Mountain Firework Fur & Company in Caldwell, Idaho; however that business is not believed to be a wild pelt buyer and not a fur farm, as the memo states.
Hyper-paranoia and the fur farming industry
This memo, along with others I have posted and will be posting this month, highlights how neurotically vigilant some fur farmers have become. After over 90 raids of fur farms in the last 15 years, often any passing car is deemed suspect. Fur farmers are also fond of recruiting their neighbors, who can be more troublesome and overeager than the farmers themselves.
To further highlight this, I will soon be posting an incredible document: an entire log of all “suspicious activity” detected at fur farms over a two-year period (1998-1999), published by the Fur Commission. The first installment will go up later this week.
“Fur Commission USA SECURITY ALERT – UTAH, WISCONSIN October 23, 2011 Vehicles seen scouting farms in UT, WI
Late Friday night a blue [REDACTED], with Utah license plates [REDACTED], was seen outside the Holt mink farm in South Jordan UT. The vehicle fled when approached, and after being followed it was discovered to have an un-matched front license plate (began with [REDACTED])
That same evening a light colored [REDACTED] with [REDACTED] plates [REDACTED] was seen making numerous passes outside Langer Fur Farm near Kewaunee Wisconsin. Two men wearing camoflage baseball hats were in the vehicle. Initial reports indicate that the license plates are not registered to that make or model.
With four farm attacks in the last 30-days, ranchers are urged to be especially alert to any suspicious activity around their property. Check your security, and alert your employees and neighbors to be aware of any suspicious persons or vehicles in the area. Report any unusual activity to law enforcement and Fur Commission USA
Distributed by, Michael Whelan Fur Commission USA 541-595-8568″
This is the sixteenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
In a private letter, a Utah fur farmer describes her effort to capture mink released from a fur farm.
Part fifteen in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
Among the more interesting documents I’ve been sent is the letter I’m posting below, which I originally posted in 2010. It was described to me by the sender (and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity) as an inspirational letter intended for other fur farmers on dealing with an ALF action.
The letter describes the “clean up” after a large A.L.F. mink release in Utah. It begins:
“It’s been almost 4 weeks since the mink release in Utah at Chuck Lodder’s Ranch… I still wake up still in the middle of the night and worry.”
What follows is Mary Wardell’s experiences trying to catch thousands of mink liberated by the Animal Liberation Front. The full text of the letter is posted below.
In September, 2008, the Animal Liberation Front carried out their largest raid of a fur farm in 5 years, releasing 7,000 mink from the Chuck Lodder fur farm in Kaysville, Utah. Fur farmers (and members of a nearby church) mobilized in the wake of the raid, converging on the farm to round up the thousands of animals released from their cages.
Candid perspectives on A.L.F. actions from animal abusers are extremely rare. Because it appears this letter was private and not intended to be viewed by the public, it is the kind of uncolored account the animal rights movement rarely gets to see.
“The destruction to the ranch was well planned”
Select quotes from the letter:
“The destruction to the ranch was well planned. Holes cut in the security fence every 5-6 feet which enabled the mink to run into the adjoining field.”
“Watching (mink farmer) Dennis Rees doing a tackle,,,yes a flying tackle no less, was something to behold.”
“Wess and I agree, we never want to see this happen again, but if it does, we will be there in a heartbeat. No one is going to take care of us, but us.”
“It’s been almost 4 weeks since the mink release in Utah at Chuck Lodder’s Ranch. Both Wess and I still wake up still in the middle of the night and worry.”
And one of the best fur farmer quotes of all time:
“When we got to the ranch I stood at the top of their big shed. If you can imagine an ocean of black mink, EVERYWHERE.”
“It’s been almost 4 weeks since the mink release in Utah at Chuck Lodder’s Ranch. Both Wess and I still wake up still in the middle of the night and worry. I thought I would share a little of that day for you.
When Bryan Boyce called us at 5:30 Sunday morning, there was no hesitation to get up and go. We checked our own ranches before leaving. We had a few minutes to sip a cup of coffee knowing it would be our only “nourishment” for most of the day.
Before we got to the Lodder’s ranch, we encountered Stan and Kendra Reese & boys rounding up mink at the sewer plant about 1/4 of a mile from the ranch. Between the bed of their truck and Bryan’s we probably had a good 50 to 75 mink. It was hard to count and hard to keep them in the truck.
When we got to the ranch I stood at the top of their big shed. If you can imagine an ocean of black mink, EVERYWHERE. It was a sight I’ll remember for a long time and one I hope I never see again. Lindsey McMullin and his son, whose mink were released 1 month before in South Jordan were already there, moving down the isle, catching right and left. What a nice man he is and it was a heck of a way to get to know someone. Before you knew it, familiar faces were popping up everywhere. Stan Stuart and his son, Smokey Dillree, his grandson and his wife. The Ball Brothers, Tony Jones, Keith Johnson & sons, Paul Westwood and his son, the Willis’, the Becksteads, Rusty Woolsey, and of course all the Lodder’s and their employees. Dennis Reese and his son Chase, Chad and Chaz Rowser, Reed and Dane Dixon, Chris Falco from the Fur Breeders came and handed out water, and many, many more who I wish I knew their names. And of course Ryan Holt. Ryan not only catching but taking care of the press, the FBI and keeping the communications going to the right people.
The destruction to the ranch was well planned. Holes cut in the security fence every 5-6 feet which enabled the mink to run into the adjoining field. Not only were the pen lids opened but they had removed the boxes also. Although the ALF communique said they destroyed pedigree cards, we didn’t see evidence of that. Maybe they lied???? They vandalized at least one truck that I’m aware of. The morning went by fast and we worked together in doing what needed to be done. The weeds on the other side of the fence were immensely tall, as a line of guys walked from one end of the length of the fence to the other, handing mink over to waiting catchers who in turn ran to the sheds and put them in pens. Because the weeds were so thick, the mink would hide under what had been tramped on, so the guys turned around and came back doing the same thing. Watching Dennis Rees doing a tackle,,,yes a flying tackle no less, was something to behold. The local church stopped their services and asked people to go to their neighborhood and catch what they could. They were filling up portable dog kennels and bringing them down the road. Thank goodness it wasn’t a “hot” Utah day, but warm enough to make us all sweat. We finally got some water, Gatorade, etc. so we could keep on going. I believe by the time we were done, we had 90% of the mink back in pens.
What impressed me the most was the camaraderie that we shared and the immense respect everyone had for not only each other but for the Lodder family as well. We were not catching mink that were sold at Seattle or Toronto, we were catching mink that are the among the best in North America, raised humanly and supported a family. They didn’t destroy us but made us stronger. We were watching out for us. You also have to respect the one’s who stayed at home, like Lynn Boyce and my father in law Jay, who stayed at home and made sure our farms were safe and our mink taken care of. Lynn and I have canvassed our areas and have set up our own neighborhood watch. The Summit County and Morgan County Sheriff’s dept. have stepped up patrols and we have our own local Search and Rescue patrolling for us also.
Wess and I agree, we never want to see this happen again, but if it does, we will be there in a heartbeat. No one is going to take care of us, but us.
Stay Vigilant, Wess and Mary Wardell”
This is the fifteenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Update on Teresa Platt since leaving the Fur Commission.
Part fourteen in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
If ever there was a real-life Cruella De Vil, it was Teresa Platt.
After previous director Marsha Kelly left the Fur Commission in 1996 (she quit after her home address was published in The Final Nail), Teresa Platt stepped in (it was probably not by chance that Platt lived in a gated community).
For the next 15 years, Platt was the face of US fur farming. As an industry that generally only needs a “face” after an Animal Liberation Front action, by default she had a nearly full-time job speaking out against the ALF.
However Platt’s zeal on the subject of the animal rights movement was especially high, and seemed to come from a personal and political vendetta. Indeed, she was not merely a paid public relations person reading from a script. A look at Platt’s past shows that she comes from a heritage of blood – her father was a tuna fisherman, who found himself a target of the dolphin protection movement of the 1980s.
Her tenure at the Fur Commission USA
After an ALF action (her tenure covered the time in which the vast majority of ALF actions took place), Platt instructed all fur farmers to not speak to the media, and refer all inquiries directly to her. She then recited her deceptive talking points that wouldn’t hold up to the lightest journalistic scrutiny. Among them:
Released mink die of “exposure” (mink sheds are not climate controlled or even fully enclosed, and freed mink are in the exact same climate as caged mink).
Most mink are hit by cars (it’s a strange kind of animal that runs to the nearest road and lies down).
Mink can’t survive in the wild (never mentioning the survival rate of a mink on a fur farm is 0%).
Platt’s talking points are outlined in this security manual for fur farmers (also believe to be put together by Platt) [CORRECTION: This document post-dates Platt’s departure, and was in fact authored by the current FCUSA director], which includes instruction to fur farmers to feign a concern for animals, and pretend to the media that their primary after a fur farm raid is for the safety of their animals
Platt was believed to be the architect behind all of the Fur Commission’s ALF counter-programs, including the Neighborhood Watch program (a program “that is responsible for securing the US mink farming industry”), the annual Incident Report (compiling all reports of suspicious activity at fur farms),the Netwatch email list (a listserve which distributes “articles, security alerts and key information on conflict campaigns and eco-terrorism incidents”), the FCUSA dossier database ( with “reports… generated on individuals, organizations and incidents”), the “Safe Farms Campaign” (pushing for tougher laws against “eco-terrorists”), and more.
Although the claim is suspect, she also takes credit for being a key player in the passage of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.
Her departure from the Fur Commission
In the summer of 2011, Teresa quietly left the Fur Commission. The official story is that the board wanted to shift it’s focus from public relations (Platt’s specialty) to “farm security” (protecting the few remaining fur farms from the Animal Liberation Front).
I read this as a tacit admission of two things:
1) They have conceded defeat in their attempt to sell the public on fur as an ethical clothing choice.
2) The Animal Liberation Front is the biggest threat to the industry at the present time.
To work on this new focus, Michael Whelan assumed her position in 2011.
Where is she now?
In November of 2012, Platt resurfaced as the director of The National Center for Public Policy Research’s Environment and Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, a “conservative, free-market, non-profit think-tank.”
The group is exactly what it sounds like: a think-tank to promote the profit-agenda of corporations whose interests conflict with that of animals and the environment.
She also recently published a book, Tuna to Mink. Tagline: “If you care about animals and the environment, you’ll love Tuna to Mink.”
This is the fourteenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Part thirteen in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
After the large response to yesterday’s article on how three people shut down an Iowa fur farm, I am following up with both communiques from those actions.
The first raid took place on October 16th, 2002 in Ellsworth, Iowa. All 2,000 animals were released.
The second raid took place just six days later. After fur farmer Scott Nelson boasted in the media that he had recaptured most of the animals, the Animal Liberation Front returned and re-liberated every mink. The farm subsequently shut down.
Communique #1
October 16th, 2001
Ellsworth, IA
Scott Nelson Mink Ranch
1,400 mink released. This raid was video taped and footage released to the media.
“The Animal Liberation Front is claiming responsibility for the liberation of 2000 mink from a fur farm in Jewell, IA (Tollman Rd.) in the late hours of October 16th, 2001. Every animal was released.
Fences surrounding the farm were cut away, every cage opened, and 2000 mink ran to freedom. These animals were kept 3 and 4 to a small wire mesh cage. Their rescue came at the final hour, only a month from a violent death in the pelting season.
Captive bred mink are closely related to their wild ancestors, and have been shown to retain survival instincts when released – ensuring these liberated prisoners will live and thrive. The fur industry will move to condemn this action, using misleading half-truths and boldface lies. They point their fingers with blood stained hands. There is no defensible case for the taking of innocent life. Furthermore, there is no defensible argument against militant intervention to prevent this atrocity. When mink are no longer kept 4 to a small wire cage, when chickens are no longer kept packed in battery cages, when we stop calling dead animals food, when the blood stops spilling – these actions outside the law will no longer be needed. Until then, we will be tearing up fences, breaking down walls, and opening cages to free the animals. Terrorism against non-human animals will be met with liberation.
In this struggle for life against greed, compassion over sadism, our only recourse is to ignore laws and risk our freedom to save lives. Were you in a cage, whose side would you be on?
A.L.F.”
Communique #2
October 23rd, 2001
Ellsworth, IA
Scott Nelson Mink Ranch
“10/16/2001 A.L.F. liberated 2000 mink at Scott Nelson Mink Ranch in Ellsworth, Iowa
10/23/2001 A.L.F. liberates all recaptured mink at Scott Nelson Mink Ranch in Ellsworth, Iowa
The first time we visited Scott Nelson Mink Ranch in Ellsworth, Iowa we opened every cage on the property. We intended to close the place down; unfortunately some of the mink were recaptured.
To demonstrate our complete seriousness regarding the freedom of these animals and contempt for the people responsible for these horrible places we again visited the fur farm and opened every cage on the property. We demand these mink are allowed to remain free.
A.L.F.”
This is the thirteenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Anonymously-written story of how the Animal Liberation Front shut down an Iowa fur farm.
Part twelve in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
“In the week of October 16th, 2001, an ALF cell of three took wire cutters to the fences of a mink farm in Ellsworth, Iowa and released nearly 2,000 animals. Many mink were recaptured. Six days later they returned to free them. The farm closed its doors forever. This is that story.”
So begins the article written by an anonymous participant in the ALF raid of the Scott Nelson fur farm in Ellsworth, Iowa. This article was originally published in an early issue of Bite Back Magazine (click here to buy back issues).
This action was significant for a few reasons:
This was the first time the ALF raided a farm twice in one week. After the first liberation, Scott Nelson boasted in the media that he had recaptured most of the animals and had resumed business as usual. The ALF then returned six days later and re-freed every animal.
The first of the two raids was the first mink liberation in the US documented on video. The video was released to activists and the media following the action.
The second raid shut the farm down forever.
Farm confirmed closed in 2009
I personally went to the site of this farm in 2009 to verify that it had in fact closed. After confirming the exact location of the farm through old satellite images, I drove to the location, just north of the town of Jewell. Where the sheds once stood, I found nothing but a field of corn.
The Scott Nelson farm was a short distance from the site of three other ALF (or unclaimed) actions. The Isebrands fur farm, Palmer Erickson fur farm, and Hawkeye Mink Cooperative are each less than three miles away.
Also of note: 48 hours after the first liberation at the Scott Nelson farm, Double T Farms (a breeder of pigeons for vivisection) was raided and 162 birds were freed.
Read this inspiring story of how three people accomplished a tremendous victory for fur farm prisoners.
This is the twelfth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
Complete, updated list of every known Animal Liberation Front fur farm raid.
Part eleven in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
Here it is: a list of every reported fur farm raid in the United States. From the first (incomplete) report of a fur farm raid in 1986, to the most recent: 13 foxes released from a farm in Virginia. Most of these were claimed by the Animal Liberation Front, while many were not.
This info was compiled from multiple sources, including: A.L.F. Complete Diary of Actions book, Bite Back, internal fur industry documents, discovery paperwork in legal cases, and media reports.
Here’s the final tally:
93 fur farm raids. Just over 130,000 animals freed.
(If you notice any omissions or errors, please contact me. I want this list to be as thorough as possible.)
Fur Farm Raid List
1986
Unnamed farm
Near Portland, Oregon
66 silver foxes liberated
August 13th, 1995
Davidson Fur Farm
Annendale, Minnesota
One coyote liberated
November 16th, 1995
Jordan Mink Ranch
Olympia, Washington
400 mink liberated
CLOSED
November 16th, 1995
Ma Ellis Fox Farm
Pleasant View, Tenessee
30 foxes liberated
CLOSED
August 20th, 1998
Hidden Valley Fur Farm
Guttenburg, Iowa
330 foxes liberated
CLOSED.
(the farmer mentions two actions have occurred, only one action is known)
August 8th, 1999
Gene Meyer Mink Farm
Plymouth, Wisconsin
2,500 mink liberated
(nearby United Feeds fur feed supplier burned down the same night)
CLOSED
August 14th, 1999
Frank Parsons Mink Ranch
Salisbury, Maryland
20 mink liberated
CLOSED
September 12th, 1999
Calvin Gunnink Fur Farm
Chandler, Minnesota
100 fox liberated
October 1st, 1999
Owl Creek Fox Farm
Montpelier, Indiana
30 fox painted with henna dye
October 12th, 2011
Miller’s Mink Ranch
Gifford, Washington
1,000 mink liberated.
August 5th, 2012
D & S Fox Farm
Elkton, Virginia
13 foxes liberated
This is the eleventh of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
In leaked security bulletin, fur farmers told commenting on “disturbing” Frontline article could incite violence, threaten lawsuit.
Part ten in a thirty-article series this month on the ALF’s fur farm campaign.
Two months after anonymous liberators freed over 1,000 mink from his farm, fur farmer Palmer Erickson died of cancer. After decades of murdering hundreds of thousands of mink and fox, activists finally found Palmer Erickson in his final days and delivered a little bit of justice to 5% of the estimated 20,000 mink and fox imprisoned at the farm.
In one of several dozen “security alerts” obtained by Animal Liberation Frontline, the Fur Commission rails against a “disturbing article” on this site in which I cover Erickson’s death. The memo suggests they are looking into filing a lawsuit for criminal or civil offenses unspecified. (The lawsuit never materialized.)
Actual photo of caged fox on Palmer Erickson’s fur farm.
These bulletins are sent to the 400 or so members of the Fur Commission USA, and were not intended for a public audience.
The passing of a fur farmer is especially significant because many (if not most) of their children do not wish to carry on the family business. Over the years, many farms have shut down when the present owner dies. The operational status of the Palmer Erickson fur farm has not been verified since his death. (If you have any information, please send to the site.)
The memo reads, in full:
“Fur Commission USA January 16, 2012 Erickson Family Targeted in Hate Campaign
If you haven’t heard, longtime fur farmer Palmer Erickson recently passed away after a long illness, in Jewell IA. Last Fall, the Erickson family farm was raided and over 1,100 mink were released. The animal rights extremists are calling that raid, and his passing a victory for the ALF and the animal rights movement.
Appearing on convicted felon Peter Young’s website, is a disturbing article that describes Palmer and his family in horrible terms. Fur Commission USA has been monitoring the site, and in the last few days several people have posted defending the Erickson’s and condemning the hate speech that appears in the comments section.
We urge you not to engage these naive and intolerant individuals. The animal rights extremists that post there do not care about the truth, and will never deliberate logically or compassionately. Attempting to appeal to their humanity is a waste of your precious time. Challenging their world-view only enflames (sic-ed) them, and may motivate them to commit further acts of violence against the industry.
Be assured that Fur Commission USA is addressing the situation, and looking into legal avenues against the website and its contributors.
Our deepest condolences go to the Erickson family for their loss.
Michael Whelan Fur Commission USA 541-595-8568″
This is the tenth of 30 articles I will be posting in December on the ALF’s fur farm campaign. Sign up for the email list to get every update sent to your inbox, or check back daily.
covering it, which in turn generates massive publicity for his clients.
