The Belly of the Beast: Nationwide Convergence on Fur Farm Capital
Activists will from across the country 
will be converging on Morgan, Utah for Fur Free Saturday (November 28th). Morgan is the largest fur farming town in the country, with 15 active mink farms. In the spirit of the march to Birmingham in 1965, this convergence will climax in a one mile march through the heart of fur farm country, past two of Morgan’s mink farms.
Just the threat of this event is already generating immense media coverage in Utah. Through this coverage, it is clear it is not a peaceful protest they fear, but the power of crowds, and militant intervention of protesters who may escalate the protest. Farmers are fearful the event will result in daylight raids of their farms, citing past protests in West Jordan and West Haven which resulted in the daytime release of animals.
The next chapter came when the Morgan County Council amended their protesting ordinances specifically in fear of the convergence, requiring protesters to stay 1000 feet from all mink farms. In a town of 13 mink farms, it effectively makes the entire town of Morgan a “protest-free zone”. Almost. The head of the Morgan P.D. contacted local activists this week to inform them their city engineers had identified one location not within 1000 feet of a fur farm: The sidewalk in front of the police station. Protesting anywhere else, he said, would result in arrest.
For local mink farmers, their attendance at the ordinance meeting had an unknown consequence. The meeting minutes, obtained by activists, reveal the names of all in attendance, many of whom are mink farmers. This list contains the name of the owner of at least one previously unknown mink farm. While farmers work to conceal their names and addresses from activists, they made a clumsy error by allowing their names to be recorded on the county meeting minutes, and become public record. A future post will cover what was learned from the list of names.
The flagrant stifling of protest activity lead the local Ogden, Utah paper to publish an editorial condemning Morgan officials for their anti-free-speech ordinance.
Morgan is clearly a town contemptuous of the constitution and steeped in the tradition of murder. Two lawsuits and numerous news headlines later, activists remain committed to march on Morgan November 28th, and are calling on activists nationwide to join them.
This event is likely to be legend.
More info at The Fur Free utah Website.
-Peter Young
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