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A man who served six months in Dane County Jail for freeing minks from being skinned returned to Madison for the first time as a free man Tuesday.
Peter Young started a two-year prison sentence in fall 2005 after freeing between 8,000 and 12,000 minks from five different farms in the Midwest. Young was convicted under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, according to Madison Coalition for Animal Rights member Kevin Carey.
"[The act] is a way to silence us because the government doesn't agree with our opinions, and it's a way to protect corporate profits," Carey said.
In a lecture at the University of Wisconsin, Young explained he traveled the Midwest with a colleague for two weeks and released minks during the pelting season. Young added he felt this was a time for saving lives, and he was not concerned with the possible ramifications.
"Self-preservation wasn't really at work during those two weeks," Young said.
Young wanted to speak at UW to help people understand why he chose to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, he said, and why animal rights activists are willing to commit such controversial acts for their cause.
"I have been motivated by what I've seen with my own eyes," Young said. "It's a tremendous burden to carry with you when you know too much. The only way to make it go away is if you go out after the sun sets and do what needs to get done."
According to Carey, people who raid fur and factory farms consider themselves part of the Animal Liberation Front. Other tactics participants use to fight for animal rights include targeting contract animal testing companies such as Covance and Huntington Life Science. These companies provide animal testing as a service, and anyone can hire them to do research on products like cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Carey said ALF is completely underground, their efforts to free factory and laboratory animals are in affiliation with ALF and there are no official members or meetings.
"If anyone came out and said they were a member, they would be targeted by cops immediately because of the acts they commit," Carey said.
Young's presentation began with a short screening of "Behind the Mask," a documentary about the ALF chronicling several efforts to free animals by breaking into testing laboratories and breeding farms. It described the front as a "modern-day underground railroad" because of its disorganization, and the shuffling of animals from place to place until they can be freed.
Young will also be a member of Green Scare Panel, an event being hosted by the UW Law School. During the event, panelists will discuss the tactics the government is using to silence animal rights and environmental activists. It will be held tonight at 7 p.m. in the Law School Building in Room 2260.
Carey said students who plan to attend will learn about a different side of the animal rights movement.
"By attending you can get a different perspective from what you hear in the media," Carey said.
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I believe it’s actually called the Animal Enterprise TERRORISM Act.
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“he was not concerned with the possible ramifications”
He certainly did not give any thought to how the minks could survive or to the animals that the minks would kill or the ecological problems in general.
ALF is a terrorist organization.
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Peter Young is BY FAR, one of the most dedicated and passionate activists I know. Anyone who is wondering whether or not it would be worth their time to listen to him speak about the issues should definitely make an effort to do so.
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Alf should be rounded up and used for experimentation in place of the animals they free.
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Mink “farmers” and the consumers that require the death of animals for their personal vanity are the real terrorists, not people like Peter.
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“consumers that require the death of animals for their personal vanity”
Yeah, those ignorant fools should be following the orders of their betters! No choices for you - come back never!
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No Animal activist has ever used violent methods against people to try and save abused animals. On the other hand animals are the victims of many types of violence be it in fur farms or any other sphere where they are exploited.
“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages”. Thomas A. Edison
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To 11:28am -
The AETA is basically an “upgraded” version of the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, which was already on the books. It’s part and parcel with the Green Scare to throw the word terrorism in there, equating mink liberators with suicide bombers…
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RELEASE THE MINKS! - Germain E. Stemme
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I love when animal activists quote Edison.
Are they not aware of his alternating current demonstrations where he would electrocute large animals in his campaign to promote DC over AC technologies.
Look it up. It’s true.
PS - you might want to do a little research on a historical figure before you hold them up as an example of a compassionate being who shares your views.
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Dear “Anonymous” (gee, that’s original…), And I love it when NON-activists get on blogs with the intent of attacking others and side-stepping the issue at hand. If you Google that quote you will find countless sources that attribute it to Edison. He may be a hypocrite, but Edison said it, that’s the point. Obviously you are only on here to argue - you’re not good enough to call it debating. Did you learn that slick side-stepping the issue trick at Covance Prep School? Not to worry, there countless other quotes condemning violence to all life by countless other historical and present day figures so that we’ll never run out. Thank God for those selflessly save animal lives, and hell to the radical extremist industries that profit from suffering. Righteous are those who break unjust laws.
Jan McClellan Citizens Against Covance www.stopcovance.com
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This is a sick, sick world, where animal abuse and torture is the norm and anyone who dares speak against it is a terrorist and deserves to be vilified and imprisoned. I hate all you meat eating idiots who can’t seem to get thru life without making life a miserable hell for those without voices. Shame on you all.