By Katie McKellar
Deseret News
In this Feb. 12, 2013 file photo, a minks looks out from its cage at Bob Zimbal’s fur farm in Sheboygan Falls, Wis. The Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office says the May 13, 2013 thefts of more than 300 baby mink from the Dittrich Mink Ranch in Mosel doesn’t look like the work of animal rights activists. Photo: Carrie Antlfinger
A radical animal rights group has put Utah Valley on notice.
Animal Liberation Front is known for violence and sabotage, setting fires to businesses, harassing owners until businesses close and setting hundreds of thousands of fur animals free from farms over the past two decades.
Now, the group has published a new “guide to destroying the fur industry, promising to spark a wave of attacks and animal liberations at fur farms nationwide.”
More than 20 fur farms in Utah County are listed, including the names of owners, addresses, phone numbers, photos and more.
The anonymous authors of the publication, called The Final Nail #4, promise the release will be “followed by a tidal wave of fur farm raids.” After the first Final Nail was published in 1996, there were 16 farm break-ins followed within six months.
One north county family which owns a fur farm said the publication is a scare tactic. The family said they have been targeted in publications by the group for years, and have high security. They asked not to be named for fear of being singled out for retaliation.
The farm’s location, number of facilities, directions and surroundings are listed in extraordinary detail in the new publication, as are details of all fur farms in Utah and many more around the nation.
In addition to addresses for mink and fox farms nationwide, the 58-page guide contains detailed instructions on how to raid farms, how to avoid leaving evidence, and a hit-list of “most wanted” targets.
The Animal Liberation Front has taken credit for 93 such raids since 1995. The group brags that the FBI classifies such raids as “animal enterprise terrorism, however they have succeeded at apprehending only a small number of activists in this campaign. To date, the longest prison sentence served (for) a mink release is 2.5 years.”