For Immediate Release
September 22, 2008
Ten-Thousand Captive Mink Released in Utah
Animal Liberationists Raid Sixth Fur Farm Since April
Davis County, Utah – According to a communique received by the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, 10,000 captive mink were released Saturday night in Kaysville, Utah. The raid is the second in Utah this season, after another liberation that occurred in August. Together with raids in Oregon, Washington and Canada since April, thousands of captive wild animals have been given the chance for freedom this year from profit-hungry breeders.
The communique reads, in part:
“Three members of the Animal Liberation Front entered a massive mink prison in Kaysville, Utah last night. On releasing about 10,000 mink we found and destroyed all breeding records. We also vandalized the trucks and various forms of equipment, including destroying the electrical fence and cutting about a hundred holes in the fence’s perimeter. Don’t let the animals be destroyed so their skin can be worn by some rich bitch. There is nothing glamorous about wearing an animal’s carcass. We urge you to get involved, now more than ever. Act up, fight back! Defend the defenseless until there are no prisons left. -ALF
Imprisoned in cages for life, fur-bearing animals are forced to endure intensive confinement, compared to the miles of territory these animals would enjoy in the wild – their natural state. The natural instincts of these captive animals are completely frustrated; self-mutilation, sickness, infection, poor sanitation and the sheer stress of confinement lead animals to premature death. When they survive, animals of sufficient size are killed by anal electrocution or gassing, then skinned. Whereas reports from the fur industry have surfaced that liberations were harmful to the animals, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and other organizations have a long history of successfully releasing animals into the wild. In addition to liberating the wild animals destined for a certain, painful and agonizing death, another goal of liberationists is to cause economic damage to fur farms; dozens of fur farming operations have seen economic ruin since “Operation Bite Back” began by the ALF in the 1990s.
“The fur industry wants the public to believe that most of the mink liberated are recaptured or killed after being freed, but this is not the case; and I would argue that even if some are recaptured, at least they have been given a chance at what everyone deserves, a chance to live free” stated Camille Hankins, a Press Officer with the Animal Liberation Press Office. “Contrary to the rhetoric of those who profit from the imprisonment and killing of these beautiful, wild creatures, scientific studies have proven captive mink have the innate ability to survive in the wild, do not decimate other animal populations or the environment, and do not carry away small children or pets.”
To read the original ALF communiques, click here.